Entries Tagged 'copywriting services' ↓
February 26th, 2009 — copywriting services, email copywriting, freelance copywriting
When you think of copywriting services, what springs to mind?
Web copy – newsletters – direct mail – brochures – press releases – articles – blogs – white papers…
Some businesses spend a lot of money hiring freelance copywriters, but they don’t consider doing the same for their email copywriting needs.
Why?
The customers won’t want those emails unless they’re well written. And if they don’t want them, they’ll just unsubscribe and then they’ll be gone – forever.
Having good email copywriting will help your business in the long run, so here are a few tips.
Tell them what to do next
This is vital no matter what form your copywriting takes, but rather than a strong request for a direct action, you require something a bit more gentle. The more information you reveal in your email, the less response you’re going to get. You want your readers to get just a taste of what you’re offering, so they’ll click on your link instead of the delete key. But it still has to be specific enough so the recipient will take action.
Avoid the Spam
You may not be writing Pulitzer Prize novels but you must still pay attention to spelling and punctuation because nothing turns off a reader more than silly typos. You also need to avoid spam filters so watch out for phrases like “risk free” and “order now.”
Don’t go it alone
These very simple steps will help you have more success with your email marketing, but don’t consider getting your freelance copywriter to do the work for you. Your business is well worth the investment, particularly when it comes to excellent email copywriting. Besides, using the services of the same copywriter for your marketing materials will also generate a consistant voice which will help generate a feeling of trust and credibility in the eyes of your customers.
February 19th, 2009 — copywriting, copywriting services, freelance copywriting, website copywriting
Freelance copywriters love words. They are their tools of the trade.
Words are powerful – they can make us feel happy, sad, empathetic, love and hate. But most of all, in the hands of a skilled freelance copywriter, they can be used to encourage, persuade and convince us to buy the product they are promoting.
When successful copywriters write the copy for a product or website, they choose their words carefully to ensure they stick in the reader’s mind. Just think for a moment – what do beanz meanz? Heinz! See, a simple slogan but one that is unforgetable.
This type of association works when the slogans and messages that ring true for the reader or consumer. If they jump off the page and capture your attention immediately, the copywriter has done their job.
As in the example above, the memorable use of ‘beanz, meanz, Heinz’ using a ‘z’ rather than an ‘s’ catches the attention of the audience Use memorable words in your copy. Remember the goal is to catch the attention of the reader.
This is where the fun starts. If your copywriting is going to be attention grabbing then it is time to get creative. Play with words, their spelling, even their context – anything that will create a phrase or headline that will lodge itself firmly within the minds of your audience as forever being associated with the product you are trying to sell.
Online readers are notorious scanners, but there is some copy that is just so enjoyable that the audience eats up every word. If you have the talent to write in this way, do it. You will be a lot more memorable if you can entertain and interest your readers.
Write for your audience and make sure that your copy sticks in the mind. Whether you are writing for yourself or someone else, it is the one thing that will bring you success.
February 12th, 2009 — copywriting services, freelance copywriting, seo website copywriter
Copywriting demand will always be strong.
It doesn’t matter whether the economy is strong or weak. In past decades, it was easy to get away with a strong product and some marketing. But today there is far more competition in all markets and the way to stand apart is through marketing.
For many consumers, the only way to be able to discern the differences between competing products is through the marketing. This ensures that freelance copywriters are needed.
Any companies looking to send a consistent message to their targeted audience will employ copywriters. Some companies not looking ahead to the future may cut their advertising budget when they hit weak sales, but that is not a smart move as explored in my recent blog post 4 Reasons Why Copywriting Services Work.
There is a growing demand for copywriters in one particular area – writing for the Internet. With the Web up past four billion web pages, the demand for search engine copywriting has continued to increase. To do this, the search engine copywriters must write well to attract two different audiences – the people searching and the search bots.
Great copywriting will:
- increasing your sales through targeted website traffic
- creating continuity in your marketing materials on and off line
- portraying an image of trust, credibility and confidence in the eyes of your customers
So it’s a no-brainer really. Companies that are serious about marketing and survival will see the benefits in utilising the services of copywriters. It’s the only way to turn a surviving business into a thriving business.
February 11th, 2009 — copywriting services, search engine optimisation, seo, seo website copywriter
Search engine copywriting continues to develop each and every day. Copywriting as a field continues to 
grow but this particular niche is growing at a much faster rate. As the Internet continues to grow, more and more companies are relying on it for a higher percentage of sales. This will ensure that search engine copywriting will continue to be in demand.
Why?
The number of searches done on the Internet is in the hundreds of billions annually. The way that most people are able to get to a website these days is through search engines. It is much harder for your website to be highly ranked without being optimised for search engines.
The number of pages on the Internet has grown to over 4 billion so increasing importance has been placed upon the fact that your web page is easy to search and is indexed by search engines. If not, you will find that you will not have the sales results that you would like from the Internet.
You can buy traffic to come to your website but you will find that you are missing out on an important piece of the sales ‘pie’ by not focusing on organic traffic.
How?
To get your website indexed within the search engines, you must have original content that is in high demand. Search engines index web pages by sending their search bots through these different web pages.
The search bots are looking for many different factors but the key is your website’s content. The information must be valuable both to the search bots so that they index you as well as to your readers.
For more information about SEO, take a look at SEO, Keywords and Stuff – 3 Golden Rules.
January 22nd, 2009 — copywriting, copywriting services, copywriting tips, freelance copywriting
Today I hosted a Live Web Chat for BT Tradespace on freelance copywriting for business. Just in case you missed the chat it is posted here so you can replay the action.
| Tradespacer live chat – Copywriting for business with Sally Ormond |
(01/22/2009)
Powered by:
CoveritLive |
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12:22
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Sally Ormond: Hi,
Welcome to the live web chat on copywriting for business. My name is Sally Ormond and I run Briar Copywriting. I have been freelance copywritng for about 18 months or so working with a diverse range of clients across many industries.
So, if you have any questions about copywriting – whether for the web or offline – I will do my best to answer them for you.
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12:24
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BT Tradespace:
Hello everyone, thank you for joining us today for the Live chat.
Thank you to Sally for hosting this today.
The Cover it live platform allows us
to view your comments/questions before we push them live, so if you
experience a delay in seeing your question appear, don’t worry. The
chat is easier to read when we push questions live just before they are
answered.
Many thanks, and over to you with your questions!
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12:30
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[Comment From Sian]
Hello, thanks for providing this chat – I’m looking forward to it. |
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12:30
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Sally Ormond: Hi Sian, thanks for dropping by.
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12:30
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[Comment From Sarah Thompson]
Hi Sally |
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12:30
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Sally Ormond: Hi Sarah
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12:31
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[Comment From Sian]
I’m pretty new to copy writing – never really seen creating copy as a strength of mine, but according to those around me I’m not too bad at it. Do you have any tips for people who are starting out? |
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12:33
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Sally Ormond: Hi Sian,
Basically whatever you are writing, always make sure your write for your reader. By that I mean always keep in your mind what it is that they want – i.e. the benefits of whatever you are providing for them – why will it make their life better?
Always avoid the ‘me marketing’ trap whereby companies talk about themselves without thinking about what their customers want – after all the customer only wants to know what’s in it for them. |
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12:34
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[Comment From Sian]
How do you decide on the tone? I try to write about what the customer’s interested in – benefits rather than features, etc, but I feel it often comes across as a bit patronising. |
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12:35
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Sally Ormond: You need to identify who your reader is – basically your tone will depend on your market. If your ideal customer is quite young then tailor your language and tone accordingly.
Really, if you can keep your writing conversational you won’t go too far wrong. |
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12:36
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[Comment From Tasha]
Some copywriters have argued that more text is better, as people will read it if they’re interested, but other people have said that short and sweet is better. What do you think? |
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12:37
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Sally Ormond: Hi Tasha,
Really it depends on what you are writing. Indeed most DM that you see is very long and works (although I never read that stuff as I don’t have time!). Basically it should be as long as it needs to be to get your message across.
Personally I prefer keeping things short and sweet – the punchier the better. |
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12:37
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[Comment From NikkiPilkington.com]
Hi Sally, obviously copywriting is becoming more and more important in terms of SEO and how Google views a site – how do you ensure that your copy has the right amount of keyphrases for Google but still reads OK for the reader? |
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12:39
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Sally Ormond: Hi Nikki,
Yes, copywriting is incredibly important for SEO. I always write webcopy with the reader in mind and not Google. That isn’t to say that it is not SEO’d to the max.
Always use your keywords in your H1 headings and sub headings and in the first line of copy following these headings. Then they should appear within the content too – you should look for a density of arounr 3 to 5%.
If you follow that, your writing will remain reader friendly whilst being SEO friendly too. |
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12:40
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[Comment From NikkiPilkington.com]
What are your thoughts on the American Sales Letter type of copywriting? |
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12:41
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Sally Ormond: American Style sales letters – personally I can’t stand them, but they do seem to work.
If I read anything like that I switch off immediately, but that’s just my opinion. In my view, you sales pitch should be strong and to the point. Sell the benefits let them know what the features are and a strong call to action – that’s all you need. |
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12:42
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[Comment From Sarah Thompson]
The most difficult part of any copy is the beginning for me, trying to write something in a way that will grab the attention of the reader so they will read on. Have you any tips on how to do this more effectively? |
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12:44
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Sally Ormond: Hi Sarah,
Headings are always difficult – you need to grab their attention by identifying what you are selling and why – give them a hook, something that will draw them in, whether its a price cut, discount, guarantee, your unique selling point.
It’s not easy and probably is the hardest part of any writing, but done well it will work.
If you are stuck list the benefits and find the one that really catched your attention and lead with that one. |
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12:44
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[Comment From Maggie]
For those of us not in the know – Whats an American Style Sales letter? |
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12:46
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Sally Ormond: Hi Maggie,
The American Style sales letter is those that tend to go on rather a lot – you’ve probably seen them. In print form they can be several pages long. You can also find web pages written in the same style – they are the ones you seem to be scrolling down forever which different font colours and sizes with the CTA right at the end. |
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12:46
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[Comment From Sian]
I also hate the American style sales letters – are there any stats on how they work? I can that they might to a very small market, but is there any research comparing them with other styles? (Which I suppose leads me to a wider question of whether you can recommend any good research sites/orgnaisations who provide stats like that) |
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12:47
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Sally Ormond: Hi Sian,
I’m not aware of any sites that provide stats like this – it would be interesting to see something like that so if anyone knows of any perhaps they would be good enough to post the link here. |
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12:47
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[Comment From Nik]
I see you writing lots of articles, which obviously promote you – would you recommend that people who want to do some article marketing use a copywriter, or try and do it themselves? Won’t people KNOW if my articles are being written by someone other than me? |
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12:49
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[Comment From Maggie]
Thanks Sally – Yes I have seen those – Very dull in my mind! No time to read through it all. |
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12:49
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Sally Ormond: Hi Nikki,
Yes, I write loads of articles and yes, it’s agreat way to get my name out there into cyberspace.
If you have the time and patience then definitely write them yourself. However many companies simply don’t have the time to do this type of promotion. Therefore they hire someone to do them for them. |
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12:49
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[Comment From Maggie]
Hi, Like Sarah I also have trouble with the start, but for me it’s really the Headline that I will spend ages trying to write. Is there a good formula for writting a catchy headline? |
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12:52
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Sally Ormond: Hi Maggie,
Here is a quick headling writing guide:
1. What are you selling? – be specific and make it interesting
2. How much is it? – use this in your headling if the price is important
3. What is in it for them? – this is the hook
4. What happens if it doesn’t work? – do you give them a guarantee
An example of an excellent headline that followed thi formula is the Dominoes PIzza Add headline:
Hot Pizza Delievered to Your Door in 30 Minutes or Less or It’s Free!
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12:52
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[Comment From Jo]
What are your top three do’s and don’ts of copywriting? |
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12:53
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Sally Ormond: Hi Jo,
Always write for your reader
Avoid using jargon
Always sell the benefits of your product/service |
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12:53
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[Comment From Henry]
What is your take on having a different copy on the website (online retail) compared to a direct mail piece? |
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12:56
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Sally Ormond: Hi Henry,
Your direct mail piece doesn’t have to worry about SEO for a start. Therefore you can perhaps be a bit more creative and unrestricted in what you write.
The direct mail also has to be strong enough to draw your reader to your website for example if that is where they have to got to buy or sign up for your service.
Your web copy has to also ‘look right’ – people tend to scan read web sites so that is something else that you have to bear in mind when laying out your copy online.
They are very different modes of communication and therefore this is bound to be reflected in the writing style adopted for each. |
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12:57
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[Comment From Tom]
Hi. How much time per week would you suggest is put aside for writing blogs, newsletters etc? I know it is a must do, I just keep running out of time to get it done! |
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1:00
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Sally Ormond: Hi Tom,
Time is always an issue. Blogging can be time consuming. Normally what I do, is that I have a book next to me so whenever inspiration for a blog hits I write it down. Then I maybe spend 20 minutes a day (or thereabouts) writing the blog posts. They don’t have to be long, so I can knock one or two out in that time. Then I just add them to my blog and schedule them.
For newsletters, assuming this is going out to your customer base, you need to spend more time on these to ensure you are getting the right message across and the right content.
Normally I take a week to write mine, when working with clients I normally give up to 2 weeks to make sure then end product is what is required.
It is time consuming but something that is necessary and will pay dividends if done well. |
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1:01
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[Comment From Peter]
For a web page, is there an optimum number of words you should use in your copy for maximum attention? |
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1:02
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Sally Ormond: Hi Peter,
Normally for web pages I would say use as many words as necessary but without going to far beyond the scroll down point. There is nothing worse than a web page that is about 1000 words long.
I would say about 300-400 words would be a good length. You wouldn’t really want to go beyond that.
Make sure your copy is broken up with plenty of headings, sub headings, bullet points and white space – that will make it much easier for people to read. |
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1:02
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[Comment From Sian]
Not all copy is directly selling. Is there anything in particular you should bear in mind when writing for a newsletter/report for example, other than the general tone of your brand and your all important audience? |
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1:04
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Sally Ormond: Hi Sian,
Make it interesting – that is the key. If it doesn’t capture their attention then they won’t read it!
Provide benefits (there’s that word again), and advice that will make your readers’ lives easier. |
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1:04
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[Comment From Maggie]
Following on from Henry’s question, where do emails sit in this mix? Should they be treated like direct mail? |
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1:06
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Sally Ormond: Hi Maggie,
Emails are like mini newsletters – the art with these is to provide information, capture attention and get the reader to act all in the space of about 100-200 words max.
You need a stong headling (which is your subject line), a powerful first line with a hook that will get them to read on, and finally a stong call to action – normally a hyperlink through to your sales web page. |
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1:07
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[Comment From Richard Peacock]
It has become quite fashionable to write in the ‘innocent’ style of being, er… innocent, open and quite homemade. As everyone jumps on the bandwagon will this style become clichéd and do you forecast any future trends in copywriting? |
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1:10
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Sally Ormond: Hi Richard,
The problem with any style that becomes popular is that eventually it becomes cliched.
Trying to come up with a unique approach is difficult so I would recommend that you write in a style that is reflective of you and your company.
I find that writing that is conversational works best – it helps to build rapport with your reader. As for future trends…if I could forcast them I would be doing them now and be ahead of the game  , but seriously no one knows what’s round the corner and it will be interesting to see what happens. |
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1:10
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[Comment From Maggie]
Thanks Sally, great tips |
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1:10
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Sally Ormond: My pleasure Maggie, I hope you find them useful |
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1:11
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[Comment From Tom]
Thanks Sally, do you have any thoughts on the use of images in newsletters? Do you find they perform better with or without them? |
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1:12
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Sally Ormond: I think newsletter are strengthened with images.
Mainly because a sea of text is rather daunting. It becomes more palatable when images are used. Of course, they should be relevant to the content of your newsletter and should add something to it rather than just being there to be pretty. |
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1:13
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[Comment From Peter]
Hi, me again, following on from Tom’s question about images, what about the use of video. Would you use text copy and video together? |
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1:17
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Sally Ormond: Hi Peter,
It would rather depend on the medium you were using.
If it is for a website then definitely, video is a great way to interact with your audience. You have to remember that not everyone likes to take on board information through reading text alone therefore visuals and videos are great to add variety.
It can either be embedded and referred to within the text to make a point clearer or it can simply be added to a side bar (like the one on my blog).
Personally I don’t think it would work for newsletters – but I am always ready to be convinced otherwise. |
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1:17
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[Comment From Tom]
Thanks Sally! |
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1:17
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Sally Ormond: That’s ok Tom, hope you are finding this useful |
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1:19
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[Comment From Sian]
Can you recommend any good courses for people wanting to learn more about writing copy in the UK? Or books? |
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1:20
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BT Tradespace: Hi All, We have ten minutes left with Sally, so if you have any more questions, post them quick 😉 Thanks – Amy |
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1:22
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Sally Ormond: Hi Sian,
There are lots of copywriting courses out there if you search on Google. I’m not sure how good any of them are though.
The same goes for books but I can personally recommend “Write to Sell, the Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting” by Andy Maslen and also “The Well-Fed Writer” by Peter Bowerman. If you want something more specific to web copywriting ans SEO then “Content Rich” by Jon Wuebben is also good. |
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1:24
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[Comment From Maggie]
Hi again Sally, one more from me. When blogging I find it hard to get the balance between showing my products and just general info to get people reading. I don’t want to seem like I’m selling all the time – any tips? |
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1:25
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Sally Ormond: Hi Maggie,
Yes, that can be a difficult balance to achieve. Perhaps you should look to write ‘my 10 top tips for…’ or something like that. What is it that you sell? |
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1:25
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[Comment From Jo]
Thank you Sally. That was great. |
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1:26
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Sally Ormond: Thank you Jo for your questions |
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1:26
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[Comment From Anna]
I’ve been allocated 1 day per month to write a newsletter at my company, do you think that is enough time? |
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1:28
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Sally Ormond: Hi Anna,
It depends on the length and content – it can be done in a day. but really the more time you have the better. Often you will need to produce several drafts of the newsletter before it really begins to gel. |
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1:28
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[Comment From Maggie]
Hi Sally, I sell handmade Childrens clothing, I like the idea of a Top tips post, hadn’t thought of that – thanks |
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1:29
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Sally Ormond: That’s Ok Maggie – also think of keywords that your customers will be looking for and write blogs on those too. Good luck with it. |
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1:30
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Sally Ormond: Thank you to everyone who dropped by to take part in this web chat. The questions have been fantastic and I hope that you have all found my responses useful. |
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1:30
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BT Tradespace: Thank you to everyone for joining us today, and a big thank you to Sally for sharing your advice with us.
If you missed any of the chat, you can replay it in full from the blog.
Best wishes, I’ll now close this chat.
Amy |
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1:30
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[Comment From Sian]
Thanks Sally! |
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1:30
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