Entries Tagged 'freelance copywriter' ↓

If you own a business, you can’t help but have noticed that online is the place to be these days.

The vast majority of the population is searching the internet for the goods and services they want, so if you want be part of the action you have to have an online presence.

But lobbing a website into cyber space isn’t as easy as it sounds.

There are a number of online marketing pitfalls just waiting for the unsuspecting business owner who perhaps isn’t quite as web savvy as they think. That’s not meant to be criticism of all business owners – it’s just that the web changes at an alarming rate so it is vital you understand it and keep up with the latest techniques, taboos and pitfalls that await you.

Having a successful web presence takes time and money. Throwing any old thing together will kill your business quicker than anything. After all if you had a High Street store you would make sure the window display was inviting to passers by. Your website is your online shop window so treat it as that. It should be professional, appealing and tailored to your business needs.

This superb post on Copyblogger will help you navigate the mine field that is online marketing. Mel Brennan’s post 6 Online Marketing Mistakes that Will Kill Your Business takes you by the hand and walks you through the 6 no-nos of internet marketing.

It’s really worth taking a few minutes of your day to read through it and make sure you’re not committing any cardinal sins.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

Do you have a website? If so, how is it performing?

I’m not talking about its load time or looks but rather how many of your visitors go on to become customers – i.e. we are talking about its conversion rate.

As a copywriter I frequently come across websites that look pretty, have a lot of content, even rank well and yet the owners are at a loss as to why it doesn’t convert its visitors into sales. Even scarier is when people state:

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?”

There is a simple way to boost your conversion rate, although this post is entitled the Number 1 secret to websites that convert; it’s not really a secret, it should be common sense.

How to make your website convert

First off I want to look at the behaviour of people searching the internet.

If they are looking for a specific product or service they will enter their search term into Google and then open a new tab for each website that takes their fancy. The idea behind this is that they can compare what each company is offering.  They’ll want to know what’s in it for them if they buy from your company.

Have you guessed the number 1 secret to website that convert yet?

That’s right – you have to identify your unique value proposition. But not only identify it, make sure it is the first thing your potential customer sees.

Your UVP is going to be the main benefit you offer. Something that is going to set you apart from your competitors,

It could be a free bonus item, price reduction, guarantee – something that is of real value to your reader.

That is the secret behind the biggest converting websites.

If you hide your UVP within your text, do you really think the reader is going to take the time to read the entire content of your site to find it?

No, they won’t. The one thing people have very little of these days is time. So make their job easier by announcing your UVP immediately and clearly. And make sure it is on all your pages – after all, there is a chance they’ll land on a page other than your Home Page. A simple banner across the top of all your pages announcing your UVP will do the trick.

Make it big, make it bold, make it seen.

So, now you know what to do if you want to boost your conversion rate. Take a look at your website, identify your UVP and shout about it. Then watch what happens to your conversion rate.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

I’ve been working as a freelance copywriter now for about three years. Over that period I have been frequently contacted by new copywriters asking advice about how to get their fledgling freelance careers off the ground.

One question that I am always asked is whether they should ever do work for free.

Is free work beneficial?

When starting out you immediately find yourself in a Catch 22 – you need to find clients to build up a portfolio, but potential clients want to see your previous work. So how do you get those first few clients?

It is a difficult one, especially if you are coming to freelance copywriting without any specific previous experience. If you have worked as a copywriter within a company or agency, you at least have examples of projects you worked on. But if you are new to the industry, the chances are you have nothing.

So should you work for nothing?

My usual reply is ‘no’.

So have I ever produced work for nothing?

Yes.

Rather contradictory? Yes, but I have only ever done a freebie under certain circumstances. It looks as though I’m not the only one too as this post by Lorraine Thompson shows –

Copywriters: Should You Write Copy For Free? 5 Cases For Working Without Pay

The only occasions I would consider free work are:

• As a donation to a charity I support
• As a barter
• When it’s a great portfolio enhancing opportunity
• For friends and family
• To self promote

But if you are approched for free work and you’re tempted, stop and think about it.

Will it help you? Will your business benefit from it in some way?

Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons otherwise it will be an expensive use of your time – that you won’t get paid for!

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter

I’m sure you’ve read enough blog posts to know that search engine optimisation is the thing to be doing these days if you have a website.

Good organic search results are the holy grail for many business and, in the long run, are much cheaper that using PPC (pay per click) advertising.

But understanding how to create great copy that will contribute to great rankings and be interesting to your reader is not easy. Therefore many company’s take the sensible option to invest in the services of a SEO Copywriter who knows what they are doing.

Your on page SEO cheatsheet

If you do your own web copy in house, I stumbled across this great post on Conversation Marketing which will prove invaluable to you. If you are responsible for uploading images, writing articles or tweaking your company’s website copy, this On Page SEO Cheatsheet will show you how to get the most from your onpage SEO elements:

To get your copy click here and download the PDF.

The way we read is being revolutionised.

With advances in technology it is now ‘cool’ to read our favourite books on a Kindle reader:

“A revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper”

No, I’m sorry but that’s just not right.

I don’t want to hold an inanimate object and read from a screen. For me reading is about connecting with something tangible. I like to hold a book, feel it’s pages, listen to the gentle sound as each page is turned, see the creases in the spine – I WANT TO TO TURN PAGES!!!

On holiday I’ll take several novels. Yes they take up space in my luggage but I don’t care. I can read them anywhere without fear of getting a flat battery.

There is something special about a book – whether it’s new or second hand – that can never be replaced by a screen.

If the text in my book is small, compact and endless, I don’t care. I’ll read it. But if writing on a screen is small, compact and endless I won’t read it.

It’s just like websites and blogs that you see which are crammed to the rafters with copy. They are so difficult to read. Writing copy for the web is very different from writing for printed media. Most people find reading from a screen difficult and if they are faced with a wall of text, they probably won’t even bother.

Make your writing look interesting

Content has to look attractive to make someone read it.

Creating space around your words is more likely to encourage someone to read them.

Rather than writing long paragraphs of text, break it up into chunks separated by white space. Insert sub headings to signal to your reader what each section is about.

Basically, if you want people to read the content on your website you have to make it look inviting. Your copy has to be interesting, relevant and search engine friendly. Getting the right amount of content on your page is vital – but good SEO Copywriting doesn’t necessarily mean writing thousands and thousands of words.

So what is the optimium amount of copy? Well the simple answer is it depends.

You’ll need enough to get your keywords in and enough to make sure you get your message across to your reader. At the end of the day it will depend on the competitiveness of the keywords you have chosen and what you actually want to say.

Getting your web content right is vital for your search engine optimisation so it pays to invest in the services of a good SEO Copywriter who understands how to write great content  that is appealing to your reader and the search engine spiders.

For me, no amount of electronic gizmos will ever replace a good old fashioned book. Reading from a screen is always going to be difficult so if you want people to read your material make sure you follow the advice in this blog post.

Sally Ormond – freelance copywriter