Freelance copywriting is what makes sales literature and websites make the reader take action. So all those brochures, websites and emails you receive would (probably) have been written by a freelance copywriter.
They really are the secret weapon of marketeers. You see it is their creativity that makes an advertisement memorable or a website readable.
Watch this short video so get an essence of what a freelance copywriter could do for your business.
Proofreading may be boring but it is the one thing that stands between a letter, email or newsletter of quality and a shoddy piece of marketing that lands itself in the bin.
It is a job that most people avoid like the plague, but proofreading should be seen as (probably) the most vital stage in any marketing push.
One thing that drives me mad is when I receive emails from people who obviously haven’t read through them before clicking the send button. It doesn’t take long to cast your eye over it. OK, I’m not totally fallable and have been known to make the odd gaffe – but that at least shows I’m human.
But when you are writing for a company, excellent proofreading services are vital. And there are three very simple steps you can take to make sure this doesn’t happen to you:
A recent example of this (and in fact the very thing that prompted me to write this) landed on my mat this morning. It was a mail shot from Google offering a free Google Adwords voucher.
As you could imagine my eyes lit up when I saw this – as I began to read their ‘5 reasons to attract more customers with Google Adwords‘ I couldn’t help but stiffle a giggle as I read number 1:
1. You control where you ad is showing – by country, region or town
It may only be a missing ‘r’ but it was amusing to see that even a company as big as Google occasionally make an error.
So what are the three simple steps? Well…
Get someone else to proofread for you – The services of a professional proofreader are invaluable. Externally sourcing editing services is money well spent especially when writing direct mail letters or reports that will have a wide readership (please note this Google!).
Leave it for a few days – By that I mean that if you have to proofread your own work, put it aside for a day or two and work on something else. That way, when you come to review it you should be able to read it with a fresh pair of eyes.
Read backwards – No, I haven’t gone barking mad. If you read it backwards (i.e. from the last sentence to the first) you will be able to spot mistakes easily as what you are reading will make no sense whatsoever so you will find that you will be looking at each word harder.
Basically if you can make use of external proofreading or editing services, then do so as it will save you pounds in the long run. A new pair of eyes will always be better than the old ones (so to speak). But if you have no choice but to proofread your own work, try one of the techniques above – it might just save your blushes.
Advertising copywriting is an essential tool that all businesses should be using for their on and off line marketing strategies.
In my ealier post on copywriting services I illustrated this point with the well known example of Kelloggs during the American repression. But it’s not just the fact that you can’t let your advertising and marketing slip when the economic climate becomes gloomy, you also have to ensure that your advertising and marketing copywriting is effective.
Whether you are looking to start a direct mail campaign or concentrate on your online presence, your advertising and marketing copywriting is where you need to start.
When writing you need to follow these 4 simple rules:
Shout about the benefits – whether you are writing website copy or direct mail, your copywriting must illustrate the benefits of your product or service to your reader.
Unique selling point – there has to be a reason why your reader should choose your product above another one.
Tell them what they need to do – without a strong call to action your hard work will be wasted.
Your advertising copywriting is the key to your marketing success. Whether it is done in-house or whether you hire the services of a freelance copywriter it is essential that it adheres to the 4 steps outlined above. This list is not exhuastive by any means, but it is a great start to ensure that your marketing is effective.
Well, if you are a business that does a lot of marketing – that’s probably just about every business – copywriting services are what can turn your surviving business into a thriving business.
Copywriting is basically another word for sales writing. Therefore you can see how much it would impact on your daily business routine.
There is your website copy, newsletters, email content, blogs, articles…and that’s just for starters. So you see, the strength of your sales writing has a direct effect on your sales performance.
Before you start shouting at your screen – yes I know we are in a recession right now, I know money is tight but whatever you do, don’t trim back on your marketing budget. No matter what the economic climate, marketing is essential.
Don’t believe me?
Well here is a very famous case in point. During the depression of 1929-33(ish) Kelloggs in the USA (whose cornflakes were a health food at the time) continued to promote as heavily with adverts, posters etc as they had been doing before that. By the time the depression was over there were no other breakfast cereals that anyone had heard of and Kelloggs achieved almost instant market domination, a position they’ve held ever since.
See, I told you.
So what are the 4 reasons why copywriting services work?
They keep your product/service visible in the market place and therefore in the forefront of your customers’ mind.
Well written copy will increase your credibility within the market place.
Professionally written persuasive copy will help you by increasing your sales through targeted leads and web traffic.
By hiring a professional to write for you will free up your time to do what you do best.
Therefore it is a no-brainer. To make your company thrive and stand out in the market place you need to invest in professional copywriting services.
You have a great product and service so shout about it.
If a freelance copywriter is to build rapport, create a bond and be interesting all at the same time, they have to be positive.
There is no bigger turn-off in the land of sales writing that a piece that starts of being negative.
Would you want to read a letter that was constantly negative?
No.
That is why copywriters will always (wherever possible) try and keep their readers happy by offering them good news and happy endings; they keep their writing positive.
By steering away from negative words and phrases your copywriting will automatically take on a positive feel. It’s not exactly rocket science.
To illustrate this point, I have listed below a few negative phrases that you may have come across and their positive equivalents:
Negative Positive
Don’t delay Hurry
Don’t forget Remember
Your money back if you’re not satisfied Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back
There’s never a better time to… Now is the ideal time to…
I’m sure you’ll agree it makes quite a difference.
