Entries from November 2010 ↓

I have written several posts in the past about the importance of search engine optimisation. For a newcomer to SEO arena there’s a lot to take in:

• Keywords
• Alt tags
• Header tags
• Title tags
• META descriptions
• Links

It can be very daunting trying to get to grips with what each of these terms mean, how to find the keywords your target audience are searching for and that’s even before you get round to thinking about how to produce SEO Copywriting that works, is relevant and interesting to your reader.

Have you got a headache yet?

So how can a complete beginner start to grasp the basics of SEO?

Well I could write an extremely long post about the intricacies of each elements but that would be boring and you’re unlikely to have the time to wade through it all. But, as it would just so happen, I stumbled across a superb post by Mike Mindel of WordTracker that takes you through all the main elements in a very simple-to-understand way.

In previous posts you would have seen me refer to Google’s keyword tool, well WordTracker is a similar tool to help you easily research and discover the keywords you need to target. It is a pay-to-use tool but you can try it out for free with their 7 day risk free trial. Check it out, it’s well worth it.

Anyway, back to the really important stuff. Mike has put together a video that runs through the basics of how to SEO your web pages. It explains in simple language how to find your keywords and how to use them in your title tags, META descriptions, heading tags and image tags as well as the importance of using diverse keywords and linking.

It’s about 19 minutes in length so grab a coffee, sit down and take a look by clicking the button below. It could be your first step to great rankings.

As a freelance copywriter I receive numerous requests for quotes every week.

They can be anything from new website copywriting, content for a brochure or direct mail letters to newsletters, email marketing and case studies. To make sure I get all the information I need I use a pro-forma that asks a series of questions designed to extract as much information as possible from the client so I can put together a comprehensive proposal and quote.

Most of the time clients are more than happy to complete the form in a very detailed way. However, every so often, clients will just jot down the bare bones of what they’re looking for assuming I’ll be able to fill in the blanks.

I’m good, but I’m not that good.

What your copywriter needs to know

When I first started as a freelance copywriter, one friend said to me “But why would I need a copywriter? You couldn’t possible know my business better than I do” and he was right, I couldn’t – not only that, I would never suggest I did. But that’s not what copywriting is about.

It’s not about who knows your business the best, it’s about who can write the strongest sales message.

Business owners tend to want to write about their business and achievements. They find it difficult to stand back and see their company from their customers’ point of view. And that’s were a professional copywriter comes into their own. 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.

But to be able to do that, your writer is going to need as much information as possible about your company, its services and products, its ethos as well as the tone you want to convey.

Can’t you just write it?

As I mentioned earlier most of my clients appreciate what they need to provide me with, but there’s always the odd one that doesn’t. They think they’re doing my job for me by providing me with information – well, I don’t have a crystal ball, I don’t know your company intimately so I can’t write fabulous copy just from you company name.

To illustrate my point consider what would happen if you wanted someone to build you a house. When you sit down with your builder to brief him and say – “I want you to build me a house. Get on with it.”

Is he going to say “OK” and start building? Very unlikely.

He’ll want to know:

• What style you want – detached, semi, bungalow
• How many bedrooms
• How big the rooms should be
• How many rooms you want
• How big is it going to be

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”.

The copywriter/client relationship is a very close one. You have to work together to achieve the right copy. It’s a very collaborative approach and one that can create a strong working relationship. The more work your copywriter does for you, the better they get to know your company. They will be able to make suggestions and point out areas of your marketing that need strengthening, giving your income a much needed boost.

A great copywriter is a valuable asset for any company to have and a worthwhile investment. Through their marketing expertise your company will gain the upper hand. Through powerful brochures and email campaigns to strong SEO website copy to boost your rankings, your copywriter is quite literally worth their weight in gold.

There are umpteen posts out there about Twitter and getting the most out of it.

People are full of advice about how you should or should not use it for business. They tell you catagorically what you can and can’t tweet – but what happened to freedom of speech (or tweet)? Why can’t you use it how you want to use it?

Well I’m not about to jump on the band wagon and dictate to you. But what I am going to do is introduce you to a post I recently read on socialmediaexaminer.com which as a great list of 26 Twitter tips to enhance your tweets. It is a great post to help you make the most of thise 140 characters.

A short but sweet post today – hope you find the tips useful.

What better way to make your voice heard than blogging?

It gives you a platform from which you can spread your expertise across a global audience. You can engage people in conversations, generate a regular following, get people excited about your company—the possibilities are endless.

But one thing putting many people off embarking on a life of blogging is the time and dedication that it takes.

Dedication

One of the main characteristics of a good blogger is their dedication. If you want to engage with readers consistently you have to generate quality content time and again.

Your posts should be useful to your readers, thought provoking so they generate comments and debate. If you write great posts that are interesting and relevant you will encourage your readers to visit your blog again and again and spread the word about your content to generate a wider readership.

But most of all, your writing has to add value to your relationship with them.

Ideas

Generating a constant stream of ideas isn’t easy. But inspiration can come from anywhere so be ready for it when it strikes.

Keep a pen and paper near to hand so you can jot down ideas as and when they occur to you. Ideas can be sparked from conversations, reading other blogs, watching TV, magazine articles—absolutely anywhere.

Useful

By keeping your posts brief you can deliver bite sized gems of information that your readers that are easy to absorb. Although there’s nothing wrong with longer posts, remember how time limited we all are these days and deliver your information in a concise form. And above all, make sure it is interesting, useful and relevant.

Variety

Not everyone wants to read, not everyone wants to watch video, not everyone wants to listen to audio, but by offering a variety for information formats you will be providing something for everyone.

When to write

There are no hard and fast rules about when you should write your blog posts. Everyone’s different but writing regularly is the key.

Personally my main writing time is a Sunday morning. But, if I get the opportunity during the week, I’ll write several posts and schedule them. Get in to a routine, stick with it and you’ll end up with a constant library of great content.

Author: Sally Ormond, freelance copywriter and blogger

Content marketing is all about getting out there, getting found and building a reputation for expertise in your field.

But simply churning out articles and blogs isn’t good enough. You have to concentrate on generating quality content if you want your hard work to pay off.

There are three elements that go together to help you excel at content marketing:

• Create content that sells you
• Content that is optimised for the search engines to increase its longevity
• Repurpose your content and spread the word

Many people don’t get the idea of content marketing—it’s hard work—I don’t have time for it—no one reads it anyway…

Think like that and you’ll never get anywhere. But think of content marketing as a dirty great big megaphone that ensures your message reaches the parts other marketing can’t reach and you begin to understand its potential.

If your readers see your content all over the internet they will believe your company is providing great content, your giving valuable information, you are a market leader which means they’ll be more inclined to pick you over and above your competitors.

Content generation means you’ll get found

So what is content?

We are not just talking about white papers and reports, your content can be in the form of articles, blogs, videos, FAQs, audio.

Offering a variety of styles will appeal to different audiences therefore ensuring your message will be heard loud and clear. Not everyone likes to read long reports, not everyone likes to watch video, not everyone likes to listen to audio but by offering all forms of media you will provide something for everyone.

How to make your content great

1. Don’t be over promotional

The first thing to remember when creating your content is for it not to be constantly promotional. Yes you are producing content to promote your company but it can be done in subtle ways.

By giving information to help your readers, you will be showing yourself as an expert that is open and approachable. That alone will promote you without you blatantly pushing your products and services.

2. Be relevant

For your information to resonate with your reader it has to be relevant to them. You have to understand what your reader wants and generate it for them.

3. Well-written

You may not be writing a novel but your content must till be written like a best-seller. It has to be engaging, it has to be in good English, grammatically correct—you can’t afford to put out information that is sloppy and not thought through.

4. Relevant to your company

As your readership begins to grow, you must ensure you produce content that is relevant to your marketplace and your company.

If you are a copywriter and suddenly start writing about shoes (OK daft example but you get my drift), you audience is going to be left wandering what on earth’s going on. So make sure you keep on subject.

For example on this blog I talk about copywriting, social media marketing, search engine optimisation, online marketing, off line marketing—basically all aspects of sales and marketing. So as you can see it doesn’t have to narrow, you can widen your scope of encompass all elements of your chosen field.

5. Promote it

If you’re going to write it, promote it—otherwise what’s the point?

Use all the tools available to you—social media, PR, search engine optimisation—make it stand out and get it in front of your audience.

So if you want to excel at content marketing, write regularly, write well, write relevant material and promote it.