Entries from April 2011 ↓

Something strange happens to people when they try to communicate through writing. Their normal chatty engaging style goes out the window for something more akin to a literary novel.

Why?

You’re still talking to the same people (your customers), it’s just through the written word rather than voice.

Getting the tone and voice of your copy right can make a huge difference to customer engagement and your conversion rates. Your copywriter will be able to adapt their writing style to any ‘voice’ you want, but you might have to give them a few clues.

What do you really want?

Your copywriter is an expert at what they do, however that doesn’t make them a mind reader.

When you brief them make sure you give them a real taste of what you’re after with regards to the voice and tone you want the copy to convey.

Saying something like – “I want quirky”, or “I want something fresh” doesn’t really help. Granted they realise the type of approach you’re after but quirky and fresh could cover numerous styles.

It is very likely you’ve done your research and come across another website or brochure etc., that uses the style you’re after. If so, cite them as examples to your copywriter so they can read the material and get a real feel for what you are trying to achieve.

The copywriting process is a very collaborative one. You can’t just hand over a brief and expect copy that is spot on first time (OK, that’s not strictly true, that does happen sometimes – and it’s great when it does – but frequently it’s not until you actually see the copy that you begin to work out what it is you really want).

The first draft is the copywriter’s visualisation of what the brief you provided asked them for. Once you see the copy it is then shaped into exactly what you want.

By giving a visual example of the tone/voice you want will help the creation process enormously so please make sure you provide examples wherever possible.

A while ago I was asked by the Guardian On Line to take part in their Q&A forum about how to become a freelance copywriter.

Following the success of that session I have been asked to take part in their next Q&A session on how to break into Copywriting tomorrow, 5th April 2011.

The discussion will take place between 1pm and 4pm and there will be a panel of experts available for you to throw your questions at including yours truly and my fellow scribes Tom Albrighton and Ben Locker. So if there’s anything you want to know feel free to hurl your questions at us and we’ll do our best to answer them for you.

We do have to type quite fast so please excuse any typos you may come across and make sure you aim all your really tricky questions at Ben and Tom – they love ’em.

So if you want to learn more about how to break into the world of copywriting drop by tomorrow’s Guardian Q&A session between 1 and 4pm and ask away.

See you there.

You may have been trying to ignore social media but whether you think it’s for you or not, it’s here to stay.

Leveraging the social power of the internet is vital for any business today regardless of industry. Understanding how to use it correctly is the key to success so you must come up with a strategy before you dive in.

The most important aspect of any social interation is listening. Without listening you won’t know what your customers are talking about, what’s important to them, or where they’re hanging out. After all, what’s the point in using visual channels such as YouTube and investing a shed load of cash in video marketing if your audience use Twitter and Facebook?

Listen – Content – Socialise – Measure

Those four words are the key stages of any successful social media strategy as identified by Lee Oden in his post 4 Steps to Social Media Success on toprankblog.com.

If you want to develop a great strategy that works it’s well worth a read. Lee helps you understand the importance of listening to identify where your market hangs out, the importance and types of content you can generate, how to socialise effectively and, most importantly, how to measure your effectiveness.

This basic structure will help you develop a strategy that will promote your brand, develop relationships with customers and potential business partners and generate content that will also help make you stand out in the search engine rankings.

Social media is here to stay. It will constantly evolve so now’s the time to get on board.

We don’t talk any more.

That’s what people are saying.

Today we communicate through email, text, Facebook, Twitter etc. The art of conversation is dying.

Is it really that bad?

Have advances in technology, and in particular social media, begun to change the way society interacts?

For some social media is killing conversation and personal interaction; for others social media is opening up new channels of communication and giving opportunities never before offered.

Which camp are you in?

It’s advances in things such as Wi-Fi that have really revolutionised our work and social lives. Now you can tweet, Facebook and blog practically anywhere which is changing the way we work.

I came across this entertaining and thought provoking post by David Murton on Convince and Convert – Is Wi-Fi Making You Anti Social? It’s well worth a read and addresses the way in which greater connectivity has made social media on the move easier and takes a look at how it could change society.

What are your thoughts?

Sally Ormond – Copywriter, blogger and social media addict