Freelance Copywriting, marketing and social media tips

You already know testimonials are like gold dust.

They give potential clients a glimpse at what you’re like to work with and an idea of how you’ve helped other companies.

You also know they have to be attributed to a specific person because there are so many bogus ones out there.

Well, did you also know there are some very dubious companies out there who think it’s OK to cut and paste testimonials from one company and claim them as their own?

I would never have believed someone could stoop so low had I not had first hand experience of such people.

To cut a very long story short, my company website is about to have a makeover. As a result, a number of social media sites that I am on will have to be updated, so in a rare moment of spare time I set about doing a search to make sure I found all the sites. Can you imagine my horror when the search turned up a copywriting website that had stolen three of my testimonials and claimed them as their own!

How could I tell?

They weren’t bright enough to remove the reference to my name or company in one of them.

I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

The problem is the company in question is in America.

An email has been sent asking them to remove the testimonials and, at the time of writing this, I am waiting for a response. If nothing happens further action will be taken.

I am staggered that there are people out there who:

1. Think this is OK
2. Are too bone idle to work hard for their own testimonials
3. Has such little regard for copyright laws

The moral of this short tale?

Do a Google search on your company and check out any of the URLs that come up that look a bit odd.

Author: Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting Ltd

It had to happen sooner or later.

The social media giant, Facebook, no longer satisfied with invading our personal life, is now gearing up to make an impact in our work life too.

The idea behind “Facebook at Work” is to provide a work-related social media experience that will rival the likes of Google, Microsoft and IBM’s enterprise tools.

Currently, it is being used within Facebook helping teams to communicate and plan through Messages and Groups. They can also collaborate on projects.

Once bit of good news is that this new platform will be hosted separately from private Facebook to ensure security between personal and private versions, with no sharing of information or data across the two sites.

There is no news yet as to when it will be available, but as soon as I hear anything I’ll let you know.

Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting Ltd

When you scout round for a copywriter, how do you make a buying decision?

I’m betting you look at cost over and above everything else.

Yes, I understand you have budget constraints, but just looking at the cost of a service can be very short-sighted.

How much?

As a copywriter I hate getting those emails that say, sorry you’re too expensive.

Really?

What are you comparing that to?

Nine times out of ten, a potential client will gather a load of emails from Google search, perhaps throw in a few that have been recommended and then blast out an email along the lines of “I need 10 pages of copy, what do you charge?”

The problem with that is that you’re immediately telling the recipient of the email “I need some writing done, I don’t care how good it is, I just want it.”

What’s that? You do care how good it is? Oh, right, well that’s not what you’re saying.

The deciding factor shouldn’t be about cost (although I appreciate you don’t have a bottomless budget), it should be their experience (not just in your industry), reputation and quality of their work.

Why?

Because the reputation of your business is at stake.

Think about it, if you have ‘OK’ copy on your website (and other promotional materials), but your competitor has high quality, persuasive content who will people chose? Yup, not you.

If you were building a house you wouldn’t just instruct the cheapest builder, you’d want to find one that’s got a good reputation. If you wanted a lawyer, you wouldn’t just hire the cheapest, you’d ask for recommendations to find the best on in their field. So, when you’re looking for a copywriter to create compelling marketing copy don’t make your decision on price alone.

How to find a great writer

The first thing to do is look at their website.

Read their testimonials and case studies. Look at their portfolio and at the clients they have worked with.

Then, rather than sending out an email, pick up the phone and call them. Have a chat about what you’re looking for, ask for their advice. A good writer will be enthusiastic and knowledgeable – this is also a good way to see if you gel, after all, you’ll be working closely together so it’s important you find someone you can work with.

The budget for your copy should be in line with that of your website, brochure etc.

Experienced writers aren’t going to be cheap, but do you want cheap as chips or someone that actually knows what they’re doing?

Author – Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting Ltd

Twitter is a social media platform that we’ve taken to our hearts.

Millions of users generate an army of tweets promoting, connecting and chatting creating an online community that’s far reaching.

Despite that, Twitter is finding it tough to turn a profit.

A recent article in The Drum announced that Twitter’s latest published results have shown the company losing £175m between July and September despite a surge in sales and users.

Promising figures showing sales up 114% to $361m and a 23% rise in monthly active users to 284m failed to mollify investors with shares dropping 8% in after-hours trading due to the figures falling substantially behind analyst forecasts of around $450m in sales.

Despite that gloomy reading, Twitter chief, Dick Costolo was reported to have described it as a:

“…very strong financial quarter. I’m confident in our ability to build the largest daily audience in the world.”

Mind you, it is still lagging behind Facebook – so is this the beginning of the end, or can Twitter turn things around?

Sally Ormond – Briar Copywriting Ltd

YouTube is a formidable marketing force.

Your customers will love your videos and so with the search engines.

Did you know YouTube is the top video website and second largest search engine in the world?

To help you get more out of your YouTube marketing, here’s an infographic created by QuickSprout and published by Socialmouths: