Freelance Web Copywriter

A cautionary tale for the freelance web copywriter on taking your cue from peers’ and rivals’ web content

2011-11-09T12:57:00.000Z

From the other side of the Atlantic this week, a lesson to any web copywriter out there on on ensuring your web content is 100% fresh and original. American politician Scott Brown is currently running for re-election as senator for Massachusetts. Naturally, this requires a whole bunch of campaign adverts, publicity, and an official website. Unfortunately for Senator Brown, some of his web copywriting backfired, giving him publicity across the US, of the kind that he’d probably prefer to do without.

A not so personal message - time to fire the copywriter?

On a page entitled, “A message from Scott”, you might expect a personal message full of deeply held values and beliefs, which, in a way, it was. Unfortunately those values and beliefs, in fact all the words, belonged to former North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole.

Beginning with the phrase “I was raised to believe that there are no limits to individual achievement,” It seems that the entire ‘personal’ values statement was taken word for word from Dole’s website, from a speech she made almost ten years ago.

Cue major embarrassment for Senator Brown and his campaign team. According to a spokesperson for the red-faced senator, they used Dole’s site for inspiration and, “during construction of the site, the content on this particular page was inadvertently transferred without being rewritten... It was a staff level oversight.”

Don't blame the copywriter - the intern did it!

Inadvertently transferred. Not plagiarised then? Senator Brown himself valiantly blamed a “summer intern” for the copied text.

The fact is, whether you’re a politician, a copywriter for an eCommerce business or a freelance copywriter, copying your web content from elsewhere on the internet is a very bad idea. While it may be tempting to simply ‘lift’ a section of content from a rival’s site to save time and money on hiring a web copywriter, what happens when your customers notice the discrepancy (and they will)?

Secondly, ignoring all the clear ethical and legal issues with copying, sorry, "inadvertently transferring", web content, if your content has not been tailored towards your own business and its specific services, how is it going to sell them effectively to customers?

Finally, if you plagiarise web copywriting from another site there’s a good chance it will negatively affect your position in the search engine rankings. Google and others omit any instances of duplicate content from their listings, making it essentially invisible.

If you need content for your site, it always pays to hire your own web copywriter to create content which is not only original, but tailor-made for your business.

Freelance Web Copywriter: Is your web copywriter being too casual on social ...

2011-11-02T17:45:00.000Z

Freelance Web Copywriter: Is your web copywriter being too casual on social ...: In a recent article over at Bloomberg Business Week, entitled ‘Hypercasual: When the web gets a little too friendly’, Bobbie Johnson takes a...

Is your web copywriter being too casual on social media?

2011-09-20T17:50:00.001+01:00

In a recent article over at Bloomberg Business Week, entitled ‘Hypercasual: When the web gets a little too friendly’, Bobbie Johnson takes a jab at “companies that are way too friendly on the web.”

“You click on their website and it’s stuffed with messages like ‘Yay!’ and ‘w00t!’ Johnson rants. “You look at their Twitter accounts and they’re asking what crazy capers everyone got up to this weekend. On Facebook, it’s all “why not look at this funny cat video? LOL!”

These are of course extreme examples of using the wrong tone of voice, but you don’t have to look far to find a company who, as Johnson puts it, are, “confusing being friendly with being flippant.” Often the worst cases are to be found on corporate social media accounts, where even the most dependably serious and sombre companies can be found not only with their ties loosened but their sensible shoes swapped for a pair of flip flops. It’s hard not to cringe as they encourage everyone to jump in the pool and ‘get their party on.’

If you can recognise your own company’s social media efforts in any of this then it may be time to have words with your freelance copywriter to discuss the image you’re projecting online.

Finding a balance

Clearly the web is a far more casual arena than ‘real world’ communications and people expect a little levity, but there are limits. Just because people are ‘friends’ with your company on Facebook, it’s important to remember that this is not the case - these people are not your friends, they are customers who are looking to you for a service. They don’t want to know what you did at the weekend, they don’t care that the office coffee machine isn’t working, and they certainly don’t want to hear how you ‘LOL’ed’ at a sneezing panda.

A conversational tone is fine, but be sure your copywriter limits the topics of conversation to those that are appropriate between a business and its customers.

Is your web copywriter maintaining your company’s professional image online, or are they asking web users for help with their crops on Farmville?

Why UK businesses need a UK web copywriter

2011-09-12T17:26:00.000+01:00

In many areas of business in the past decade or so there has been a growing trend towards outsourcing labour to overseas countries to save costs. This may or may not work fine for call centres and production, but it can be a really bad idea for your website content.

If your business is based in the UK and the bulk of your customers are British, you really should have a UK copywriter working on your website. And with the greatest respect to our international copywriters around the world, here’s why.

They speak English as a first language

This might seem obvious, but some businesses seem to believe it’s okay to use content aimed at a British audience that has been written by someone who doesn’t speak English as a first or even second language.

The trouble is that English is a notoriously complex language, and even those who have a decent grasp of it (or are even native speakers) are prone to making grammatical errors or clunky turns of phrase that might seem perfectly logical to them but are jarring to a British audience. If you’re using keywords in your web content (and you should be), it can get even messier.

If you’re a UK business using a UK web copywriter you can be sure that they’re speaking your customers’ language. Literally.

They understand your local audience

Understanding and communication aren’t just about language. It’s also about culture and attitudes. A UK freelance copywriter can help you to establish a good line of communication between your business and its customers by using common reference points and cultural idiosyncrasies that might seem, well, foreign, to an overseas writer. This can be as true for writers based in English-speaking countries such as the US and Australia as it is for someone from India or Thailand.

You get what you pay for

Saving money is the primary motivation for businesses who outsource their copywriting overseas. Writers from some overseas countries can often charge far less than their British counterparts, due to the differences in currency exchange rates and living costs.

While the prospect of 10 articles for £10 might seem appealing at first, these are often of a poor standard and full of fluff. Many of these writers are not professional copywriters, but instead students who will write for money. A glance at a £1 article will illuminate the difference quite quickly.

If you’re business is UK based and you want to create content that your British audience will love, and which will yield great results, it’s well worth investing in the services of a UK copywriter.

How your web copywriter can keep users on your site for longer

2011-09-09T15:54:00.000+01:00

In a recent blog post, veteran web copywriter Nick Usborne talks about the perils of ‘dead end content’, which he describes as: “When you write a page of content for your site, or a post for your blog, and fail to provide links to further reading at the end of the article, review, guide or post.”

Including links to further internal pages such as product catalogues or follow-up articles is one vital habit to get into with all your web content, and will help to guide users to other areas of your site. But your web copywriter is also an important part of the equation. The content they create can make the difference between users clicking onto your site for a minute then clicking way, and building a more meaningful relationship with people who will, hopefully, become your customers.

As Nick says: “If you want to keep your readers on your site for longer – and you do – you need to maximize the number of readers who visit more than one page.”

Creating sticky content

Sticky content is not content that your copywriter spilt their coffee on. It’s content that keeps readers on your site for longer, encourages them to return and to check out other internal pages on your site. It could be a blog, an article or any other piece of web content, but ideally it will be all of the following:

Useful - A lot of the time, Internet users are looking for specific information. Give them what they want and they’ll love you for it.
Interesting - People are unlikely to stick around if your content bores them - keep it fresh and entertaining.
Inspiring - As in, inspiring users to check out other parts of your site. Work in mentions of other parts of your site (with hyperlinks of course) that users will find genuinely useful and relevant to them.

By creating content that people actually enjoy reading you can actually make them enthusiastic to check out more of your site. So, make sure that your freelance copywriter is crafting sticky content, because when Internet users are stuck, they don’t bounce.

Rise of the planet of the freelance copywriters

2011-09-05T17:00:00.000+01:00

Okay, excuse the cheap spin on a popular movie title, but you know the saying, monkey see monkey do.

According to Econsultancy’s recent ‘Digital Agency Rate Card Survey’ though, copywriters and their ilk are on the rise. The survey of 350 digital agencies in the UK found that at present the proportion of agencies with more than 50 employees is 18%, compared with only 5% eight years ago.

Full service digital agencies may fulfil a variety of roles including web design, social media management and app development, but right at their beating heart you’ll often find a team of web copywriters diligently creating content for clients to feed the ever-hungry Internet masses.

Why are professional Internet and copywriting services in such high demand?

So why the growth? As with in all other sectors and industries since the dawn of the WWW, the reason for the steady increase in scale of digital agencies has been to meet a demand - a constant demand for polished and professional web content.

In the early days of the Internet as a commercial arena during the 1990’s, many businesses were clamouring for an Internet presence. But the quality of the actual content was often regarded as a secondary consideration at most.

But all of that was to change when the world’s most popular search engine, Google, launched its ‘Florida’ update’ in 2003. This change to its algorithms would have far-reaching effects on many websites who previously thought they were sitting pretty at the top of the rankings. Many webmasters found that their once popular websites dropped out of the picture when the update took place. A common cause of this was poor quality content - that is, content that was stuffed with mindless keywords and which offered web users little of any value.

Web content in the balance

What Florida did was to shift the emphasis towards quality web content, and since then Google has launched many more updates to its algorithm (most notably the infamous Panda) aimed at bringing the best quality, most reliable content to the top of the SERPS. Unsurprisingly, other search engines have followed suit.

Aware of the need for useful, relevant and well-written content, many businesses turned to digital agencies and freelance copywriters, spurring on a growth that continues to this day.

Back to the Econsultancy survey - 94% of digital agencies said that they were either ‘quite’ or ‘very’ optimistic about their future prospects, reflecting the fact that at long as there is a thing called the Internet, there will always be a need for professional SEO and copywriting services.

Does your web copywriter know your style?

2011-09-02T16:21:00.000+01:00

On the web and in life, you’ve got to have ‘style’ if you want to make a memorable impression.
When it comes to creating a web page for your business, it may seem at first glance that all you need to do is get your products up there with all the relevant information and then wait for the sales to start rolling in. But wait, there’s more, much more.

You see, it’s quite likely that there are countless other competing businesses intent on offering your potential customers, if not the exact same thing as you, then something very similar. To make sure that your brand is the one that sticks in their mind, you need to inject a little style into your web content. And to do that, you need a copywriter that can write in a style that presents you in the best possible light.

Projecting an image

Whether you’re using a freelance copywriter or creating your content in-house, you need to determine what kind of image and personality you want your business to project with its online presence.

Not only should the style of your content characterise your business and what it has to offer, but it should also reflect the nature of your target audience and help them to identify the content as being ‘for them’. For example, if your business is trying to reach the younger generation with its product or services, your website might use a more energetic and youthful style. If however you want to appeal to the sentiments of middle-aged professionals, you would perhaps opt for a more toned down or sensible style.

How do web users perceive your site?

The style of your content will have a significant impact on the way your business and its products are perceived. If it is written with lots of ‘cutting-edge’ terminology and adjectives, your company will be perceived as cutting edge. If it frequently uses words like ‘reliable’, ‘trusted’ and ‘dependable’, you may be seen as a respected and well-balanced company. If it doesn’t have a style at all and just ambles along in all manner of stylistic tongues, it will lack a coherent identity and may confuse and even put off your potential customers.

But overdo it, and it can come across as false. Too much ‘street’ talk and you’ll be seen as desperately trying to ‘get down with the kids’. Use ‘trustworthy’ or ‘sincere’ too many times and it can come across as ‘untrustworthy’ and very ‘insincere’. Stylish content is about achieving a balance between effectively marketing your product or company, and making sure that your readers can relate to the content too.

Does your web copywriter understand what type of image you’re trying to project? If not then you should tell them, so they can adjust the style of your content accordingly.

Getting your freelance copywriter to build relationships, and why people don’t always like ‘like’ buttons

2011-08-31T08:56:00.000+01:00

As any web copywriter will tell you, creating great content is the key to getting people to share it with others, and if they like it, they may well share it. A recent survey however, reveals how ‘Like’ buttons can backfire on brands.

The survey in question is ‘User Experience in the Travel Sector’, carried out by usability testing firm Usabilla. After testing the reactions of 800 web users to 18 travel websites (including major airlines, hotels, booking and comparison sites), one of the key findings was that, “the reaction of participants to the Facebook ‘Like’ buttons was overwhelmingly negative across all travel sector tests.”

Why don’t web users like to like things?

According to Usabilla, many respondents disliked the like button with a passion, and resented company’s asking them for their endorsement or to tell their friends, without any clear benefit.
Amongst the hostile responses to Facebook Like buttons on various websites were:

“How will liking the page help me?”

“Why the need to ‘Facebook’ everything, it makes it look tacky and desperate.”

“Who needs to follow an airline on Facebook? That’s silly!”

“I don’t care who likes it on Facebook. All I care about are cheap deals.”

And so on. So why all the dislike for liking things? After all, the Internet’s all about sharing content these days, right?

Well perhaps, but people want to do so their own terms. Judging by their reactions, it would seem that what enrages web users so much is the assumption that they will want to share every page that they visit with their nearest and dearest (and people they haven’t seen since PE class in secondary school).

Sharing the love?

Though the survey focused on travel-orientated websites, it’s easy to see how its findings could carry across to most other commercial sites. So how can you encourage people to share their love for your website with the world, without annoying them so? Simple - leave them to it. If people want to share your content they will, so the best thing to do is to ask your copywriter to create great content that they would recommend to others, without the need for ‘Like’ buttons thrust in their faces.

Does your freelance copywriter create content people genuinely like and, just as importantly, would like to share?

Baiting your online hook with the help of a web copywriter

2011-08-26T16:12:00.000+01:00

With a gazillion websites on the Internet all clamouring for attention, just how do you get yours noticed from the crowd of like for like competitors? The answer is just one word - content.

The quality and originality of your web content, whether on your own website or elsewhere on the net is paramount. When people read content that is well written, entertaining and accurate they tend to have a favourable opinion of the site from which it originates. Importantly, if your content appears trustworthy, so too will your website. And when it comes to building and maintaining a successful online business, trust is everything. A professional web copywriter can help you to achieve this.

Dangling the bait

Before you can reap the benefits of grade A web content, you first need to hook your web users and then reel them in. The juicy worm at the end of your line is your title.

A copywriter knows the power of a good ‘strapline’, and so does the reader. The reason that the ‘Redtops’ have such great circulation figures is because they know how to write a title that grabs your attention (even if the content is less than stellar). Online, a good title backed up by relevant, interesting content will tell potential readers exactly what they should expect when they read your article, web content or blog post. This is no time for ambiguity - get to the point. Short and snappy titles that suggest that they have something to offer the target audience are the key to getting a nibble from those elusive readers.

Keeping ‘em hooked

Once you’ve got their attention, it’s critical that your content is engaging enough to keep web users on your site. First and foremost, it should emphasise what it is that your company can offer the reader, and what distinguishes your products and/or services from the competition. If you use a freelance copywriter to create your content, make sure they know what your firm’s main selling points are.

Once they’re hooked, you should aim to encourage web users to interact with your website for as long as possible. The longer they spend on your site, the more likely they are to purchase something, sign up to your newsletter or respond to your blog. They’re also much more likely to come back again in future. A substantial body of high quality web pages on your site with a clear and user-friendly navigation system can stop people from bouncing away, and ultimately lead to greater sales.

Does your web content bring you attention from web users, or is it patiently sitting in a corner waiting for someone to take notice of it?

Five key ingredients freelance copywriters need to make a tasty online article

2011-08-10T17:43:00.000+01:00

If the Internet were a street, it would be one lined with restaurants. From each doorway exquisite aromas would drift, enticing passers by in to taste their creations. The key to standing out from the crowd of bistro’s, burger joints and pizza places that make up your competition is to get your freelance copywriter to create some online content that the punters can really get their teeth into. So, what are the key ingredients of a tasty article?

Story – Any good copywriter knows that the story is the ‘meat’ of any article, whether online or in print. For an article to capture people’s attention it must have a story of substance behind it - one that will interest and entertain people. There’s absolutely no point in bothering to create a well written article about something which is dull or unnecessary.

Angle - If the story is the meat of your article, the angle is the way you cook it. There are many different ways to present information, so it’s important to think about how the story can best be slanted to benefit your business and its goals. If you’re planning on using a freelance copywriter to create the article, be sure to give them an idea of how you want it written, otherwise you may end up with your meat battered and dipped in sweet and sour sauce when you actually wanted it stewed in gravy.

Structure - As with a good meal, when you hire a copywriter to create an article it’s no good just throwing in ingredients randomly and hoping for the best. The way your copywriter constructs the article and links together pieces of information is an essential part of making it tantalising to your online audience. Because of the unique way in which people ‘scan’ read text on a screen, it’s best to break the article up into short bite-sized paragraphs with appropriate subheaders.

Title - Your title is the key to drawing people in to sample the delights of your article; it’s the picture of juicy morsels of meat and succulent veg in the restaurant menu. The title should be snappy and intrigue the reader, and it MUST accurately describe the contents of the article. If people are expecting beef bourguignon, they’re likely to send back surf n’ turf without so much as tasting a mouthful.

Call to action - Finally, the call to action at the end of the article is the key to getting those who have had a taste of your dish to perhaps consider desert and a coffee. The call to action should persuade web users to browse your site, check out your products, or anything else related to your business’s goals.

Is your freelance copywriter a gourmet chef or a burger flipper? What special ingredients do you think give an article that extra bit of zing? Let us know in the comments box below.

5 things your freelance copywriter should know

2011-07-29T16:58:00.000+01:00

Whether you’re creating product descriptions, your home page, a blog entry or any other piece of written content for the web, it’s essential to check that the quality of it is up to scratch. If you’re paying a freelance copywriter to create your content for you then it’s even more important to check that you’re getting value for money.

The quality of the content on your website is a reflection of the quality of your business, and the dedication you have towards providing an excellent service. Whether you’re selling car spares, washing machines, home insurance or novelty coasters, if your content is well written then people will respect you and are more likely to continue to browse your site. If it looks haphazard or like it’s been thrown together in a hurry, they’re likely to bounce to a competitor’s site.

So what kind of things should you check that your copywriter has got right before publishing your web content?

Spelling, grammar and punctuation - They may be basic elements of good writing, but all too often the principal rules of the English language are ignored on the Internet. Content that contains fundamental spelling mistakes, bad grammar and punctuation that looks like it’s been randomly thrown onto the page are the first things that will turn readers off. Proof-reading is an essential task to carry out on all content because while the odd typo may go unnoticed, lots of errors are a sign of shoddiness. Some freelance copywriters work through an agency with an editorial control system. Some don’t. It’s often not really that hard to spot which is which.

Title - Does the title of the page accurately describe the content? Content that misrepresents itself from the word go can leave web users feeling cheated and indignant. The more accurate your title, the more relevant it will be to those who click on it and the happier they’ll be. And happy browsers are more likely to heed your CTA.

Structure – Has your freelance copywriter structured your content into a series of long, unbroken paragraphs? Web users generally don’t like to read large chunks of text on a computer screen (or a smart phone, for that matter), so think about breaking it up into short, concise paragraphs. Sub-headers can also work a treat, as these make it easier to scan-read the information presented.

Does the content get to the point? - All content should have a point, and it should get to it as quickly as possible. It’s up to the copywriter to make sure your content is relevant, accurate and concise. It’s up to you to double check they’ve got it right. When checking through, eliminate any ramblings and anything that doesn’t contribute to the main thrust of the piece.

Does it encourage the reader to take action? - For your content to be useful to your business it must lead its audience to take action; whether that’s encouraging them to check out your products, subscribe to a newsletter, call your sales team or anything else.

If your content is significantly lacking in these areas, it may be worth taking on a copywriter to create it for you. Conversely, if you’ve already done that and are still noticing these elementary errors then it may be time to look for a new freelance copywriter who doesn’t make mistakes that could cost you both money and your reputation.

Copywriting: The power of persuasion

2011-07-26T17:31:00.001+01:00

Let’s get right to the nitty gritty. Copywriting is all about persuading people. Persuading them to carry on reading to find out more, persuading them to buy your products, to give your services a try etc. The most effective copywriting therefore is that which is the most persuasive. So what can your freelance copywriter do to boost the persuasive power of your website’s copy?

Create copy that is authoritative

People are more likely to be persuaded that your business deserves their attention if your website content comes across as if it’s written by someone ‘in the know’. A good web copywriter can create such content even if it is outside of their area of expertise, by researching the topic thoroughly and using a confident tone. The quality of the writing is also important here, as people are more likely to be persuaded by a call to action if the content that precedes it is accurate and engaging.

Go for the soft sell

There’s little that’s less persuasive than an over-eager salesman. Your web copywriter should take a softly-softly approach in convincing potential customers that they can benefit from your products or services. People want to know what’s so great about what you have to offer, and what’s in it for them; they don’t want to read copy that just shamelessly plugs away and insists that they should buy the chicken before they’ve tasted the eggs, so to speak.

Be entertaining

While there are certain topics for which a light-hearted tone may not be appropriate, most web content can benefit from not taking itself too seriously. This doesn’t mean it has to be laugh out loud funny (an approach fraught with its own pitfalls), but it’s worth considering what your own response to dull and overly-formal web content usually is.

Build Trust

One of your main aims in crafting a brand image should be to inspire trust in your customers and potential customers. The content created by your copywriter should be a key part of this. Copy that is accurate, truthful and respects its audience can work wonders in building a sense of trust, and this in turn will make people all the more easier to persuade.

Did we miss anything? What do you think makes for persuasive copy? Let us know in the comments section below.

Five ways good web copywriting can keep people on your website for longer

2011-07-15T15:17:00.000+01:00

People have far better things to do than spend time on your website. With today’s frantic pace and onslaught of digital content from all corners, web users must ration their time carefully. If you want to get their attention and keep it, you have to convince them that you have something worthwhile to offer.

Have focused content

When someone clicks onto your website from a search engine they have inevitably done so because the title and/or description of your page corresponded with what they were looking for. Don’t disappoint them with wishy-washy content that jumps from one subject to another. Keep it relevant, and as punchy as possible.

Give them what they want

Spend a bit of time determining the type of people who you are targeting with your products/services and thus your website. Work with your web copywriter to construct content that will appeal specifically to your target demographic.

Hook ‘em from the start

It takes just a split second for someone to click the back button and say sayonara to your website forever. Don’t give them the chance. Rather than saving the best till last, put the best right at the start where people can see it. Give them a highly persuasive reason to keep reading.

Update your blog regularly

If you don’t have a blog then start one. A blog is one of the most powerful tools at an online marketer’s disposal. Not only is it good for SEO purposes, but it is also a quick and convenient way to update your customers with relevant news and offers. A good blog written by a skilled copywriter will develop a following, ensuring that people keep coming back to your website and further cementing their relationship with your business.

Link your content

Don’t just create standalone content; encourage users to check out other relevant pages they may like. A quick call to action and a small number of internal links at the bottom of a page can do wonders in keeping them on your site for longer, and further develop their relationship with your site.

Does your freelance copywriter keep people glued to your website, or do they just bounce away into the Internet abyss?

ASA fires warning shot across the bow of online marketers

2011-07-08T18:51:00.000+01:00

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has recently reported that it has received a substantial number of complaints about the content found on homeopathy websites.

Until recently, the ASA only regulated paid-for ads online. But on 1st March this year its remit was extended to cover all marketing communications on the web, including content on the advertiser’s own website and marketing messages sent through social media.

The ASA’s widened sphere of influence is of particular relevance for online businesses, marketing agencies and anyone working as a UK copywriter, and this is highlighted by the organisation’s announcement that it is acting on complaints against homeopathy websites.

ASA takes action on Homeopathy websites

On its website, the ASA said: “We’ve received a large number of complaints about claims on homeopathy websites, mostly about claims for the efficacy of homeopathy in diagnosing, treating or helping certain health or medical conditions (e.g. arthritis).” They go on to say that due to the high proportion of complaints they are now dealing with them “as part of a wider investigation project.”

The ASA has now contacted those websites mentioned in the complaints, instructing them to remove “marketing claims that refer to, or imply, the efficacy of homeopathy for treating or helping specific health conditions.” They will then monitor these websites during July, before deciding if any further action is necessary.

This may be seen as an important testing ground for the ASA’s new online remit. In hindsight, homeopathy was perhaps destined to fall foul of the guidelines, due to its status as an unproven quasi-science.

At its core, homeopathy is based on the principle that ill people can be treated with a diluted dose of a substance that would normally induce symptoms similar to theirs’ in a healthy person. However, since its inception as a theory in the 18th Century, there have been no reputable scientific studies that prove homeopathic medicine works as anything more than a placebo. Thus, when an alternative medicine website sells a herbal pill to cure a cold, if the accompanying copy actually states that it will relieve symptoms or stop the cold then it will fall foul of the ASA.

“This is because the ASA considers there is insufficient robust scientific evidence to support these claims,” so sayeth the ASA.

So your content talks the talk, but can it walk the walk?

This is perhaps an extreme example, but it should be seen as an important reminder to any UK copywriter, ad agency or retail website, that if you make a claim about a product or service online, you’d better be able to back it up, and do so in a way that is acceptable to the ASA.

One final word from your good friends at the ASA: “We don’t play a numbers game – we can act on just one complaint”.

How to create effective website content for your small business

2011-07-05T15:53:00.000+01:00

When you’re creating content for your website, your first and foremost consideration should be to make it as appealing and easy to read as possible. Hiring a professional web copywriter to create content for you often pays for itself many times over. If you’re planning on doing it yourself however, here are a few tips that will help you to reach your audience effectively, and more importantly, motivate them to interact with your site.

Make it easy to read

People don’t read web content in the same way as they would a book or a newspaper. Instead of reading the whole page in its entirety, they often scan the page for key details that interest them. Breaking up each page with sub-headings can enhance the readability of your site a great deal. Short, concise paragraphs are also preferable to long rambling ones.

Clearly define each page

Every page should have an immediately obvious purpose. Wishy washy pages that fail to get to the point are a turn off most web users. Before you start writing the content for a page, decide what its purpose is and don’t deviate from it.

Give your content a distinct ‘voice’

Your website should be professional and business-like, but that doesn’t mean it has to be rigidly formal, or worse, dull. Inject a little personality into your content, and keep the tone consistent throughout your site. The best way to ensure consistent content is to keep the author the same throughout, so if you’re going to use a web copywriter then its best to stick with the same one. Unless they’re rubbish, obviously…

Always keep your audience in mind

Who will buy your products or use your services? Are they predominantly old, young, male, female, tech-savvy or ultra-fashionable? The better you understand the people you’re trying to reach, the more effective your web content will be in communicating with them.

Use plain English

Few people are going to reach for the dictionary while viewing a website. Keep it simple and avoid jargon unless it’s absolutely necessary. At the same time, don’t over-simplify or you risk patronising your audience.

Writing content in the way you might talk to someone if they were sitting in front of you is a good start. If you’re not sure if you’ve struck the right balance, read it out aloud. Are the pauses in the right places? Are you boring yourself rigid? Or are you tempted to click on your own website to find out more? Put yourself in the shoes of your reader.

Is your copy engaging and effective, or does it act as a customer deterrent? Do you have the in-house skills to create great web content, or would you be better off hiring an experienced and skilled web copywriter?

If you’ve got it, make sure your web copywriter flaunts it

2011-06-28T17:50:00.000+01:00

The Internet is full of businesses just like yours. If you want to make an impact then you’ve got to pull out all the stops and make sure that your website shines out from all the rest.

Your website can be the single-most important part of your marketing strategy, but only if it truly sells the strong points of your business and what makes your products\ services different from all the rest. The role of a web copywriter should be to make sure that this is the case, ensuring that your site is all killer and not cyber-space filler.

Does your web copywriter really sell your business?

When people are browsing the Internet, they are generally looking for something. The key to getting them to pay attention to your something is to communicate how well it will fit their specific need, whatever it may be.

Your web copywriter should understand your products and your business, and most importantly what it is that makes your business special. If they don’t know what makes your business tick or how it differs from your competitors, then how are they going to communicate that to your customers?

When populating a website with content, it’s easy to simply fill it with generic web content that would still be relevant if it was ported over to a competitor’s website. But content that really sells is that which builds up your distinctive brand image and gets to the heart of what you have to offer.

Think about what makes your company different, and why you truly believe that people should be coming to you instead of your rivals. It might be that your products have some cutting edge qualities, that your team has a vast amount of experience, the fact that you can deliver results faster and more affordably, or even some aspect of your core business philosophy that differentiates you. Got it?

Now go tell your web copywriter so they can tell your customers all about it.

Does your website shout out your main selling points, or is it cowering away in a forgotten and mediocre corner of the Internet?

Should web copywriting use the hard sell or soft sell approach?

2011-06-23T12:17:00.000+01:00

Back in 1988, marketing expert Frank R. Kardes asked: “Is stating the conclusion explicitly in an ad more effective, or should consumers be encouraged to infer the conclusion on their own?”
This question is perhaps even more relevant today in the Internet age of marketing, at a time when consumers are bombarded with more marketing messages than they comfortably have room for in their heads.

In his research, which analysed the attitude of consumers towards brands under hard sell and soft sell conditions, Kardes found that people were more likely to engage with a brand or product when the soft approach was used. Conversely, the hard sell has been found to be off-putting and irritating many times over.

Shout at them until they submit or the softly softly approach?

Think about it. Who would you rather buy a product from? Someone who talks to you casually and gently, addresses your needs, with the occasional nod towards the merits of their product; or, someone who shouts loudly and aggressively about why their product is the best?

Why the hard sell is ineffective on the Internet

In Internet marketing it is especially important for a web copywriter to take the softly softly approach. While people will grudgingly sit through a 30-second TV advert which grates on their nerves and screams at their senses while they wait for their favourite programme to come back on, on the Internet they have the power to click away the instant they get annoyed.

The hard sell may seem like a good way to get your point across, but it has been shown time and time again to actually persuade people to have nothing do with your brand.

Putting the consumer back in control

By using the soft sell, a web copywriter can provide the consumer with all the information they need to make an informed decision on whether or not the product is for them. Perhaps the reason this works so well is that rather than being told that they should buy a product, web users are told why they should want it and what it can do for them. It effectively puts the consumer back in ‘control’ – a feeling that they like and one that generates a positive response far more often than the ‘shout loudly until they submit’ approach.

What approaches do you think best work in Internet marketing? Let us know your opinion in the comments section below.

How to write an attention grabbing online article

2011-06-17T16:27:00.000+01:00

A well thought out and well-written article can do wonders for your website’s visibility and credibility. It can not only draw potential customers to your website, it can also increase your search engine ranking too. You can hire a professional web copywriter to create articles for you, or you can do it yourself. Here we take a look at the anatomy of an attention grabbing article.

Offer a solution

Often the most popular articles are those that anticipate and respond to a particular need, question or problem. Think about what issues related to your products or services are most likely to be important to the type of people you wish to draw towards your website. You can then offer them a well-researched and written solution or answer.

Be topical

Articles which are in some way related to current events or trends are also good at drawing a crowd.

However it’s important to either make these more broadly relevant for users in the long run, or follow up topical articles with those which have a timeless quality.

Give it an intriguing title

The title is your best chance to really sell your article to Internet users, who may well be faced with a choice of hundreds of similar web pages. Give it a title that will prick the reader’s interest as they momentarily glance over it in the search results. Also, abide by the Ronseal principle - make sure it does exactly what it says on the tin.

Be concise

When you click onto a page that looks interesting, do you scroll down to see how long it is? If it looks like it’s going to take a substantial investment of your time, do you read on, or do you click back and look for something a bit snappier? Make your article that something snappier.

Call to action

Seal the deal with a punchy final sentence or two that encourages people to check out your other content or take some action on your website.

So, do you have what it takes to write an article that people will want to read? Or are you better off hiring a web copywriter to do it for you?

Why hire a web copywriter to create your homepage?

2011-06-14T16:50:00.000+01:00

Of all the pages on your website, the homepage is arguably the most crucial. Even if a user arrives at your site via a landing page, if they decide to stay then they will almost inevitably click onto your homepage to learn more.

Your homepage should serve as an introduction to your site, and should explain, concisely, what it’s all about and what it can offer the person viewing it. Once there, it’s likely that web users will decide whether to stay within less than half a minute, so your homepage needs to quickly convince them to stick around and continue to browse the rest of your site.

There are several factors that determine how effectively it does this - design, usability and, of course, content. In the same way that you might outsource the design of your website to a professional web design company, it’s a good idea to hire a skilled web copywriter to create your content for you.

Why are people visiting your site?

The key to creating an effective homepage lies in identifying the main reasons why people are visiting it. By understanding their needs you can work on creating snappy content that directly addresses those needs. If you can convince them that you can provide a solution to their problem, then you’ll hold their attention. If you can’t, they’ll bounce, never to return.

Create content that can be easily scanned

When people are browsing the web for an answer or a solution, their time is limited while the amount of information available to them is vast. For this reason they are unlikely to properly read any content on your site until they have decided that it is useful, and will instead ‘scan’ the text on the screen.

The copy on your homepage should therefore be brief, but it should also contain a lot of information. This is not the place for superlatives or bragging, but concise content that recognises how valuable their time is and tells them what it is that you have to offer. Bullet points are a great way to get key information points over quickly, easily and in a way that will catch the attention of even the fastest speed-reader. Bullets scream “READ ME!” at the user. Make them count.

Finish with an effective call to action

Once a web user has decided that your website is worth looking into further, they want to know what they should do next. For example, you may suggest that they download your online catalogue, or click a tab that will take them to a page that describes the benefits of your service in more detail. Get them to actively engage with your site and you’ve hooked them. Your content has done its job.

Does your homepage encourage people to explore your site further, or does it send them bouncing away to your competitors? A web copywriter can help you to ensure that your homepage presents an attractive proposition.

Building trust through effective web copywriting

2011-06-10T14:00:00.000+01:00

When it comes to doing business online, trust is everything. Whereas a person who walks into a shop they can see exactly what they are buying before they purchase it, online consumers must have faith that they will receive the goods as described and expected. People are also still far more suspicious about keying in their debit or credit card details online than they would be if they were simply slotting it into a chip and pin machine at a local shop.

In order to convince people to buy from you online, you must first convince them that you are a reputable company that will handle their transaction securely and honestly. Clearly, having a recognised form of encryption technology and other online security measures in place is crucial in achieving this, but don’t underestimate how important the written content on your site is to reassuring prospective customers of your legitimacy.

Why quality content is essential

People are far more likely to purchase from your site if your content is professional and well written. But even with the best products and service in the world, if your online copy is sloppy and haphazard then web users are likely to doubt the integrity and reliability of your business.
A skilled professional web copywriter can help you to create an image of respectability and authority. Not only will the quality of their words reflect positively on your company, but a web copywriter can also create content with the specific aim of reassuring web users that your site can be trusted. Such content might include pages dedicated to detailing the security and encryption measures taken by your site, as well as content placed on relevant external sites to boost your reputation.

If your business has suffered any negative publicity as a result of failures in your service, or even security breaches, then good copywriting can help smooth things over. It can reassure your customers that whilst mistakes have been made, your company has taken steps to ensure it doesn’t occur again.

Does your web copywriter convey trust in your brand? Have your sales ever suffered as a result of lack of trust? Tell us about your experiences in the comment section below.

Marketing in 140 characters or less

2011-06-03T16:10:00.000+01:00

Articles and web content are a great way of promoting your business, but they require the reader to be prepared to invest their time into finding out what you have to say.

In online marketing the speed at which you communicate your message is crucial, and you can’t get much quicker than 140 characters. While articles give you the chance to explain at length what’s so great about your business, Twitter presents a unique opportunity to say what you have to say succinctly and with no nonsense.

Short and tweet

The great thing about tweets is that they are quick and easy to follow. While people have to be committed to reading an article or blog post, reading a tweet is relatively effortless and takes just a few seconds. Because of this, tweets can be highly effective for communicating with customers who might not have the time or inclination to read anything longer. What’s more, once they’re following you on Twitter, unless you spam them relentlessly, they’ll continue to follow you.
In addition to being quick to read, tweets also take no time at all to write. Of course this doesn’t mean they should be slapped together hastily.

To get the most out of Twitter you should make every one of those 140 characters count, and ensure that what you’re saying serves a purpose. It may even be worthwhile hiring a professional web copywriter to craft your tweets and other social media communications for you. A skilled web copywriter can help you to get most out of Twitter and build a strong following.

How to write an effective Tweet

Despite their incredible brevity, there is an art to creating effective marketing tweets. Here are a few tips:

Keep it professional - Although social media communication should be informal in tone, the content should always be strictly professional and convey the image you want your business to project.

Link to content - Tweets can be an effective way to draw user’s attention to more substantial content. Just remember to shorten the web address using a URL shortening service such as bit.ly, otherwise you might not have room in the character limit to describe the link.

Encourage users to respond - Social media is a conversation, so write your tweets in a way that would prompt a response.

Always remember: tweets can be seen by everyone, including, and especially, tabloid newspapers and other ne’r-do-wells.

Is your business currently making the most of Twitter and other forms of social media? Have you ever sent out a tweet and then wished you hadn’t? Let us know in the comment box below.

The Power of Words

2011-05-20T16:23:00.000+01:00

Rudyard Kipling once said, “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” Mr Kipling was known for exceedingly good prose fiction and poetry, but his words of wisdom hold true for web copywriters and online marketers and not just budding poets and novelists.
Words have the power to persuade, entertain, inform and sell. But to do so effectively they must be carefully chosen for the qualities that they convey to readers and the emotional connections that they make with them.

Anyone who offers copywriting services must therefore be a literary pharmacist who knows the right words to prescribe for a wide range of situations. A good copywriter should know not only the power of the words, but also how to mix them together to create the desired effect.
Unfortunately, this power is all too often abused to create wordy concoctions whose main use is as a sleeping pill. A lot of big words do not equal powerful marketing copy, unless you’re trying to sell a dictionary.

Simplicity sells

The simplest words are often the most powerful. Consider the following hypothetical examples of website sales copy:

‘Our modernistic range of vacuum cleaners is amongst the most ergonomically superior products on the market. Featuring multi-cyclonic suction and the latest advancements in exhaust filtration technology, our vacuums represent the epitome of household cleaning.’

And,

‘Our vacuum cleaners are easy to use, powerful and all you need to keep your home clean and dust-free.’

And finally,

‘Buy our vacuum cleaners. They suck.’

The first example reads more like a technical manual than a piece of sales copy. If you read this on a website would you be impressed by the company’s technological breakthroughs, or would you be fast asleep, drooling over your computer keyboard? People don’t care how advanced your product is or how big your vocabulary is. The only thing they care about is what your product can do for them.

The second example tells people the things they really want to know about the product - it’s easy to use and it gets the job done. Sure it could do with a bit more detail to support the claims, but how much detail can you expect from a hypothetical vacuum cleaner?

The third one? Well, that breaks one of the copywriter’s golden rules – don’t try and be funny. Yes, it’s a pun, but it’s a bad one. You’ll either make people chuckle with your ironic use of language (but probably that’s all – where’s the sales pitch?), or they’ll actually believe that your vacuums are so bad that even the manufacturer thinks that they ‘suck’. Avoid funny – on the Internet, funny doesn’t sell.

The power of words lies not in the complexity of the words you use, but in the effectiveness with which you use the simplest words.

Are you using copywriting services which make the most of the power of words?

Does your copywriting have a purpose?

2011-05-10T16:58:00.000+01:00

It’s all very well creating content for SEO purposes, but is that enough to make it worthwhile?

Broadly speaking the purpose of your content should be to generate some sort of reaction or response from your target audience. The main purpose of SEO is to bring people to your site in the first place by pushing you up the Google rankings with keywords that both the bots and your human visitors recognise. But if the only purpose of the content on your website is to bring traffic to your website, you may have a problem.

What does that traffic (your human visitors) do when they arrive at your neatly optimised site? The last thing they care about is the skill with which you have brought them there. They want to know what’s in it for them.

The Holy Grail of good copywriting is in convincing your reader that your purpose is their purpose. That sounds horribly Orwellian, but it shouldn’t be. If you can speak to the needs and wants of your reader and persuade them that you have what they’re looking for, then your content will have fulfilled its purpose beautifully.

Cut out the dead wood

Every page and every word of your website copy should have a purpose. The purpose of your ‘about us’ page for example should be to provide a short introduction to your company, and to begin building of bond of trust between you and your customer.

Any page that lacks a purpose –something designed to foster a reaction in the reader - is dead wood.

Whether you’re in the business of selling kitchen tiles, offering management consultancy services or anything else, the first purpose of your copywriting should be to convince your online audience that you know what you’re talking about. At the end of the day, it’s likely that there are dozens of other companies on the web offering the same products or services as you. The key is not to sell the product to the reader, but instead sell your company to them (not literally of course).

Faced with two products that are exactly the same and with only a marginal price difference, people will turn to the company that seems the most reputable, friendly and knowledgeable.

Could you benefit from professional copywriting services?

Is your content fulfilling its purpose? If not, you may want to consider recruiting the copywriting services of a professional agency.

How to write terrible copy

2011-04-29T18:06:00.000+01:00

There are plenty of companies on the web who offer copywriting services in some shape or form. Those at the top of their game provide businesses and consumers with engaging copy that is informative, engaging, useful and easy to read.

There are also hundreds if not thousands of blogs out there that will give you good, experience-driven advice on how to improve the quality of your copywriting services and provide insider tips on how to be the best – this blog included. But as with most things, good copywriting does not exist in a void, and can only be defined by the presence of its dark and dreary counterpart.

So on that note, we present for your consideration a guide on how good copywriting’s darker cousin can bewilder your audience and frustrate your clients.

Write generic content

Bad copywriting shows little or no consideration for who your audience is. Everyone’s the same anyway, right? Just say what you want to get across and let the audience figure it out for themselves. Result? An audience that not only exits stage left rapidly, but will never take anything your site says seriously again. Leave the generic content to the content farms.

Structure your writing to ensure maximum boredom

Write in long unattractive paragraphs and put lots of clauses into each sentence. Ignore all accepted rules for the specific ways in which people read from a screen and just write exactly as you would for print publications. And for that extra touch of terrible, keep going off on tangents and digressions. Result? Bouncing browsers, bored readers and slabs of content that read more like a scientific paper than a throat-grabbing, wallet-opening, pro-active site. Actually? There are scientific papers out there that are more interesting… (Oh, and while you're at it, throw out any basic grammar rules and don't worry about the spell check. Nobody'll notice anyway. They've already gone to your competitor's site.)

Be ambiguous and don’t stick to one topic

Leave the reader confused about what you’re saying and unsure of what they should do next. Make sure you overload them with lots of information about several different things at once. After all, they’ve got lots of time to digest what you’re saying and to figure out what the overall point of the article was. Result? Those bouncing browsers again, silent cash registers and frustrated, lost customers.

Be the Duracell bunny

The longer the content the better. You’ve got to make sure you fit in every scrap of information, even those that might not be that useful to the reader, just in case. If people are interested in the topic they’ll take their time and read page after page about it. The reality? They’ll stop reading after the first line. Slab content is a big turn-off. Good copywriting breaks it down into bite-sized chunks that won’t choke your audience.

Do you have any pet hates when it comes to web content? What do you think makes for truly awful copywriting? Show the comments section below a little love.

Five ideas to boost your copywriting services

2011-04-26T10:03:00.000+01:00

If things are a little slack at the moment and you feel that your copywriting business needs a boost, you can either sit around and ‘wait for things to pick up’, or you can take a proactive approach and take charge of the situation. Here we suggest five positive steps you can take today to put a little extra vavavoom in your copywriting services.

Offer something new - If your regular sources of work have all but dried up, why not take the opportunity to give something new a try? If the bulk of your work has always been SEO articles and web content, how about pitching your copywriting services in the lucrative field of blogging? Or if you’ve specialised in B2B writing, how about seeing if you can get some action in B2C?

Contact old clients - You just kind of drifted apart. At first it would be weeks between calls, then months, and eventually you just assumed they’d found someone else. Good riddance, right? But wait, maybe they still care. There’s absolutely no harm in calling or emailing an old client to see if they’ve got their current copywriting needs taken care of.

Practice what you preach - As a copywriter you no doubt spend much of your time telling clients how they could hone and polish their website to improve sales. But when was the last time you took a long hard look at your own website and considered honestly how effective it is in selling your copywriting services?

Find new ways to market your copywriting services - Social media has opened up whole new avenues for marketing yourself on a budget. If you’re not already on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In or any of the vast array of social networks, maybe now’s the time to give it a try.

Draw on your strengths - In copywriting, as in life, we’re best when we play to our strengths. If you’ve got specialist knowledge of any kind, no matter how obscure it might seem, chances are there’s someone looking for a copywriter just like you.

While this advice is really directed at copywriters, those looking for copywriting services can apply the same principles when looking for the ideal copywriting agency. Use the above to guide your questions when talking to your copywriters. For example, what strengths does your potential copywriter draw on – specialist knowledge, journalistic experience etc? Is their website engaging? Do they understand how new media works and are they capable of using it as a marketing resource to further your business’s reputation? Do they have a good client base filled with long-term customers who trust them? And of course, do they offer you something new?

Got some suggestions of your own? We’d love to hear them, so contact us on the comment sections below.