All posts in Guest Blog

Top Ways That Can Increase Your Conversion Rate

By | May 28, 2012 | Advice & Insight, Guest Blog, Promoting Yourself | No comments

A handy article from Guest Blogger Margaret, that gives some great tips on how to increase your conversion rates separate from producing better copy. Enjoy!

Traffic density is extremely vital for any website. There are various strategies that webmasters follow to increase the traffic into a particular website and hence make it popular. In this case, it can be mentioned that if you effectively want to make a profit by attracting traffic then you should opt for heightening the conversion rate. This way, even if the number of visitors to your website remains constantly average, you remain at the same position in the page rank listings.

Prerequisites for successful web business

The very first thing that must be kept in mind is the setting and deciding the sole goal of the website you are working for. While designing the website, you should perform a thorough research in the internet. These will help you get ideas to start with the work without any hitches. The ideas may or may not prove helpful when implemented for your website as every website acts differently towards different strategies.

It is often observed that a website has mentioned everything but its main work, motto in the home page. Reflection of your work, goal is extremely important, and one must focus more on the contents of the page rather than its appearance.

Strategies for boosting conversion rates

Make sure the website especially its home page makes a clear impression on the visitors about the goal of the website. Try to avoid including too much information into the home page and concentrate more on the specific motive of the website. If and only if the intentions of the website are clear to the browser, accomplishment of traffic becomes easier.

Web page options layout

According to a survey conducted not long ago, browsers are more likely to click to a link provided in the home page when it is at the end of the content at the left side. After evaluating the performance rate, it was seen that when a sign up option was placed on the left end of the page it had 13 percent more sign ups than when the button was at the right. It is likely that visitors tend to read the entire content first and then opt for the registering option. So during designing make sure, the website follows this layout pattern.

Inclusion of the word “free”

This for sure attracts visitors. When the registration is payable, many people back out. So instead of making it payable or providing a specific trial period, one should give free service. This will increase the conversion rates manifold. According to the surveys, the increment was by about thirty percent.

Visitor details format

When a webmaster tends to indulge a visitor to fill up his contact details, it should be kept into account that the details form must not be too long. If the fields provided are too many the visitor loses interest and at times leaves the task halfway. This is not desirable at all when increasing conversion rates is in the mind.

Try not to over congest the web pages with too much of the information. It is always better to remain precise and focus more on the motive than the rest of the partially important things. If one follows up the above mentioned strategies, the conversion rate is sure to shoot up to the apex.

About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently did an article on born rich. These days she is busy in writing an article on gizmo watch.

12 Job Application Tips for Copywriters

By | March 14, 2012 | Advice & Insight, Copywriting, Freelance Copywriters, Guest Blog | 2 Comments

By Glenn Murray | Advertising Copywriter, Website Copywriter, Article PR Specialist *

I recently advertised for freelance copywriters to work for my copywriting business and received some 200 applications. I’ve done quite a bit of recruiting in the past, so, from the outset, I knew exactly what sort of expertise I was after. I also knew I’d be inundated with applications, and that the applicants would come from all sorts of backgrounds with varying levels of copywriting expertise. I was very specific about the application requirements, and I had systems set up to filter and categorize applications. I thought I had it all covered. I should have known I couldn’t be that lucky!

When the applications started rolling in, I was dumbfounded. All of my best intentions and systems notwithstanding, the applicants seemed intent on ruling themselves out of contention by sending sub-standard application emails. They were so bad that, at times, I felt like I was shortlisting based on the quality of the application, rather than the quality of the applicant.

This article is for any writer – experienced or not – who plans to apply for a copywriting job. It presents 12 tips (in order of importance) on how to apply in such a way that you stand a chance of making the shortlist.

1. Follow Instructions

If the job ad contains instructions, follow them. If it contains instructions which are labelled “IMPORTANT”, and which are formatted bold and red, you can assume they’re somewhat important and that there’s a reason for them. Follow them! Read and re-read the ad to make sure you’ve followed every instruction. If the ad says apply via email, apply via email! If it says to use “Copywriter Application” as the subject line, use “Copywriter Application” as the subject line! If it says to visit a website, provide a quote, supply three copy samples, and include your resume, DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS! If you don’t follow the simple, obvious instructions in a job ad, the employer will have no faith that you’ll be able to adhere to a complex copywriting brief!

2. Less is More

Don’t waste the employer’s time. Remember, they’re hiring a freelance copywriter because they need someone to take on a bit of their workload. They’re ‘time poor’. Keep your application short ‘n’ sweet. This is your chance to show what you’re capable of, so don’t fall into the trap of using big words and complex sentences. Less is more.

3. Show How You’ll Help Their Business

Try to see things from the employer’s perspective. Most employers who advertise for freelancer copywriters are looking for people who can help them streamline their business. Employers – particularly copywriting studios, advertising agencies and web design agencies – who want freelance copywriters are trying to ‘productize’ copywriting. They want to be able to ‘turn the handle’: they want an affordable freelance copywriter who can be relied upon to deliver client-ready first draft copy, with minimal supervision. They’re trying to build a copywriter factory line. Remember this when you apply, and try to show how you’ll help them achieve this goal.

4. Make Your Application Scannable

Once again, remember that the employer doesn’t have a lot of time. So make your copywriter application easy to scan. Don’t just write one long block of text. Use short paragraphs, headings and bullets, and bold the important bits.

5. Address the Requirements

If the copywriter ad lists the requirements of the job, make sure you address them, individually. (But remember, keep it short ‘n’ sweet.)

6. Be Open and Honest

Don’t oversell yourself; if the story told by your samples and resume doesn’t match your sales spiel, you’ll be discounted. If you don’t have the experience or expertise to satisfy one or more of the requirements, say so. And don’t lie about your experience or include samples you didn’t actually write. This may get you one job, but you may not get paid for it, and you’ll certainly never get another. And remember, the copywriting world is very small; everyone knows everyone, and warnings about deceptive freelancers travel very fast along the grapevine.

7. Provide Relevant Samples

If the job ad asks you to supply samples of your copy, do everything in your power to find and supply samples that are relevant. The ad may specify the kind of samples you need to supply, but if not, take a look at the employer’s website, and send samples that are relevant to their main service offering. If they do mostly web copy, send web copy samples. If they do short copy, send short copy samples. And if you don’t have any relevant samples, try to identify the core qualities required by the employer, and send samples that show you possess those qualities. (e.g. If the employer does mostly online brochure-type web copy, you’ll need to supply samples which show your ability to simultaneously capture a product and an audience, and maybe even educate the audience.)

8. Don’t Expect Immediate Feedback

Because most job ads attract hundreds of applications, and because the employer is still trying to run their business, you can’t expect immediate feedback on your application. Don’t send a reminder email after a day or two days. If you’re going to send a reminder, do it after a week or two weeks. And, unless the ad says to call, don’t call! Phone calls take up a lot of time, and this can be very frustrating to a busy employer who, most likely, has no feedback to give yet, anyway.

9. Don’t Use Broken English

If you’re applying for a job as an English-language copywriter, you have to have a solid mastery of English. If your application is written in broken English, you WILL NOT get the role; you’re simply wasting your time and the employer’s time.

10. Proof-Read Your Application

Nothing undermines a copywriter more than mistakes in spelling, punctuation, grammar and syntax (he says as he nervously scans his article!). Pay close attention to detail. You may be applying for quite a few roles, but don’t hurry through your application; always take the time to proof-read and spell-check. TIP: Although it’s not a show-stopper, try to spell the employer’s name correctly!

11. Don’t Ask for Work Experience

Unless the ad specifically states that unpaid work experience is a possibility, don’t ask for it. While it certainly indicates great enthusiasm, most employers simply don’t have the time to mentor a junior copywriter, even if they’re not paying the writer anything.

12. Don’t Ask for a Critique of Your Writing

If your application is unsuccessful, feel free to ask why not, but don’t ask the employer to critique your writing. Explaining why your writing is inadequate is a very time consuming task, and it’s not the responsibility of a prospective employer. If you ever had a chance at a call-back somewhere down the line, this is the surest way to lose it.

Conclusion

You’d be surprised how many freelance copywriter applicants DON’T observe the above guidelines. These applicants make the employer’s job extremely frustrating and time consuming, and they all but rule themselves out of contention. Follow all of the above tips when applying for your next freelance copywriter position, and you’ll be a very big step ahead of your competition.

Happy applying!

* Glenn Murray is an advertising copywriter, website copywriter, SEO copywriter, and article submission and article PR specialist. He heads copywriting studio, Divine Write, and is a director of article PR company, Article PR. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at glenn@divinewrite.com. Visit http://www.DivineWrite.com or http://www.ArticlePR.com for further details, a FREE SEO eBook, or more FREE reprint articles.

Need a newsletter article or press release written professionally? Call Glenn in Sydney Australia on +612 4334 6222 or email glenn@divinewrite.com for a creative advertising copywriter, website copywriter, or SEO copywriter.

Thanks to Glenn for another great post!

26 Great Tools for Copywriters

By | February 24, 2012 | Advice & Insight, Copywriting, Guest Blog | 2 Comments

By Glenn Murray | Advertising Copywriter, Website Copywriter, Article PR Specialist *

After more than 12 years as a professional writer, I have more effective copywriting and SEO copywriting tools at my disposal than I could poke a stick at. I’ve already shared this list at the Divine Write Copywriting Forums, but thought I’d distribute a little wider.

Hope it helps…

(Note: If you run a copywriting business from home, you may also be interested in reading my three-article series on home business technologies.)

  1. Microsoft Word(EXPENSIVE!) – No real need to describe, but some features that warrant a mention as particularly useful to copywriters include:
    • Macros (Tools | Macro | Record New Macro) – particularly useful for automating those tasks that copywriters perform over and over each day. TIP: If you plan to delete a macro that’s assigned to a button in a toolbar, delete the button first. Some versions of Word won’t let you delete the button after you delete the macro. If you do happen to get caught by this gem, you have to re-add the macro – without assigning dragging it to a toolbar – then delete the button, then delete the macro again.)
    • Track Changes (Tools | Track Changes) – Previously called revisions. Great for clients who like to make changes in the document. Just make sure you turn it on before you send the doc for review, because many people don’t know how to turn it on themselves, or won’t bother.
    • Templates (File | Save As and set the file type to .dot) – Define all your styles and page setup in a template, then double-click on the template to create a new document based on that template – your new doc will inherit all of the styles, page setup, macros, etc., from the template.
    • Dictionaries for multiple languages (select all, then click Tools | Set Language and choose your language – when you do your spell check, it will default to the correct dictionary)
    • Word count toolbar (select View | Toolbars | Word Count)
  2. Macromedia Contribute trial version (FREE) – I don’t actually use Macromedia, but by installing the demo, you get a great PDF creator. It’s been a while since I downloaded my trial version, but I suspect you still get the PDF creator.
  3. Notepad (Start | Programs | Accessories | Notepad) – Great for those times when you need something written in pure text from the outset. Notepad comes as part of Microsoft’s operating system.
  4. Puretext (FREE) – A fast way of pasting as pure text. Great for use with Microsoft Word. Instead of having to select Edit | Paste Special | Unformatted Text or copy and paste via Notepad, you simply paste as text using user-defined short-cut keys (e.g. Ctrl | T). (And let’s face it; as copywriters, we do a LOT of copy-pasting…)
  5. Mozilla Firefox Internet Browser (FREE) – Allows you to supplement its native functionality with lots of add-ons that let you do cool stuff. One of the most useful is the word count calculator. Simply select the text you want to count, right-click and select Word Count (excellent for copywriters who need to quote for the rewrite of an existing site and the client wants approx the same word count). Apparently Firefox is also more secure than IE ‘cos it’s not integrated with the operating system. This is what I’ve read, anyway; don’t know if it’s true.
  6. Google Desktop (FREE) – A great way to search your computer for stuff. Especially useful when you’re having trouble finding an email or Word document that you know you’ve written, but you can only remember a phrase or a few words. (What copywriter hasn’t experienced this dilemma?) I find it HEAPS better than the Find function in ‘My Computer’.
  7. Google Adwords Editor (FREE) – If you’re a copywriter who manages / works on lots of Google Adwords projects, this tool is great as you can do everything locally, and only upload on completion. Makes things a lot safer and faster as you’re not working over the Internet the whole time.
  8. MessageSave & EzyDetach (approx USD $30 each but you can get a FREE trial version) – Excellent for managing and filing emails and their attachments to hard disk. You save the email / attachment as a file and the product automatically names it with the sender’s name and the date of receipt. This makes these products excellent for keeping track of client reviews of your copy and recording correspondence regarding your copy. Also significantly reduces the size of your PST file.
  9. Dictionary.com (FREE) – Contains a good thesaurus. Biggest limitation is that it’s in US English. (Well, that’s a limitation for copywriters who write in Australian or UK English!)
  10. DomainsBot (FREE) – Neat tool for turning ideas into names. Excellent for copywriters who work in the conceptual field or short copy copywriters.
  11. Ezemail Email / eNewsletter Distribution (Approx 5 cents per email) – Very useful for sending HTML e-newsletters. You can personalise your mailouts by including the recipient’s name in the Subject line and in the email body. Also tracks all sorts of useful recipient data (who read what, what they clicked on, etc.). Template based so you can re-use your email designs.
  12. Stock Photography (royalty-free photos from $1) – Excellent if you need to include photos in your copy or proposals, or if you have to manage a design project (both things most copywriters will do, at one time or another).
  13. Rhyme Zone (FREE) – Type in a word and find rhyming words. Something for jingle copywriters?
  14. Google Alerts (FREE) – Have Google notify you whenever it finds a page that contains a particular word or phrase. Particularly useful for identifying sites that have plagiarized your copy. (You’d be amazed at how many alleged copywriting sites have plagiarized the copy from my website!) Also useful for SEO. You can use it to find out when your URL or a client’s URL is published on page. (This generally indicates that a link to your site / your client’s site has been added.)
  15. Copyscape plagiarism detection (USD $0.05 per search for Premium, USD $4.95 per month for Copysentry) – Identifies sites that have plagiarized the copy on your site or a client’s site.
  16. Adeeze (AUD $20) – An ebook containing hundreds (maybe thousands) of headlines and slogans ready for royalty-free use. Great for all sorts of industries. I haven’t read them all, but the ones I have seem pretty good. Written by a professional copywriter with quite a bit of experience in headlines and slogans.
  17. Text to HTML converter (FREE) – I’m sure you’ll find a use for it!
  18. My SEO eBook (FREE) – Great for learning the ins and outs of search engine optimisation (SEO) and SEO copy.
  19. ArticlePR.com (FREE) – My list of article submission sites (aka article banks) to which you can submit your articles in order for them to be syndicated on other websites.
  20. Backlink checker (FREE) – A fairly accurate way of counting the number of unique backlinks to a site.
  21. Matt Cutts’ BLOG (FREE) – A handy resource for learning about all things SEO and SEO copywriting. (Matt Cutts’ is also known as the ‘Google Insider’.)
  22. Google Toolbar (FREE) – Great for getting a quick, high level picture of the search presence of your copywriting website or a client’s website. (Also very useful for establishing the credibility of online stores before you buy…)
  23. WordTracker keyword analysis (Approx $12/day -) – The best keyword analysis tool I’ve found. Type in a word, and it lists a whole heap of related words, tells you how many times they’ve been searched for in the last couple of months, and rates them all according to how hard they’ll be to target for SEO.
  24. Keyword density calculator (FREE -) – Copy and paste your SEO copy, define your target keywords, and it calculates the density of each for you.
  25. Search engine spider simulator (FREE -) – Great tool for seeing what your site (or your client’s site) looks like in the eyes of a search engine. It’s only an indication, but it’s helpful, nonetheless.

I hope you find these tools useful as you go about your day-to-day copywriting tasks. I’ve come to rely on them very heavily. Obviously, they’re a only a sub-set of all the really cool stuff out there, so if you have any other suggestions, please feel free to reply to the thread on my forum that hosts this list, at http://divinewrite.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=63.

* Glenn Murray is an advertising copywriter, website copywriter, SEO copywriter, and article submission and article PR specialist. He heads copywriting studio, Divine Write, and is a director of article PR company, Article PR. He can be contacted on Sydney +612 4334 6222 or at glenn@divinewrite.com. Visit http://www.DivineWrite.com or http://www.ArticlePR.com for further details, a FREE SEO eBook, or more FREE reprint articles.

Need a newsletter article or press release written professionally? Call Glenn in Sydney Australia on +612 4334 6222 or email glenn@divinewrite.com for a creative advertising copywriter, website copywriter, or SEO copywriter.

Interview With David Garfinkel

By | February 7, 2012 | Advice & Insight, Copywriting, Freelance Copywriters, Guest Blog | No comments

Continuing with our series of interviews with leading copywriters, our next participant is Mr David Garfinkel of fasteffectivecopy.com. Let’s see what he had to say when we put the questions to him.

1. When did you decide to start your freelance copywriting business?

Around 1991. I had been an award-winning editorial writer (San Francisco bureau chief for McGraw Hill, and a freelance writer) for years, but when I got into the info-product business, I found I needed a new skill – a way to sell my products!

I started to study copywriting, and practice it for my own business.  And then I found people would pay good money for sales letters that worked.

2. How long did it take before you established yourself as a leading freelance copywriter?

Probably about five years.

3. Are there any other copywriters you admire? If so, who and why?

There are many.  Old-school guys (I mean really old school) include Claude Hopkins, Gene Schwartz and Victor Schwab. Not only because of how they wrote copy themselves, but because of how well they have been able to teach others.  These guys, of course, have passed on.

Current living legends include Drayton Bird, Bob Bly, David Deutsch, and John Carlton. These guys have helped me learn a lot and move forward in my own career.

And some of the younger guys I have mentored: Michael Morgan, Vin Montello, Chris Haddad.  Because they write so well and get such great sales results.

There are others, but those are the first nine that came to mind.

4. What is the best way to get new clients?

Great question.  The answer is, show up where the clients are, and socialize in a business setting.  For Internet copywriters, this could include Internet marketing conferences.  Even if you’re not a social person, do this anyway.  Clients aren’t buying copy – they are investing in a business relationship with someone who understands their business and can help it grow with the written word.  They want to have a good gut feeling about you.

5. If you could pick five traits or characteristics to create the perfect freelance copywriter, what would they be?

No such thing as perfect, first of all…

But assuming there actually were, I would say:

1) Good listener

2) Good questioner

3) Able to boil down a lot of information into concise phrases and stories

4) Ability to sell and to “sense” the sales process

5) Patience, including with all the quirks of the human condition.

6. What’s your favourite power word (or word)?

You.

Next to a person’s own name, it will almost always be their favourite word.

7. List five must-have items that you believe each freelance copywriter should have?

1) An elevator speech (30-second pitch) which includes a Unique Selling Proposition.

2) A place on the Web (site, blog, something) to demonstrate how they write.

3) Samples of actual work, with tracked sales results if at all possible.

4) A sense of humour.  Seriously. If you don’t have that, it’s going to be hard to last in this business. Because if you take things too personally or too seriously, you could get in a lot of trouble in a hurry.

5) Supportive relationships.  With other copywriters, or with a paid mentor, or as part of business Mastermind, or all of the above.  You need people who “have your back.”

8. What are the annoying aspects of freelance copywriting?

The most annoying thing is clients who are more interested in “polishing their halo” (that is, buffing up their own egos) than getting bottom line sales results. I don’t think copywriters should be in the PR business, unless they are PR copywriters.  But some clients have different opinions, and that’s annoying.

Also, having clients who are so successful that you can’t get a response from them for weeks at a time. That’s what happened with me – I heard back yesterday from a client I had emailed and called 10 days ago. I couldn’t move forward until I had my client’s OK on an approach.  It’s annoying, but at least you know clients that busy will be able to pay the bills!

9. What are the most enjoyable aspects of freelance copywriting?

If you enjoy the work – as I do – it’s great to get paid very well for something you have fun doing.

Also, I get a big kick out of seeing my clients’ business grow.

These days, however, most of my copy is for my own two businesses, in which I’m a partner:  Fast Effective Copy, the training site; and a wealth education product.
But every now and then I come across someone who can afford me, and for whose business, their investment will pay multiples back to them.

10. Finally. What advice would you give to all the brand new freelance copywriters out there?

Learn all you can, but also, do. I am working with a staff copywriter who had studied things for years but was relying entirely on what he learned (from the best sources) but he had never actually written copy and observed from experience what works and what doesn’t work.

Also, hand-copy Web pages and old sales letters.  As much as you can stand, and then some.  It’s amazing how fast that advances your learning curve.

David Garfinkel

http://FastEffectiveCopy.com

Thanks to David for some great answers and insight from a unique perspective!

Interview with Glenn Murray

By | January 31, 2012 | Advice & Insight, Freelance Copywriters, Guest Blog | 3 Comments

For the benefit of all you freelance copywriters out there Glenn Murray (of Divine Write Copywriting) has been kind enough to sit down and answer a few of my questions. There’s some great advice and insight within this post so make sure you check it out!

1. When did you decide to start your freelance copywriting business?

Before Divine Write, I was a technical writer in the software industry. I enjoyed that, but I’d always fantasised about setting up shop as a freelance copywriter. Just never had the balls! Then in 2002, after nine years as a techwriter, I was made redundant. Six weeks later, despite dozens of job applications, and about 100 letters and phone calls to prospective employers, I was still unemployed. And my redundancy payout was gone.

Clearly no-one wanted a techwriter, so I started thinking about what else I could do. I’d written a few brochures in my time (tends to happen when you’re the only arts graduate in a company full of engineers), so I decided to pitch myself as a copywriter. I’d had a bit of practice with telephone cold-calls, so I kept them going. Turns out copywriting was in more demand than techwriting. So that afternoon, I came up with the business name, registered the domains and registered the business.

2. How long did it take before you established yourself as a leading freelance copywriter?

About two years, I’d say. Of course, “leading” is all a matter of perspective. I still don’t have the profile (or income) of the big guns in America. But what I do have is a very good search engine presence, and a lot of recognisable clients offering nice testimonials. For clients, that equates to “leading”.

3. Are there any other copywriters you admire? If so, who and why?

Certainly. I’m a big fan of Amanda Gonzalez’s writing (www.untangletheweb.com.au). Also James Chartrand in Canada (www.menwithpens.ca).

4. What is the best way to get new clients?

I don’t know about the best way, full-stop. But I know the best way for me has been my website combined with professional client management. A well planned, designed, written and optimised site can send a lot of customers your way. Then you just need to say the right things and convey the right professionalism. This doesn’t just mean thinking of the right things to say each time. It means having systems in place that show the client you’re a serious contender. Like professional proposals.

5. If you could pick five traits or characteristics to create the perfect freelance copywriter, what would they be?

1) ‘The flow’ – You have to be able to write more better goodly, like.
2) Business acumen – You have to be strategic with your own business and you have to understand the client’s.
3) Adaptability – You have to wear a lot of hats (PC tech, social media guru, business development manager, etc.)
4) Persistence – It’s hard and it takes time.
5) Creative thinking – Not just in your writing, but also in your problem solving.

6. What’s your favourite power word (or word)?

I don’t really have one. Had to look up what it meant actually!

7. List five must-have items that you believe each freelance copywriter should have?

If a computer is a given, then I’d say:
1) Website
2) SEO knowledge
3) Effective email & contact management
4) Effective file management
5) Accounts package

8. What are the annoying aspects of freelance copywriting?

Clients. They always want something! ;-) No, seriously, clients who question grammar and punctuation, or who demand a really formal style, can be very difficult to work with. And those who want to spend hours on the phone, or who take forever to get you information, then demand the copy the next day. Writing about the same sorts of products and services, day in and day out, can be a bit draining too.

9. What are the most enjoyable aspects of freelance copywriting?

Being exposed to different business ideas. You have a lot of clients who are startups, and you really get to see some interesting concepts. Over time, you start to develop a sense for what ideas have legs, and what ideas don’t (which in turn kinda leads you into entrepreneurialism yourself… ;-) Obviously it’s good to be able to write for a living too, but the novelty of that wears off pretty quickly.

10. Finally. What advice would you give to all the brand new freelance copywriters out there?

Know you can do it. Go with your gut and write what you feel you should. Use your head to plan and edit, but use your heart to write. Oh and watch My Top 10 Tips for Aspiring Freelance Copywriters video.

…Well that’s it! A big thank you to Glenn for doing this. Another interview with another top copywriter is coming up soon!

James@ProjectCopy

You Don’t Need To Be Derren Brown To Write Magic Web Copy

By | January 24, 2012 | Advice & Insight, Copywriting, Freelance Copywriters, Guest Blog | 1 Comment

Here’s the thing. The longer you’re online, the more you could think anyone can write web content. The truth is … they pretty much can. But there’s a big difference between publishing, and getting read.

Let’s face it. If you’re blogging for kicks or copywriting for cash, that’s what writing is all about. Capturing … and holding an audience.

Conjuring up web copy

There’s a zillion writing tips out there. Some great, others (ahem) less so. But web writers with real shazam get to know the medium first.

That’s the real secret. All great copywriters talk about building a story. To do that, you need to know how readers consume content … and write accordingly.

Six Spellbinding Steps

1. Tabloid style
What you know:
Web readers are time poor. They may read your opening blurb but rarely get beyond para 2.
What you do:
Write like a tabloid journalist. Get your key points across early. Add detail later.

2. Short & sweet
What you know:
Screen reading is hard work. So people take shortcuts like page skimming.
What you do:
Use small words for web copy. Write in short sentences and scrap most stop words.

3. Snackable portions
What you know:
Big slabs of text are like asking your visitors to climb Mount Everest. They won’t.
What you do:
Break down web copy into bite size chunks. They look more appealing and are easier to read.

4. Heading up
What you know:
Web readers look for short-cuts. They want the most relevant content … fast.
What you do:
Write lots of heading to give visitors a web copy snapshot. They’re also handy rest stops.

5. Point to it
What you know:
Web readers scan pages for points of interest. So they prefer well formatted content.
What you do:
Add short bullet lists to your web copy. They look great and draw attention to key points.

6. Lead the way
What you know:
Web readers know where the back button is. And they aren’t afraid to use it.
What you do:
Make moving to other content easy. Write web copy with internal links in mind.

Getting in touch with your inner audience might seem sadly unoriginal. But it’s the proven success formula. These six steps work like a magic to boost your writing skill and build captivating web copy. Hey Presto!

Anne Macindoe is the owner and Principal Copywriter at Cluey freelance copywriters. Her Melbourne writing service offers expert web content and SEO copywriting support. Cluey authors marketing communication for an array of Australian and international clients.
Web: cluey.com.au
Facebook: clueycopywriter
Twitter: @clueycopywriter

Opening the floor…to YOU

By | January 16, 2012 | Copywriting, Freelance Copywriters, Guest Blog, Non-Copywriter | 2 Comments

Copyright - tothepc.com

I am opening the floor to any and all bloggers who want to become a guest poster on this blog!

As I have stated several times before, this blog is different. It’s not just me giving out advice, it’s you too. So get in touch if you have an interesting point to bring up.

Copywriters: Tell us about the perks you enjoy, the tips and tricks you have learned that can be passed on and let us all know the things that annoy you too.

Non-copywriters: Let us know what you want to see from copywriters, let us know the concerns you have about hiring a copywriter too. With your help we can all improve our service to make sure that your next experience with a copywriter is a great one!

“How can I become a guest blogger?” I hear you cry. Well, it’s very simple – please send me an email containing your sample and a small description of what your post discusses. I will then look over your post, check it for relevancy and send you an email back letting you know if your post has been chosen to feature on this blog.

The benefits are clear: you’ll enjoy more exposure and more incoming links to your website.

Happy writing!