Archive for web copywriting
Freelance Copywriting: The Importance of Voice
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Many online businesses fail to see why they should pay for freelance copywriting, believing that it is an unnecessary cost. They try to write their own copy or scour the freelance writing sites in an attempt to find cheap labor. They don’t realize that this can actually harm business, potentially jeopardizing all the hard work they put into designing and promoting the site.
The problem is that too many organizations are prepared to spend a small fortune on web designers, SEO consultants, and photographers, yet don’t think too much about the content. Instead of treating content as the heart of the website, it somehow becomes relegated to a secondary function, a mere afterthought.
A well-laid out, easy-to-navigate website with good images will create an image of professionalism, like a well-maintained, tidy store. It can certainly catch the eye and entice people to explore further, but it will not encourage them to buy. The way to close the deal is with words, a tried and tested technique that has worked for a few millennia.
Incompetent Employees and the Empty Store
So, why do businesses forget this ancient technique as soon as they move online? Perhaps they become enamored with the whole multi-media/flash animations/Facebook thing: while these are great marketing methods, they cannot stand alone.
Think of it as populating a store with beautiful staff, complete with flashing white teeth, perfect tans, and designer shirts: this won’t work if they are completely devoid of personality. If a potential customer asks a question only to find that the employees aren’t particularly blessed with brains, they will go elsewhere. It is the same online: you need to use words to sell, ideally well-chosen words from somebody who is knowledgeable, engaging, and interesting.
Connecting With Words: The Gift of the Freelance Writer
This is one of the keys to good freelance copywriting, as an experienced professional writer knows how to connect with people. There are a few techniques for keeping readers interested, but the common thread uniting them all is the ‘writer’s voice.’ This is a fundamental principle that is very simple to understand yet very hard to practice.
Ideally, a writer’s language should resemble how they would sound if they were speaking to the person. Try reading this passage out aloud (as long as you are not in public), and it is pretty much how I sound in real life: a slightly pompous Englishman. In fact, many writers, when they read, actually hear a little voice in their head reciting the words aloud. That is why TYPING IN ALL CAPS is a bad thing, because it actually gives some of us a headache!
A good writer can not only write how they speak, but can adapt their voice; if they were writing to an audience of grizzled building contractors, they would use a completely different voice than if they were copywriting for a site frequented by gaming geeks. That is what a good copywriter can do – they can make your site a welcoming place, greeting customers with a little human warmth, explaining exactly what your business can do for them.
The Joy of Freelance Copywriting
Of course, that is only one part of the equation, because a good copywriter can also create content that attracts search engine bots as well as human readers. Your marketing department will love you if you hire a pro copywriter, because this will make their life much easier.
Anyway, that is the end of these musings – I hope that you didn’t get too lost in the rambling. As you are at the end of the page, I must have done something right, so here is the link to the main site where you are free to contact me for a no obligation discussion. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you soon.
Image: “Raven Releasing the Sun”, by Todd Baker
Sales Writer for Hire: How To Write Sales Copy
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For Sale
Most people have little idea of how to judge sales copy, and that really isn’t a bad thing. If people consciously thought about what they were reading, the best efforts of your sales writer for hire would be in vain. It is a professional writer’s job to use emotion and voice to entice the reader to invest in your services, using their expertise in how to write sales copy.
If you are looking for a freelance sales writer for hire, what sort of copy do you want them to produce? What makes sales copy powerful?
Sales Copy: Quality Writing vs Powerful Writing
The problem with sales writing is that it does not always correlate with quality writing. Somebody can write wonderful, flowing prose yet produce ineffective sales copy, simply because they don’t understand the little tricks and nuances required to sell products. While there are many other good reasons for producing quality content, the most important judge of sales copy is how many products you sell.
The key to good sales copy is understanding how people behave online. The vast majority of readers skim through an article, trying to pick out relevant information quickly. If they don’t find what they are looking for within a few seconds, they will simply move on to one of your competitors. That is where a professional copywriter earns their money, because they can write a sales pitch that balances quality, impact, and SEO requirements.
A Few Sales Letter Format Suggestions
Here are a few suggestions of how to judge good sales copy and determine if your sales writer knows their business.
Strong Start: The first paragraph is the most important part of your sales pitch, because it has to grab the attention and tell the reader that it is worth reading on. The first paragraph should be punchy yet information packed, identifying a problem and suggesting a solution.
Clarity: Sales copy should be clear and focused with an economy of style, telling the reader everything they want to know. The writing needs to carry passion, because you are appealing to the emotions of the reader, but it should avoid long sentences and useless adjectives.
Cliché Free: The vast majority of people are sick of hyperbole, and a pitch filled with exclamation marks and sales words such as ‘great,’ ‘super,’ amazing will fail. As a rule of thumb, if you find the word on used car forecourts, don’t use it in your sales copywriting. Subtlety is your friend.
Overcome Objections: As in real-world sales, one of the keys of selling is answering all of the potential questions and overcoming objections. If you manage to do this, your sales conversions will soon rocket.
Build Trust: Internet users are increasingly savvy and know how to avoid most of the sharks. Build trust with words and don’t insult the reader’s intelligence. Again, gentle prodding is much better than trying to metaphorically punch the reader in the face.
Sprint to the Line: To match your strong opening paragraph, you need a very strong closing paragraph, known as ‘The Call To Arms.’ This is where you persuade the reader to click through to the sales page.
Impersonality and Availability: Treading the Line
Ultimately, selling online is a different preposition to selling offline. Online, you lack the personal interaction and the ability to counter objections as they arise. You need to think ahead, because you only have one chance to impress the reader. The advantage is that you don’t need as much physical effort; once the sales copy is written, it will work 24/7 with little further action on your part.
For this reason, it is vital to get it right first time, ensuring that your copy sells and keeps on selling. A good freelance writer for hire knows how to use words to create instant impact, selling you and your products to potential clients. Hire a professional sales writer who knows how to write sales copy, and watch your profits grow.
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What Do The Latest Google Algorithm Changes Mean to Freelance Writers?
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Currently, the world of internet marketing is in a state of mass panic as the latest Google algorithm changes, designed to punish content farms, affect the search engine rankings. Stories of huge drops in page views dominate marketing and SEO forums across the world, as webmasters complain that Google has it wrong and is incorrectly punishing quality content. Naturally, everything is speculative and things may well change as the process settles down, but with livelihoods at stake, the paranoia levels are high.
Even on well-respected sites such as Hubpages, writers and marketers are reporting significant drops in page views, often as much as 50%, and this threatens to wipe out income for many affiliate marketers and writers. It seems that Google has decided to attack the love-in with some of the article sites, downgrading those it perceives as having too much spammy or scraped content.
For myself, income from advertising and affiliate links to Amazon, are secondary; I like the extra payment every month, but my main business is as a hired gun, producing quality content for others.
However, the picture is not that simple and Google algorithm changes can indirectly affect freelance writers. Our fortunes are largely tied to the fortunes of marketers, the lifeblood of the internet, because much of our business stems from that source.
Freelance Writing and the Double Edged Blade of Google
For freelance writers, the changes could be a double-edged sword. The good news is that, if Google is finally delivering on its promise to promote quality content, then good writing will come at a premium and online businesses will happily pay decent money to hire a professional writer. They know that they will receive an excellent return on their investment if their high quality content rises up the rankings.
The downside is that we could see an influx of disenchanted marketers online. Many will see their earnings collapse and decide that the only way to survive is to work as freelance writers, flooding the freelance writing sites and tendering ridiculously low bids.
A similar influx happened a couple of years ago, when oDesk advertised on Good Morning America, with the net result that hundreds of recently unemployed people flooded the site. Freelance writing rates plummeted as desperate people were prepared to work for food.
Will Quality Freelance Writing Rise to the Top?
This trend eventually righted as clients slowly began to realize that, if you pay a couple of bucks for an article, the chances are that you will receive badly written, rehashed crap spun from other sources.
There will always be bottom-feeders who will take advantage and offer 50 cents per article (I have seen that many times), but most clients do want good content, and a skilled professional writer is not going to offer that for free.
Freelance writing demands a different set of skills from writing a few articles online. Apart from the obvious traits, such as the ability to work to deadlines, you cannot pick and choose your topics and you sometimes have to be able to read the client’s mind. Having a computer fitted with Microsoft Office does not make you a freelance writer – it takes a lot more than that.
Google Algorithm Changes – We Await the Outcome
For now, we will have to wait and see what happens – this latest algorithm change from Google could well be a double edged-sword. I retain some optimism, as huge Google changes often take a while to settle down as the software engineers tweak their algorithm. I also believe that quality writing does rise to the top so, unless Google completely messes up, those of us who aim to produce quality will be successful in the long term.
Keep up with the latest developments on Sunforged’s Blog: Search and Marketing News
Web Copywriting – The Advantages of Using a Freelance Copywriter
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Article mills are the bane of the internet, fueling the low wage, low quality web copywriting culture
Search engines, the driving force behind internet habits, are moving towards promoting high quality web copywriting. Rather than reward businesses that flood the internet with sub-standard articles, the search engines are adapting their algorithms to promote high-quality content and rid the internet of the spammers and empty articles.
Because marketers became fixated upon generating backlinks, to the detriment of providing quality web content, businesses used cheap freelance writers to produce countless keyword dense articles, often written in barely passable English. Internet users are sick and tired of trying to find useful information online, only to be confronted by empty content sourced from the notorious article mills. They want to find what they need, quickly and efficiently, without navigating seas of thinly disguised sales copy and painfully poor articles.
The big search engines are aware of this, and they know that consumer power can make or break their market position; they must adapt or die. The same applies to any business with an online marketing strategy; they must start to produce quality content or be left behind in the sandbox as the competition forges ahead.
Instead of going for the cheapest option, now is the time to use a professional freelance copywriter, who will be able to guide you through the transition. In hard economic times, as the advertisers focus on quality rather than saturation, the businesses producing quality will be the survivors when the internet content bubble finally bursts.
Investing in a Freelance Copywriter for Web Copywriting
Many business owners are happy to pay professional marketers and web designers good rates to promote their business, but are strangely reluctant to pay fees for a professional writer. They shop in the bargain basement and try to find freelance writers for a few dollars an hour, yet expect high-quality content. In the vast majority of cases, this approach fails. Content is king, and racing to the bottom reflects badly on your business.
The fast moving nature of the online world means that you only have a few seconds to impress potential clients and, if you confront them with poorly written content, written in poor English and with no direction to the writing, consumers will click the back button on their browser. The high rates that you paid for a marketing consultant have been wasted, all because you tried to save a few dollars. A freelance copywriter knows how to use subtle language to close the deal and entice consumers to spend time browsing your site and seeing what you have to offer.
A professional freelance copywriter will work alongside your marketers and is fully aware of the SEO techniques required to reach out to clients. A pro writer can take keywords and blend them seamlessly into flowing paragraphs and elegant prose. Search engines love high quality web copywriting and, by using a freelance writer as part of your marketing team, you can outperform other businesses still stuck in the old mentality of quantity over quality.
Your highly paid SEO marketing consultant love talented web copywriters, because it makes their life much easier. High quality, natural web content is much easier to promote than keyword soup and, if they are paid by the hour, this will also impact on your bottom line, saving you money. A marketing consultant given good content can concentrate on what they do best; helping your site climb the search engine rankings, rewarding your policy of hiring the best writer that you can find.
A Freelance Writer is a Deal Closer
Internet users are becoming very sophisticated and wary of the many fraudulent websites and products plaguing the internet. Amongst other things, they look at the quality of your website as a benchmark of quality, using it to gauge your product, professionalism, and customer service.
Marketers go out and find potential clients; a talented web designer uses eye-catching, slick designs to convince then to stay; and high quality content, written by a professional freelance copywriter, closes the deal. Using this trirumvate is the key to success, built upon the tried and tested sales techniques that existed long before the dawn of internet shopping.
As an example, I recently browsed the internet to look for some new door fittings, and was disgusted by the sheer amount of poor quality articles online, thinly disguised sales pitches that consisted of a couple of paragraphs written in poor, broken English.
Do these businesses seriously think that I am going to visit their site if they cannot be bothered to act professionally? By trying to save money, they lost a sale, all because they tried to write their own content or hired an enthusiastic amateur.
Web Copywriting – The Flexibility and Professionalism of a Freelance Copywriter
An experienced, skilled web copywriter is a professional with years of training and experience, so you are not going to find one for a few dollars an hour. In the same way, you will not find an accountant, marketer, lawyer, or mechanic for that rate. These professionals are fully aware of their value and set their prices accordingly.
So, why do businesses begrudge paying freelance writers a decent rate? They have been swayed by the article mills and content submission sites, and believe that you really can find a writer for cents. Sadly, in most cases, they end up with poorly written content, with little power, passion, or authority behind the copy or, in the worst cases, plagiarized content copied from other sites.
Freelance copywriters are hired guns, able to refresh marketing campaigns and imbuing them with life and honesty. Professional; freelance writers understand the world of internet marketing and can integrate seamlessly into your team, providing valuable insights and ideas on how to reach a wider audience. Most of all, they make sure that your web copywriting compels and projects your core values and integrity.
The question isn’t about whether you can afford to hire a freelance copywriter for your web copywriting. The question is can you afford not to?
Hire a Copywriter – Write Quality Website Content
Posted by: | CommentsThe False Economy of Cheap Website Content
Many businesses, keen to establish an internet presence, spend a lot of money on Search Engine Optimisation and marketing. Quite rightly, they assume that this will increase awareness and boost their site up the rankings. However, after spending large sums on marketing experts, they shop around in the bargain basement when it comes to generating web content. Rather than pay a professional freelance writer editor, they throw a couple of dollars to one of the freelance writing article mills, which churn out reams of regurgitated content.
This race to the bottom guarantees that all of their expenditure on marketing will be wasted, because Google algorithms are too smart to be fooled by article spinning and keyword stuffing. As their site sinks into the depths of the internet, they give up, or decide that generating business online is a waste of time. If they had invested a little money in hiring a professional writer for their websites, they could have avoided this fate.
A Professional Writer Underpins Marketing Success
If these businesses had spent a little time trying to understand the science of internet marketing, they would have finished the job, by using a professional writer to lay the foundations of their marketing drive. A website is no different from a ‘bricks and mortar’ business, and aggressive marketing is no substitute for core values, built upon developing customer service and marketing the business as quality, not cheap.
Imagine a store where the staff spend their time ignoring queues, insulting customers, and know nothing about the products. This sounds simple, but so many website owners do exactly this, when they insult their customers by using poorly written, rambling web content, instead of professionally written articles and blogs .
A Freelance Writer Editor Writes Web Content that Informs and Engages
Hiring an amateur and inexperienced writer to create poorly worded content, riddled with basic errors, is guaranteed to drive customers away. The words on your website are your only interface with your customers and you only have a few seconds to project a professional image. By assuming that your customers are stupid, you lose the sale and they will never return. The basic concept of marketing is no different on the internet than when merchants plied their trade along the Silk Route:
“Identify a Problem: Provide a Solution.”
This is a simple idea, but it is so easily forgotten amongst the jargon of SEO and the plethora of spun articles and sea of pointless words. Customers want to find information, without wasting time reading irrelevance and tired sales copy, containing the mandatory red fonts, endless exclamation marks and absolutely nothing of substance. They want carefully crafted web copy, drafted by a professional writer, which informs and gently entices.
A Professional Writer – A Sculptor of Words
Hiring a professional writer creates an interface built upon mutual respect, building trust between a business and its clients. A freelance writer editor sees words as more than blunt tools for communication and, instead, shapes them into emotive sentences and flowing language. To a professional writer, words are raw clay, to be shaped into objects of beauty.
A freelance writer editor will write concisely and clearly, using subtle layers of language to appeal to the emotions. A writer will guide the customer, rather than using blunt language and including countless ‘Buy it Now’ buttons. The days of hard sell are long gone, and internet savvy consumers hit the back button when confronted with aggressive copy, mentally associating it with spam.
Experiment Resources – A Case Study in Professional Writing
One example of quality winning over quantity is the scientific resource site, Experiment Resources, a highly regarded authority site, with a Google Page Rank of 5. This leading site is regularly cited in journals, texts, lecture halls and classrooms around the world. The owner of the site decided that he was tired of the poor quality online articles on the internet, and set about developing a high quality scientific resource site.
He employed a professional writer, with a background in science, to develop informative content around strong keywords. With this alliance of sound Search Engine Optimisation and high quality web content, Experiment Resources slugs it out at the top of the search engine rankings, taking on websites with huge budgets. The visionary entrepreneur now receives a steady stream of e-mails asking for permission to cite the work in course notes and academic papers.
The site owner is working with his writer to develop a series of books, and the Experiment Resources brand continues to grow, an example of how employing a professional writer attracts success.
A Professional Writer is an Investment, not an Overhead
Scraping around in the basement and looking for cheap, rather than good value, is why many internet businesses fail. Businesses are increasingly seeing professional writers as an investment, not an overhead, and are waking up to the new paradigm of quality. Consumers want the type of rich content that only a freelance writer editor can provide, rather than the meaningless drivel available on the various article directories. A professional writer will save you money and attract success and give you the opportunity to gain an advantage over the competition.
Instead of presenting customers with poorly constructed web content, guaranteed to drive them away, you can use a professional writer to draw them in and entice them to buy.
Professional Writer Links
My personal website can be found at: Freelance Writer Editor
An example of my work at Experiment Resources: Islamic Scholars and Biology
In my spare time, I write at Dropout Nation: Conviviality – Starving the Ravenous Beast
Experiment Resources Cited on Wikipedia: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Citation at the University of Jyväskylä: Case Study Research Design
Citation at The San Ramon Valley High School: www.grochbiology.org/Statistics.ppt
Citation at the University of Hawaii: www.hawaii.edu/lis/content/syllabi/684_harada_f09.pdf
Story in the RSPCA Newsletter: RSPCA
