PR used to be a lonely soul. It would perform tasks in isolation, diligently writing back slapping press releases to keep the boardroom happy. But times have changed. PR has since been brought in from the cold to work shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the marketing crew. Social media and…
It’s now been a few months since Google released its Hummingbird update. While it affected a reported 90 percent of websites, in the main it’s been met with a sigh of relief. Those who’ve been following the rules of diligently posting quality articles feel vindicated, whereas …
This year will be my eighth as a freelance copywriter. The moment when I can boast of a decade’s experience beckons. But it’s a journey that’s been far from easy. Many a time have I woken in the middle of the night panicking at the loss of a steady income and a corporate…
After seeing the broken mess my website became on a mobile screen, I decided it was time for a revamp. Courtesy of themeforest.net, the http://www.copywriterscrucible.com is now ‘on trend’ in long form sales page format and categorically mobile friendly. I’ve also pulled the trigger in officially welcoming Danielle Auld (copywriter) and Mike Erwood (graphic and web design) to the team. So along
Video copywriting and production now offered by The Copywriter’s Crucible
If you decide to flee 9 to 5 world and to live by your wits as well your laptop as a independent copywriter, the largest challenge you will face is finding clients. It can take months, if not a number of years, to build up a secure customer base to keep your profits at a stable level. So you need to make sure you have sufficient funds to last half a year before you get started and that you never stop advertising and marketing yourself and looking for clients.
Here are four ways of locating corporations able to pay for your copywriting expertise:
LinkedIn is the alternative to Facebook for business professionals. Rather than party photos, Farmville and posting witty jokes, people use LinkedIn as a professional networking tool to link with people theyâve worked with and people theyâd like to. So it’s a wise decision to get involved by setting up a user profile and interacting with colleagues you’ve worked with before and people you want to work with in the foreseeable future.
To give your network a jump start, send link invitations to all the people you’ve worked with in the past. You may be surprised what businesses they may have transferred to that might make use of a copywriter. You may also use LinkedIn to find enterprises in your local area that might call for your services and whom you can contact for freelance assignments.
Local marketing and website design agencies can be a goldmine of freelance copywriting work paid at a good rate of pay.. They will also give you access to bigger higher paying clients and brands than you would be in the position to connect with as an individual freelancer. The big agencies probably already have copywriters internally, so it will be sensible to concentrate on the medium sized to smaller agencies who use freelancers to add extra expertise whenever they require them.
With competition for clients on the web leading to rates of pay to drop fast, the best method is to seek out customers in your local region. Folks naturally prefer to work work those they’ve met in person. With this in mind, you need to be out there shaking hands and speaking to local business owners, face to face, at each chance you get.
If you check with your local council or business support organisations you will likely discover a vibrant business networking scene in your town. Often held in local hotel function rooms or over an early morning breakfast in a local restaurant, networking events are typically fairly relaxed and enable people who run businesses and freelancers to meet each other.
While many business networking events have to be paid for, itâs often feasible to locate free events in your neighborhood. But if you can not locate any professional networking events in your town or city, then why not start an event of your own? You could create the event on a social networking website, like Meetup, Facebook or LinkedIn. Simply start a networking get together and next invite people in your neighborhood business community to attend also to invite their business contacts.
Many copywriters are naturally fearful of picking up the phone, and would rather clean the house than pick-up the phone. It can be time-consuming, but contacting local firms which may require a freelance copywriter is far more effective than just email bombing them. Sending unsolicited email messages is unlikely going to get the result you need, unless you want to irritate people and be labelled a spammer. Making the effort to pick up the phone, on the other hand, gives you the chance to speak about your copywriting expertise in a more ethical way that can build a relationship and give you the opportunity of acquiring some freelance work.
As a freelancer you can not afford to sit back and wait for enquries to roll in. So you need to be constantly marketing and offering your copywriting skills so you can build up a consistent salary and make the freelance dream a reality.
Everybody would like to be top of Google. But claiming top spot has always been far from easy. Over the last decade SEO boffins have engaged in a battle with the world’s most popular search engine. Whether it was using bots to build links with thousands of sites at the press of a button, link pyramids or keyword stuffing , they had all manner of methods for outwitting Googleâs carefully calculated algorithm.
But lately the Big G is making great progress in not only defeating these tactics but also taking revenge on those that have used them. Google’s Penguin and Panda updates may have soft and cuddly titles. But the destruction they have unleashed onto the search rankings, and revenue, of 1000s of affiliate marketers have led to many giving up the war completely.
A lot of affiliate marketers continue to use the same old tactics to infest websites with links to their websites. But their days are numbered. Its itâs only a matter of time before the Big G emerges victorious, and affiliate marketers bow their heads in subservience to the new rules of SEO.
<h3>how seo now works </h3>
Google would prefer you not to do any optimisation at all. If you do anything to try and cheat the system you are only an algorithm update away from a âGoogle slapâ. Instead, any links you build must look natural. How can you achieve this? Through providing great content. This is why a professional content writer should now be on your speed dial for SEO services.
Here is a rundown of the five pillars of the new rules of SEO:
Target A Wider Range Of Keywords – Not so long ago the SEO mantra was to always use keywords as your âanchor textâ (the words that are highlighted to form the link). Inevitably, this led to website owners committing the sin of âover optimisingâ and only using the same few high traffic keywords in their links. Nowadays, you need to have a selection of anchor text to reflect the many ways in which people enter links to sites. Rather than just having âsnow blowerâ as your link in every syndicated blog post and article, you need to include phrases like ‘visit our snow plough website’, ‘we sell the best snow ploughsâ and more varied links that reflects the different ways people link around the internet.
Social Media Links- What other people think has always been a strong barometer of what is relevant and can be trusted. So Likes, Tweets and other social media indicators are being used in Google’s algorithm. How do you get all these social signals? Thatâs correct, through employing a copywriter to write great content for you. In fact, you can now get as much traffic from social media sites as you can the search engines. One day the social web’s influence may grow to the level where you dont even have to worry about search engine optimisation ever again.
Posting On Popular Blogs – Getting backlinks on relevant sites with a high page rank has always been SEO gold. The only problem is that now everyone wants to contribute to the most popular blogs. They will be less than impressed if you send them rehashed content, rewritten and handed over as original thought. Instead, blog owners want articles that has something new to say. Providing this content takes research and time to put together such unique, original guest posts. But the delicious âlink juiceâ you gain will make all the effort worth it.
Exit Rate – Much like a rubber ball bouncing against a wall, this is the number of people who abandon your site without checking out other pages. This means the longer people stay reading your articles the more respect youâll get from the internet’s most popular search engine. So to improve your search engine rankings, you will need top quality content that keeps them engaged, answers their questions and encourages them to read more.
Google Authorship – Google+ might still be lagging behind its rivals, but Google+ is becoming important to your SEO strategy. If you havent already, you need to start adding members to your Google+ Circles because it gives Google a clear indication that you have something interesting to say. You also need to add the Google+ authorship link to your website because it lets Google know that you can be trusted to deliver top quality information that keeps people interested and that you deserve a high ranking in its search results.
So, as you can see from these 5 rules of SEO , quality content is going to be the currency of earning high rankings in 2013 and every year ahead. To gain higher search engine rankings you need to form partnerships with content producers and/or copywriters. The added bonus is that along with higher search engine rankings, you will be improving your reputation as an expert and thought leader . Higher website conversions and more enquiries on your website will arise .
can be quite a challenge – and I should know because I built my freelance copy writing business from scratch!} Making enough to support yourself can take months, if not years. In particular if you possess a family.
However , you will find there can be rich rewards for those able to do it, both in terms of income and lifestyle. There are negative aspects too, though.
THE FINEST THINGS ABOUT BECOMING A FREELANCE COPYWRITER
Earning money to write – If you enjoy writing then getting paid to do it will seem like paradise. You get paid to sit at home or perhaps in your favourite restaurant and write about intriguing new topics. In addition, you get to apply your brain in looking for ways to make topics sound appealing to your audience.
Develop your knowledge – To begin with you’ll probably be a generalist, which means you will likely be writing about all manner of products and topics. You are continuously discovering new topics and also broadening your know-how, itâs incredible how often topics cross. If you like finding out about something totally new, then becoming a freelance copy writer may be best for you.
Work/life balance – Being a freelance worker doing work from your home, you donât have a boss telling you what to do. You can choose what tasks to work on, and you can even decide to go for a mid afternoon walk if you like, and catch up later in the evening. Who wouldn’t love that flexibility? If you get stuck for inspiration at home it is possible to go and work in coffee shops or the local library, turning your surrounding area into your place of work.
Earnings – Once youâve built up your client base and expertise, you can charge large fees for your services. As a freelance worker you’ll be able to charge larger pay every hour compared to someone employed full-time. This means you can gain a high annual income if you are able to secure a steady flow of work. Providing copywriting for businesses to help promote their productscan be a challenging job. But with your writing ability linked to sales you can expect to earn a substantial income with practice and experience.
REASONS WHY YOU MIGHT NOT WANT TO BECOME A FREELANCE COPYWRITER
Deficiency of social interaction – If you like spending time exclusively by yourself (as many freelance writers are inclined to do) then freelancing might be perfect for you. But when you enjoy talking with colleagues and customers then it can get lonely due to being on your own on a regular basis.. Therefore itâs vital to be free fromthe home and talk to people you know on a daily basis if you would like avoid the isolation blue).
Your opposition is now the entire world – Many companies prefer to work with a copy writer they can meet and speak to face-to-face, after all people like to do business with people. I always encourage marketing whenever you canin your neighborhood to get customers. Nonetheless, some businesses probably have a small budget and will look online to find a freelance copy writer. On the net your competition is almost limitless, as a result of the reach of the internet and since anyone canmake a websiteand claim they are a copy writer.
Ever-changing earnings – When starting out, I suggest having enough funds to last you a good few months while you find customers. Still retaining a reliable income is often a struggle. There will be times when the emails never stop flowing and the cell phone is off hook. Other times you may be staring at your PC nervously looking forward to those enquiries to arrive. You have to be prepared for a fluctuating income if you need to be a self-employed copy writer, and the stress that will come with it because the business running expenses donât stop when your income does.
Hopefully, this article has given you an guide of the benefits and down sides of the free-lance lifestyle. Good luck in making your journey into becoming a freelance copywriter a success!
Have people ever said you have a smooth writing style? Do you like making use of writing to persuade folks to your way of thinking, or to employ writing in ways that helps make information intriquing, notable and compelling?
If you do, you might be able to build career as a freelance writer for businesses. To be able to write clearly is a valuable part of the role. If you find it difficult to write properly or understand simple grammar then prospects arenât gonna be too delighted with your messages. Nonetheless, you donât need to have the writing capability of Tolstoy or Ogilvy to make a livelihood as a writer for businesses.
In fact, those that are extraordinary at coming up with short stories may very well be bad copywriters. They are often much too eager about amusing readers and also enchanting them with their ingenious writing rather than focus on their writingâs essential purpose: selling.
WHAT CREATES A HIGH-QUALITY COPYWRITER
To be successful being a B2B copywriter, the most important competencies you’ll need are to appreciate exactly what motivates people today, to gain a curiosity in a wide selection of subject matters in addition to, naturally, be able to write plainly in addition to clearly. These types of abilities are all critical characteristics you really need to be an efficient copy writer.
The reason why? Because you ought to be able to mix all of them to get results at creating copy that will sell. Whether you’re writing about cake decorations or home business software, you have to be capable to construct a good comprehension of what exactly the solution does and just how it benefits consumers.
WHAT A COPY WRITER’S PROFESSION INVOLVES
Copy writing is known as salesmanship in print. Its aim isnât to entertain but to persuade customers that choosing your service or product is definitely the clever course of action, and also generate a lot of sales and profits for your customer along the way.
You must be prepared to perform plenty of preliminary research, that may include reading all the readily available product info, meeting with customers and clients in addition to assessing competition. Afterwards you ought to take a seat and determine the product or service’s added benefits over the other available options out there. What makes it distinctive? What sort of complications does it solve? And also, most importantly, why should people purchase it.
Once youâve performed the research and figured out the reasons why people should purchase the service or product, afterward you must see how to layout the sales proposal into a strong proposition. This involves comprehension of what will inspire people, what challenges they need to eliminate or perhaps keep away from and also why are they going to opt to buy your product.
Then, once youâve responded to all of these issues and also carried out the many preparatory measures, you have to have a seat and create the sales letter or website page. This is how you earn your money and explain the substantial fees which copywriter may charge. The truth is knowing how to put all of your thought processes and notes into concise words can be quite demanding. You may literally devote your lifetime perfecting the ability of marketing through written words. Thankfully there are manysales writing books and copywriting courses to be found that may help you, and never ever forget that you get out of a career what you put in!
SO the question is: what is copywriting? Well, in laymanâs terms, copywriting is writing for the purpose of selling or promoting a service or product. Your ultimate aim is to have the customer read your sales page from top to bottom, click on the âbuy nowâ or âadd to cartâ button or link and buy your service or product. Now, how you will be able to make them click and buy your service or product is all up to you. Thereâs no one sure way that works all the time. So much depends on who you are targeting. That is why plenty of different types of ads and sales letters can do the trick. The secret is determining which one will work best for the audience you are trying to capture. Check out these four links and learn various kinds of copywriting tactics:
In the US this week they have âSingle-Tasking Dayâ. The whole idea is to do one task at a time during day and stop multitasking for once in your life. See the thing is, according to experts, multitasking could well be bad for you. In fact, studies from University of Michigan and UCLA indicate Multi-tasking forces our brains to continually perform âTask Switchingâ which makes our brains work harder with less efficiency.  Some researchers believe this could even cause brain damage! So sorry ladies, but us guys had it right all along! Now Single-Tasking Day is meant to help us focus on one activity at a time.
There?s a lot of bad website copywriting out there. Whether it?s government sites suffocating in unintelligible jargon, B2B websites barking at visitors with corporate claptrap or lazy websites using copy from the corporate brochure, too many websites fail to address the customer in a language they understand and want to listen to.
The fact is that people?s expectations of business websites are changing. They go online to find answers to questions and solutions to problems. Not to hear a shallow sales pitch. In this digital age, it is the businesses providing the best quality content that will attract the most visits, clicks and clients. In other words, websites focused on the needs of the customer.
more website copywriting tips
Iâve always known itâs a promising field for anyone who likes to write copy for businesses that sell to other businesses and professionals, such as suppliers to the medical industry.
But after reading some just-released info a colleague sent me yesterday, I nearly leapt out of my chair with a giant WHOOP-WHOOP! A new report reveals that B2B marketers are âgettingâ the value of content as a powerful marketing tool. Theyâre finding that quality content can attract more prospects to their businesses and turn them into customers. As copywriters, thatâs good news for us. Letâs look at the details.
http://www.awaionline.com/2012/11/great-news-live-from-the-b2b-copywriting-trenches/
A lot of people seem to want to know what the best way is to write in order to maximize the benefit from semantic search. So rather than sit on the secret, I decided to share it here. But first, letâs talk a little about what exactly semantic search is. Semantic Search: Thereâs a lot of confusion about what semantic search is, strangely enough. Some people seem to want to paint it as some sort of a dark art. They give it new names, assign mystical powers to it, liken it to artificial intelligence⦠while others over-simplify it, claiming that itâs nothing more than an index of synonyms â that semantic analysis is still out of manâs reach.
http://searchnewscentral.com/20120712326/Content-Development/copywriting-for-semantic-search.html
He’s the brains behind FX’s hit show Justified. He wrote the novel that became the hit movie with Danny DeVito and John Travolta, Get Shorty. He has 8 million books in print. He’s Elmore Leonard, the crime novelist that gets respect in the serious, patched-elbow, pipe-smoking literary world. (My stereotype may be dated, but hopefully, you get the idea.) He’s 86 and still writing two pages a day. I would call that “going strong.” So, he’s not a copywriter, but he sure as hell knows something about writing.
WHETHER you are an aspiring playwright, novelist or screenwriter, or just an avid reader, try copywriting and turn your passion for words into a money-making career as a professional copywriter. With the rapid growth of the internet, the demand for good copywriters who can create effective advertising has risen.  And because a huge number of businesses across all niches require a competitive marketing content, copywriting is a smart career move. Freelance copywriters work from the comforts of their own home, giving them the freedom they need to work on other tasks. Think about what you could do with all those extra hours, not to mention extra money! Click on the four links below and find out how you can participate in this growing industryâ¦
Copywriting gets the word out about your business. Copywriting helps you to sell in many media: postal mail, email, print, radio, TV, and the Web. Few businesses use all the marketing options available to them. Communicate more, and youâll sell more. In the past, businesses could restrict their presence to one or two channels – TV and radio, for example. Nowadays, the more channels you use, the more customers you get and the more sales you make.In this Copywriting Advice section of the site, you’ll find information how great copywriting helps your business.
http://angelabooth.com/Advice/copy-for.html
People often blame disruptive technologies for the decline of the advertising industry, and the media industry that relies on it. But the real problem, Michael Wolff writes in USA Today, is that ads in every medium have become less persuasive, and Wolff thinks he knows why: “There are no writers in advertising anymore. Johnny who can’t write has gone into advertising.” According to one media consultant, today’s so-called copywriters avoid the written word at all costs, and their attempts at it tend to produce “scary, semi-literate gibberish.” Today’s ad men seem convinced that all that matters are visuals, but great campaigns almost always revolve around text.
http://www.newser.com/story/155024/want-to-save-the-media-get-ad-writers-who-can-write.html
Writing website content that performs well in search engines but also reads naturally to customers is a challenge. Copywriting for the web strikes a difficult balance between using the right keywords for higher search engine rankings and effective sales messages to make your web site compelling to potential customers. Good design alone wonât convince customers to enquire or buy through your site – it is often the words that compel them to stay on a site or make contact. Companies are generally used to seeking professional advice on the design and coding of websites, but neglect to employ professional web copywriters to adapt their off-line content for a web audience.
http://www.momentumws.co.uk/news/web-copywriting/?page=2
No matter how brilliant a websiteâs design, no matter how elegant its navigation, sooner or later visitors will decide whether to take action because of something they read. In the end, the effectiveness with which a website converts visitors hinges on words. If a new website is going to hit all the right notes, its content must be just as well crafted as its design and programming. However, as you might imagine, there are many ways to go wrong with content in a Web development project. The errors discussed in this article have the potential to undo a website.
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/06/29/five-copywriting-errors-that-can-ruin-a-company-website/
Creativity, imagination and a good ounce of research and study are among the basic âingredientsâ of effective website copywriting. Click here to visit my copywriting site and learn more.
Freelance Copywriting Help Centre 