Recruitment Copywriters: Who Needs Them?

With all the recruitment specialists around nowadays, who needs a recruitment copywriter? 

There are advertising agencies that specialise in recruitment; PR agencies that do the same.  And then of course there’s the ‘in-house’ option preferred by so many recruitment consultancies.

Ad agencies and PR consultancies will very likely have recruitment copywriting expertise in-house or, at the very least, a freelance copywriting option.  Recruitment consultancies, on the other hand, have both recruitment industry knowledge and an in-depth knowledge of their own business.

The problem is: so much rests on getting the copy right.  Recruitment ads need the right tone of voice, whilst websites, brochures and other forms of marketing collateral have a major responsibility to present clients in the most accurate way and attract candidates with the most appropriate qualifications, skills and experience.

A freelance recruitment copywriter is a specialist and will very likely produce far superior work to any of the other options mentioned.  Moreover, he or she will be more flexible and cost-effective than an agency.  There will of course be no contractual tie-ins and a recruitment consultancy will be free to bolt-on other services as and when required, thus making measurable longer-term savings.

Being a ‘people business’, there’s no doubt that representatives from various quarters across the recruitment industry will have their view.  When it comes to producing high quality, cost-effective  copy, however, taking the freelance recruitment copywriter route is really a no-brainer.

Buzzwords is launching training courses for online copywriting in 2012

Take a look at this video by expert website copywriter Nick Usborne in which he confirms that the opportunities for online copywriters in 2012 are HUGE!

And if this encourages you to take things a step further, why not register your interest in Buzzwords’ training courses in online copywriting by clicking on the link!

Become a Freelance Copywriter – and Forget About the Recession!

Today, the UK unemployment rate hit 2.62 million, a 17-year high! With the outlook so bleak, many people are looking for alternatives, but how many have considered becoming a copywriter?

Looking at these record unemployment rates – with another economic downturn just round the corner – you’d be forgiven for thinking that copywriters are feeling the pinch too. This is not the case – certainly not at Buzzwords! We’re busier than ever, and always on the lookout for new projects and ideas.

Imagine being a copywriter. Imagine bucking economic trends, working when you like and with whoever you like. Copywriting could provide you with a brighter future. All you need is a good level of writing skill, a reasonable ‘business head’ and a drive to succeed! In a matter of months, copywriting could become your new exciting career, putting you in control of your own destiny!

‘So how do I become a copywriter?’ I hear you ask. Well there’s nothing to stop you writing for anyone who’s willing to pay you. And you could start tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, that’s a bit hit and miss. A better approach by far is to invest some time and money in a copywriting training course.

This month, Buzzwords announced the launch of four all-new copywriting training courses which will go live in early-2012. Participants will have the opportunity to discover the insider secrets of copywriting from Mike Beeson. With over 20 years experience under his belt, Mike is sharing his huge body of copywriting knowledge with the world.

Mike has prepared a series of training courses tailored to the needs of each individual. More details will be announced in the New Year.
If you are struggling in the current job market, or you simply want a career change, copywriting is definitely worth considering. After all, writing for a living is great fun – and you can forget about the economy interfering with your life!

30 Years In Copywriting – And FREE PR Too!

Buzzwords has been in the copywriting business for 30 years!  More accurately, that should read: ‘Mike Beeson has been a copywriter for 30 years’, although that doesn’t take into account the myriad other skills I’ve developed along the way.

Young Nicholas Beeson is also on the scene after graduating in marketing this year.  He’s quite an expert on social media and all things online, so he’s useful to have around – and good news for client services.  You may want to take a look at the Social Media Marketing page on Buzzwords’ main website.  Unlike so many other copywriting and PR agencies, we can actually walk-the-walk too!

There are so many strings to Buzzwords’ bow, I often surprise myself.  Having said that, 30 years is a long time in this business.  To celebrate Buzzwords’ achievement, we’re offering a FREE PRESS RELEASE to every new client.  We’ll write the release for you and distribute it to the relevant UK media.

To find out more, why not take a look at our latest press release:

‘Buzzwords celebrates 30 years in business with free PR for every new client’

Copywriting Training Courses @ Buzzwords – Watch This Space!

There are plenty of good reasons why Buzzwords’ Copywriting Training Courses are just what you need!  I’ve listed three below – but there are plenty more…

• Signing up for Buzzwords’ Copywriting Courses is a great way to get started as a freelance copywriter
• Intensive Copywriting Training Courses can help SMEs save big money by enabling you to write professional-standard copy in-house
• If you work in a big organisation, you’ll have more confidence when it comes to dealing with your advertising, PR or design agency.

Specially tailored copywriting courses will be available in three broad areas from this autumn: Copy for PR; Online Copy; and more ‘traditional’ forms of  copywriting.

To register your interest, contact Mike Beeson on 01565 654023 or e-mail open@buzzwords.ltd.uk

A NEW BOOK!!! If you’re thinking seriously about becoming a freelance copywriter some time soon – my copywriting colleague Len Smith has written a great new book packed with practical business tips on How To Be A Copywriter – Yours for only £7.77!

 

SEO & YouTube Marketing: 6 Great Ways to Optimise Your YouTube Videos

By Nicholas Beeson, Marketing Associate, Buzzwords Manchester

Since Google acquired YouTube back in 2006, videos have begun to feature more prominently in searches. Combine this with Google’s latest Panda update where the addition of useful and attractive visual content is rewarded with higher SERPs page rankings, and we can see why videos have become so important.

Many of us forget that videos are found on the Internet just like websites – through search engines. (And YouTube is a search engine.) Just like websites – using search engine optimisation (SEO) – videos can be optimised to rank highly on YouTube’s search engine as well as on Google or Bing. The principles of optimising videos are not much different from the SEO optimisation processes applied to web pages, blogs and so on.

Here are 6 ways to optimise your YouTube videos so they rank highly:

1. Optimise your tags
YouTube calls keywords “tags”.  Tags are a great way to enable people to find your video. The tag field is the most important element of optimising your video. Add the appropriate “tags” and your video should be a hit!

2. Choose an appropriate title
Just like the ‘title’ meta tags used on web pages, YouTube also uses the keywords in the title of your video to match searches. You only get 100 characters to use, so make sure the title appeals to your target audience.

3. The video description is key
The ‘description’ of your video also gives you an opportunity to include keywords that viewers may be searching for. The description is very much like the SEO ‘description’ tag on your website pages, but remember: don’t keyword stuff, and keep it organic!

4. Linking
Just like other forms of SEO, inbound links are vital to improving your video’s ranking. The more websites you have linking to your video, the higher your rankings will be. Likewise, you can improve your video’s ranking by having it embedded on your web pages.

5. Comments and ratings
Encouraging viewers to comment and rate your video will also benefit the rankings of your video. The more comments you have and the more your content is shared, the higher your video will rank!

6. It’s a numbers game
Perhaps the most important factor in determining the search ranking of your video is the number of views it receives. More views equal higher rankings!

Advertising Copywriting: Do Drugs Enhance the Creative Process?

I’ve been following a LinkedIn forum about whether drugs help give better results with advertising copywriting projects where ‘creativity’ is an important element.

The word ‘drugs’ was used loosely to include everything from heroin to alcohol, marijuana to coffee!  Amazingly, the discussion became totally bogged down in deciding whether coffee is a drug or not!

Because it alters one’s mental state, it could certainly be called a ‘drug’.  From a copywriting point of view, it’s a drug that can be used (or abused) without it totally impairing the creative process.

Of course, the question was whether drugs actually ENHANCE the creative process.  It’s arguable whether stimulating the central nervous system in the way coffee does is in any way beneficial. 

Conversely, the intense highs of heroin or LSD are virtually incapacitating from a creativity standpoint.  Alcohol in small doses leaves the user  in control but, as many people would testify, what we think is earth-shattering creativity – even under the mildest influence – usually turns out to be mediocre or pretentious stuff in the cold light of day! 

There’s no doubting that ‘drugs’ are useful in taking us away from the mind-numbing routines of everyday life.  So when it comes to wanting to look at life from a unique perspective, it’s hardly surprising that so-called creative types seek out the mental excitement of drugs.

That said, to be creative in a field such as advertising requires preparation, practice and discipline.  If this is occasionally overlaid with the mental changes experienced through alcohol, illicit drugs - or even coffee! – then at least the insights involved with adding another dimension to a creative solution are thoroughly grounded.

There are many people who would disagree with this.  Why upset the natural sharpness and clarity of the mind by introducing foreign substances, they would ask.

It’s all about personal preferences.  It’s also about vulnerability in the face of temptation, and whether one believes that indulging in ‘drugs’ of any type is worth the inevitable hangover. Creativity may get a shot in the arm, but at what long-term price?

Sales Letter Copywriting – Effective In Splendid Isolation!

Anyone remember the halcyon days of ‘direct response’? From somewhere in the depths of my memory, I recall that was in the 1970s and 80s! Sales letters were also having their glory days – long letters with ‘Johnson Boxes’, Reader’s Digest, Drayton Bird and whatever was on TV at the time!

Fast forward to 2011 and all of what was mainstream marketing-speak then would now be more at home in the advertising museum in Norfolk. And yet, I’ve had a gut feeling for long enough that the so-called ‘traditional’ marketing and copywriting skills would make a comeback. In truth, they probably never went away. Perhaps they’ve been lurking in the back room in some other guise. Online newsletters? US-style ‘killer’ e-mails? Or maybe website landing pages?

One thing I have been grateful for amid all the self-flagellation that went on behind closed doors in the 70s and 80s – the better to create ‘benefit-led headlines’ or creative concepts that perfectly married headlines and visuals – is being confident that everything involving online copywriting is something I’ve done before in the offline world of yore.

I’d go further. Some of the techniques of yesteryear are set to make a comeback. I would say this is true of something like sales letters for instance. There’s a new conventional wisdom focusing on digital marketing, social media and so on. New rules are evolving where once there were no rules at all. The web was once referred to as ‘the worldwide wild west’. Now, we have ‘website usability consultants’; research into where web visitors’ eyes alight, for how long and why; not to mention focus groups analysing web copywriting to death in search of a winning ‘third way’.

Can it really be that sales letters are dead, simply because conventional wisdom says so? Is this really true? It IS true that UK postage rates are extortionate. And it’s true too that there are so many other ‘instant’ marketing tools competing for our attention. What’s interesting, however, is that the very same conventional wisdom that seeks to consign sales letters to the rubbish heap of history has in fact (unwittingly) created a great opportunity to grab what – in old-currency parlance – would have been described as a ‘solus’ position.

No, that’s not some tantric sex technique, or even a singles dating website. What I’m saying is that when your sales letter arrives with its intended recipient, there are far fewer letters (if any) competing for his or her attention. Providing the proposition is attractive, the chances of converting have been multiplied exponentially!

If this strikes a cord, then the next step is to teach a whole new generation of copywriters about the tricks and techniques of sales letter copywriting. Not to mention the clever design layouts and typography that were obviously the forerunner of many online design techniques used nowadays.

The point of all this is to say that no technique is ever dead. And not even ’til the fat lady sings. Mixing marketing services that work has always been about opportunism. The concept of ‘integrated marketing’ has been around since Adam was a lad. Because we now have a whole new array of online media and techniques to choose from is no reason not to include traditional methods in today’s integrated marketing plans.

Video for SEO – Get the Picture?

You may have noticed the increased numbers of videos ranking highly on Google search pages.  The obvious conclusion to draw from this is that videos are good SEO vehicles.

Nowadays, videos can be created and optimised quickly and easily.  The quality of what currently ranks highly isn’t always the best – but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing for those on a tight budget who want to achieve something extra with their SEO. 

Google’s recent Panda Update stressed the importance of improving the search engine experience.  This included creating pages that will deliver a more ‘complete’ search experience for users who are maybe looking for something more visual to back up the on-page text.  This could include things like PowerPoint presentations, screen-grabs, charts – and videos, among other things.

Research has shown that web pages featuring videos will consistently achieve higher organic rankings and click-through rates than those that don’t.  In a televisual age, the reasons for this are obvious.  Until recently – perhaps coinciding with the time when Google bought YouTube? – on-page SEO and search results were focused on keywords, written content and links.

This mindset still prevails in the way videos are ranked, with ‘information’ (and not high production values) being the predominant criterion.

From a SEO standpoint, videos can achieve massive exposure on YouTube and other video search engines.  Social media links are also achievable with a well-planned distribution strategy. 

If you’re looking to maximise returns on your video as a piece of ‘content’, it’s a straightforward process to transcribe from the visual content and distribute it with the text alongside.  This ‘belt and braces’ technique gives the best of both worlds – approachable, clickable user content on the one hand, plus indexable and optimised text in a PowerPoint, PDF, podcast or other format on the other.

The potential for videos as a SEO vehicle is massive.  First, consider the low cost of informational video production, then add the opportunities to re-format the content in ways that are search engine friendly.  Whichever way you look at it, videos are probably one of the most under-rated SEO tools around. 

Twitter Is The New SEO Songbird

The humble tweet is now a force to be reckoned with in the world of SEO.  Or according to Danny Sullivan at Search Engine Land it is!

Google and Bing now recognise Twitter as a conduit for delivering high quality content from recognised ‘authority’ sources.  Given the ubiquity of social media, this has to be a welcome development. 

As with other types of inbound links, tweets are given a leg up in the SEO stakes by ‘influential’ people tweeting about you or re-tweeting your content.  We’ll probably never know what constitutes ‘influential’, but it’s not difficult to make a few educated guesses.

SEO research has also revealed the not-so-surprising fact that ranking rewards come from an abundance of high quality tweets linking to your site.  From a purely practical viewpoint, bear in mind that your keyword-rich tweet-links will act very much like anchor tags on web pages.

If you’re looking to generate more link juice, make sure your content is good enough to share or re-tweet; make sure you attract a steady stream of new friends and followers; and use highly visible buttons to allow visitors to click your links.

Remember, however, that links from Twitter are ‘NoFollow’.  The river of tweets that go by every minute of every day make it impossible for search engines to monitor the minutiae of what’s going on.  Safe to say from case study research that it is the overall weight of public tweets that give Twitter links both their credence and their SEO ranking potential.

(Download Notes image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

SEO Copywriting and the Keyword Issue

At what stage should keywords come into the SEO copywriting equation? This is an issue that arises on a regular basis when I’m discussing the optimal approach to SEO copywriting for clients’ websites.

My common sense starting point on this is to work initially with the keywords that arise naturally as part of the client business. What a company does from day-to-day will obviously be reflected on its website.

Keywords are irrelevant, and to try to manipulate Google rankings by inserting ‘artificial’ keywords into the web copy seems to be self-defeating. At best, it will create copy that is wholly unnatural. At worst, the site will end up being marginalised not only in the SERPs, but also in the minds’ eyes of potential customers.

The other side of the debate goes something like this: shouldn’t we be looking at the full range of higher-traffic keywords that apply to a client’s business and then be writing the copy around those?

Yes, the rationale would seem to fit – on the face of it. Unfortunately, for the reasons already mentioned, there’s a massive risk that the web copy will end up describing something that bears no resemblance to the client’s daily business.

There is a certain validity in the logic but, in practical terms, it’s a misguided approach. Far better, I would say, to use the more spontaneous, ‘natural’ approach to keyword selection and then combine this with the possibilities that ‘keyword research’ throws up.

In this way, there will at least be some potentially useful keyword variants to consider that maybe weren’t initially obvious. And it does have the additional benefit of introducing a little intellectual rigour into a process that may otherwise be taken for granted.

That’s not to say ‘intellectualising’ the issue is necessarily a good thing. Gut reactions usually count for more when it comes to business. What it does mean, however, is that another dimension is brought to the table when it comes to considering all the keyword options for optimal SEO copywriting results.

(Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

SEO Copywriting – In-house or Out-sourced?

SEO and SEO copywriting techniques are close to the hearts of thousands – if not millions – of businesses out there. 

That’s because they are only too aware of the financial benefits of top rankings on Google – and the costs of outsourcing to SEO copywriters or an SEO agency.

I’ve touched on the issues covered by this in a new article at ezinearticles.com, entitled ‘SEO Copywriters and the SEO Gold Rush‘.

The problem is: there’s plenty of information on the web that tells us what we could and should be doing to maximise web page rankings.  Actually doing it and getting it right so you see measurable results is an altogether different proposition.

In so many ways, page rankings on Google seem to be achieved in an almost random way.  If this sounds confusing, that’s probably because Google prefers it that way.  If we could all predict what takes a page to a Number One ranking , the black-hat boys (and everyone else!) would have a field day! 

I’d even go so far as to say that there are some fairly arbitrary criteria that the search engine throws into the melting pot alongside the more predictable ingredients of quality links and clever on-page optimisation.

Given that SEO as we know it – on the other side of the fence from Google – can only deal with the realities of what is logical and measurable, it makes sense for business owners to invest in professional SEO services as provided by SEO agencies and SEO copywriters. 

It won’t bring guaranteed results.  Nor will it necessarily bring rapid results.  What it will do is bring a body of experience to the ever-changing challenges of SEO and SEO copywriting that will maximise the chances of SEO succeeding sooner rather than later.

The science of SEO is in many ways about second-guessing Google’s next move and eliminating certain variables through the application of scientific and mathematical analyses.  It’s not perfect, and it won’t supersede Google’s algorithms. 

It will, however, give you a better chance of achieving ranking success than your competitors who prefer the less expensive in-house option to outsourcing via SEO copywriters or an SEO agency.

View Buzzwords’ article at ezinearticles.com:
SEO Copywriters and the SEO Gold Rush

(Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

SEO Copywriting – Rank Yourself Stupid!

When it comes to toying with SEO copywriting techniques, what has the biggest and most immediate effect on rankings?

Is it the on-page stuff like meta tags and keyword placement in the body copy? Or should we be thinking about content-related things like blog posts, articles or landing-page-related news releases?

Of course, there are dozens of permutations on this theme. Will tweaking one aspect of a web page make a mega difference? And will a greater involvement in article submissions to a wider range of article directories really make a difference – especially in the light of Google’s Panda Update?

On the face of it, ‘links’ would seem to carry the most weight, and yet… that implies on-page SEO copywriting is dead in the water (which it clearly isn’t). Maybe it’s more about finessing on-page factors to their ultimate level and then backing it all up with longer-term ‘linking thinking’?

Your thoughts please?

Copywriting Rates: They Don’t Make Sense!

 

Effective copywriting is about INTENSITY OF APPLICATION.

 

 

No copywriter ever sits down and writes at an even pace. And that’s where the notion of ‘copywriting rates’ is completely misleading.

We’re not talking about conveyor belts here where you switch on at 8am and the machine whirrs away until 1pm. Copywriting is primarily about inspiration – but that may take up only 5% of the entire project. There is of course ‘preparation’ (50%?). The other 45% is about making coffee, answering the phone, writing e-mails and fighting off a hundred other interruptions. To make the figure up to an illogical 200%, there’s the small business of ‘new business’, without which none of this would be relevant.

So: hourly rates (or even day rates) make no sense. They do of course give a ballpark figure about ‘expectations’ where price is concerned. However, in terms of the OUTPUT you can expect of a copywriter (both qualitatively and quantitatively), copywriting rates are totally meaningless.

Some of the best copy I’ve ever written was accomplished in no more than half-an-hour of dedicated, inspired passion for the subject in hand. (OK, I’ll admit it: sometimes it was just to get the work out of the way!)

The trick is simply to WRITE. You can edit the grammar and other details later – and maybe switch paragraphs around and add missing thought processes.

The essential thing is to transfer the essence of the copy and its framework from your head and onto the page. Once you’ve done that and it looks like it has legs, then you can start to refine your work and head for the final straight.

All of this has absolutely nothing to do with hourly rates – or even what the job is worth. If you’re thinking along these lines, you’ll never achieve anything that is worthwhile.

(And just for the record, the outline for this blog post took me just ten minutes to write. Copywriting rates? Who needs them?)

(Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Sales Letter Copywriting – It’s Due for a Comeback!

I’m a regular reader of Nick Usborne’s newsletters, blogs and articles. In one of Nick’s latest articles, he expounds on the agony of getting noticed amid the churn of messages on social media sites.

As we all know by now, B2B social media should be about targeting the right prospects. That’s fine… but: whatever happened to good old-fashioned direct mail where you wrote to a named prospect and could command ‘solus’ attention – so long as he or she opened the envelope and were interested in your proposition?

No need to compete with the millions of tweets and Facebook posts that create a river of information every minute of every day! And with fewer and fewer people using direct mail – what an opportunity this is!

E-mail marketing may be the next best thing, and it does of course have the benefit of clickable links to take the reader back to your website landing page, blog or whatever. The problem with e-mail is that it’s notoriously difficult to attract and keep your readers’ attention. How easy is it to simply delete that uninvited intrusion into your inbox.

Compare this with what is nowadays an intriguing interloper slipping into your daily mailbag or letterbox – the sales letter! And how much more welcome it is than those dreaded bills and statements. With the right message, a well-targeted mailer will be just as effective in 2011 as it always has been.

No-one is suggesting you should abandon social media. Far from it. It’s an amazingly powerful tool for spreading your message in realtime and/or virally. What I AM suggesting is re-introducing sales letter copywriting and direct mail to your marketing mix.

If you’ve forgotten how effective direct mail can be (or if you’ve never given it a try), why not compare it with the time-effectiveness of your social media activities? I’m confident you’ll be glad you did. I’m also confident that sales letter copywriting is due for a mighty big comeback!!!

Financial Copywriting in the UK 2011

Given the UK media’s obsession with all things ‘financial’, it’s hardly surprising that financial copywriting is a highly prized skill.

Consider for a moment the sheer range of financial topics with which we are bombarded on a daily basis: the ‘footsie’ index; interest rates and the Bank of England; house prices; commodities such as petrol, food and gold; banking rip-offs; sovereign debt; China’s role as an economic powerhouse… The list is almost endless. And when someone like the BBC’s Robert Peston becomes a media star – then you know something’s afoot!

One thing is clear: this media onslaught has forced many financial institutions onto the back foot.  Ethics, morals and propriety are now peppering the usual condescension of mainstream financial marketing.  Now, we’re all witness to a certain awkwardness in treading the middle line in the face of justifiable criticism of the sector’s working practices by consumer groups, the media and – indirectly – by influential comparison websites.

Never before has financial copywriting and editorial been so important to the likes of banks, insurance companies and all the other finance-oriented outfits.  Being seen to be unexploitative and ‘on-message’ from a PR viewpoint has placed massive demands on in-house marketing departments.

The subtleties of the written word now go far beyond the platitudes of CRM.  Projecting confidence without patronising your audience is now an art form that only the best financial copywriters can master.

Google’s Panda Update Gives New Pseudo-Spam Two Black Eyes!

It would seem that a big part of SEO involves second-guessing Google. With Panda Updates, Mayday Updates, algorithm changes, PageRank influences, Matt Cutts and Google’s blog, there’s a sackful of goodies for SEO types to play with.

The problem, of course, is that Google won’t broadcast their intended changes in advance, and it’s usually up to SEO professionals to apply retrospective analyses to SERPs results (ie. how web pages rank for certain keywords).

Armed with this data, it may be possible to come to conclusions about what’s changed with the new algorithms, which sites have been affected, and by how much.

There certainly seems to be a frenzy over Google’s February 2011 Panda Update.  The company’s blog confirmed that around 12% of sites in the US have been affected so far  - with another 2% to come if plans to target certain content re-cycling sites and article directories  come to fruition.

To be fair to Google, they have been explicit about this on their blog.  There’s nothing sinister or ‘Big Brother’ about what they’re doing.  As ever, their sole aim is to provide users with the best possible search experience.

A recent post on Google’s blog by their very own Amit Singhal informed us that the Panda ‘algorithmic improvement’ would soon be rolled out across all English-language Google users.

Given the inherent delays in the ‘search-cache-ranking’ process, Panda’s full impact has yet to be felt outside the US – and that includes the UK, my own country.

There is evidence that UK-based sites in the US have been affected already.  What isn’t clear at the time of writing (29 April, 2011) is the scale of changes that will eventually affect websites across the UK.

What IS clear, however, is that Panda echoes the Mayday Update in that rewarding quality content is a recurring theme.  Conversely, weak articles published with the sole intention of generating links, or recycled information that offers users nothing new or original, will both be downgraded.  What’s so surprising about all this is that it’s taken so long to happen.

It seems that this is like a new slice of ‘spam’.  Existing spam filters have done sterling work in stamping out old-style spam.  Now, Google has taken up the torch to eliminate sub-standard pseudo-spam content.

At a stroke, this will cut out massive swathes of dross from the Internet and add a fresh dimension to the search experience.  It will help to keep competitors like Bing at arm’s length and demonstrate that the Panda Update will be handing out a few black eyes to sites that have hitherto remained unscathed.

Buzzwords’ new SEO Copywriting page…

There’s a new SEO Copywriting page on Buzzwords’ main website:
buzzwords.ltd.uk/seo_copywriting.htm (just add the ‘www’).

The previous content has been edited hard to take into account the recent changes to Google’s algorithms. As we all know, successful SEO Copywriting is now more about presenting high quality and original content with a certain clarity and fluency of writing style.

The whole idea of course is to provide visitors to your website with a more attractive and informative experience. The days of ‘keyword stuffing’ are long gone!

Freelance Copywriting – How to Get Ahead (Part 5)

The 21st century route into copywriting requires little in the way of qualifications, or even – dare it be said – very much in the way of writing ability.

The negative result of this ease of entry into what once a respected profession has seen an explosion of self-styled copywriters who arrived as if out of nowhere to meet an insatiable need for online content.

As we all know, ‘content’ is basically basic information that’s arranged logically – web pages, articles, that sort of thing. The more traditional skills of copywriting such as advertising, direct response and sales letter writing demanded a persuasive writing technique.

In the case of advertising – and to a lesser extent with other collateral like brochures and mailers – it also placed an onus upon the copywriter to dream up relevant and creative visual concepts that allowed art directors to have a field day.

Online copywriting is predominantly a low-skill form of writing that can be handled relatively easily without too much writing talent, business experience or ad agency work-outs on creative concepts.

An exception to this is search engine optimisation (SEO) copywriting which has added a new level of expectation of a copywriter’s ability to write succinct, attractive copy that also scores with the search engines.

SEO copywriting aside, it’s good that clear, simple writing is still seen as important (it was ever thus!). In a society where the profusion of marketing messages is daunting, the new emphasis on laid-back clarity is encouraging – a factor given additional momentum by the power of social media.

So how easy is it to survive in a sea of ‘information writers’? Is this type of copywriting that much different to what’s gone before – and does it matter what labels are applied? If we’re all speaking and reading David Ogilvy’s lingua franca, surely everyone – including businesses – should be happy!

Freelance Copywriting – How to Get Ahead (Part 4)

Marketing training is but one route into a copywriting career. The fact that it took me into an ad agency world was useful and relevant in the 1980s when freelance copywriters were a rare breed.

For reasons I’ve never fully understood, graduates in English featured frequently among my competitors in those days (and probably still do!). As the great David Ogilvy pointed out, however – and he was no intellectual slouch – a copywriter has to use the language of the people. To which I would add: ‘With a business slant if you want to keep your client’s smiling’.

A university education is of course priceless as a preparation for any walk of life, so I’m not decrying a degree in English as a route into any business-oriented career. On the other hand, so many of the ad agency people I’ve met over the years have had very little in the way of tertiary education – but it never held them back in what must be one of the most egalitarian occupations around!

(To be continued… )

Freelance Copywriting – How to Get Ahead (Part 3)

In some ways, it was inevitable that the happy coincidence of formal marketing training and the zappy world of advertising created a personal ‘big bang’ that ultimately led to a career in copywriting.

In the beginning, my conception of marketing was all about why people ‘consumed’, research, psychology, accountancy, case studies and guru-worship.  Academics love gurus, thought leaders, didactic types who’ve immersed themselves in their subject to create that ineffable ‘crustiness’ you can sniff at twenty paces.

In subjects like marketing, this is offset by regular contact with ‘industry’ and the academic’s own consultancy clients.  The fact remains, however, that – almost by definition – they lack a certain ‘worldliness’ that can only come with the school of hard knocks, the ‘university of life’ and all those other chip-on-the-shoulder epithets that practical types love to lean on.

Nevertheless, ‘marketing’ proved to be a good introduction to at least some of the business insights needed to become an effective copywriter.  As an academic subject – and certainly in the day-to-day practise of copywriting – marketing doesn’t become involved with pricing and risk-taking.

This may come later, of course, in the tentative world of ‘brand management’ – which in turn precedes the commercial realities of profit and loss.  That’s not an apology for the shortcomings of the copywriting function – more a celebration of its freedom from the iron grip of economic reality.  In a unique way, copywriting exists in its own commercial warp, in the sunlit uplands of delusion, dreams – and dreaded deadlines!

Freelance Copywriting – How to Get Ahead (Part 2)

When I said ‘business insights’ (in the previous post – Part 1), I was talking about a certain type of experience. Having a formal business training helps of course. As does a degree in subjects like economics or marketing.

‘Experience’, however, is all about real-life exposure to opinions and thought processes, to the tides of history, micro-economics, news stories, hard-luck and success stories… the list is endless.

In many ways, I’ve lived my life as an ‘accidental’ copywriter. Writing in its various forms was something in which I was always interested. Way back in the day, I fancied my chances as a novelist, but it soon became clear that I was much more interested in the world ‘out there’, as opposed to the worlds I could create inside my head.

Yes, I would’ve loved to be a features writer on a national newspaper or journal, but what editor in his or her right mind would entrust that enormous responsibility to an untried rookie! Maybe if I’d been a high-flying intellectual with lots of family contacts I could have broken into this highly competitive field.

As it happened, I knew a few people who’d made a very good living as marketing professionals in big companies as well as top advertising agencies. It seemed my life was mapped out already. No-one else in my family had gone into marketing. I doubt if any of them knew what marketing was. (In those days, I didn’t know much myself!) But marketing it was – although I still held a candle for the lifestyle of a struggling novelist, starving in my Paris garret!

(To be continued… )

Freelance Copywriting – How to Get Ahead (Part 1)

Before I start this collection of valuable hints on how to get ahead as a freelance copywriter, allow me to introduce myself…

My name is Mike Beeson. I’m a freelance copywriter based near Manchester, a big city in the north-west of the UK that is probably most famous for its football team, Manchester United.

Yes, I’m mad about football – or ‘soccer’ as it’s known in the US – but I’m even more passionate about copywriting, PR, SEO and social media. Not that many people would guess. It’s a passion I keep well hidden (all the better to fool your competitors!).

After 30 years as a freelance copywriter, I now feel able to spill the beans – and not care overly whether the competition benefits from the tips I’m about to disgorge here!

You see, freelance copywriting is a way of life for me.  Yes, it’s a business.  It’s what delivers my enviable lifestyle in one of the best parts of the country.  Copywriting is also a  mindset, a sub-set of marketing that thrives on business insights that leave the competition standing.

It’s what you could call a ‘qualification’ – not a certificate or a membership accreditation, or even a peer-led group recognition thing!  Unlike many copywriters, I do have formal qualifications in marketing.  That is something that will help all those in the early stages of their copywriting career with the all-important issue of credibility.

(To be continued…)

Social Media Marketing – Are We All Getting Too Excited?

Forget about the Jeremy Kyle (Jerry Springer in the US) band of losers who trip themselves up on Facebook about clandestine affairs that half the online world can witness.  

In the middle-class world of marketing, there are stirrings that respectable types are also about to end up face-down in the mire, trampled in the gold-rush into social media, dazzled by its claims to being a panacea for all business ills – and a substitute for real-world selling.

Check out my latest article: Social Media – A Middle-Class Sport for Losers?

The question is: are we heading down the same blind alley as the dot.com crash in the year 2000?  Are we too blind to see the emptiness of social media as a bankable marketing tool  that we’re in danger of aping the bankers who almost destroyed the capitalist system during the noughties?

In the light of what’s happened to the global economy in recent years, it’s probably wise to keep everything in perspective.  If social media and its benefits seems too good to be true – then, hey-ho, where’s it all heading?  Read my article to find out:

Social Media – A Middle-Class Sport for Losers?

The Cloisters of a Copywriting Mind

As a professional copywriter working in splendid isolation, I have for long enough lived a cloistered existence. This rather unreal world is akin to living in a gilded cage – attractive in its protected way, but wanting in its lack of reality, reduced opportunity for spontaneous human interaction, and two-dimensional in its repetitiveness.

Some would say, count your blessings, be careful what you wish for – and keep looking over your shoulder for the unexpected tsunami of economic reality. Well, my friends, I’ve been looking. For sure, the tsunami’s shadow looms larger in winter. Whether this is connected to the SAD syndrome of being deprived of sunlight in north-west England, or whether life is naturally more optimistic in the summertime – who can tell.

Copywriting is of course connected to the commercial world, but mostly in a tenuous way. Unless the type of work one does is immediately accountable and measurable in sales figure terms – to wit, sales letter copywriting or off-the-page ‘direct response’ advertising – there is a severe disconnect between the harsh realities of entrepreneurial activity, or even the more languid and budgeted reality of the mega corporation.

When was the last time the average copywriter lost sleep about the effectiveness of his or her work in the open marketplace? I venture that this is one reason why the financial rewards aren’t especially brilliant. Like so many aspects of capitalism, ‘compensation’ is all to do with the risk-reward ratio. The amount of risk that a copywriter faces is almost nil.

It could be argued that copywriters’ reputations are built on achieving a certain level of success for clients. Writing memorable TV ads is a good example of how a clever concept can kick-start a brand. The fact remains, however, that a copywriter can justifiably bask in the reflected glory his ideas have created; but if the brand bombs out, nothing is lost.

In the world of marketing, it’s not copywriters’ heads that peek first over the parapet. In reality, they’ll be the ones strolling round the safety of the ‘cloisters’, musing unaccountably about how much their words are really worth.

(It struck me that this was very much a ‘Sunday’ posting. Let me know if you agree!)

Free Articles on Copywriting, SEO and PR

Are you looking for free articles you can reprint on your website, in your newsletters, or just about anywhere else where your online readers will appreciate a quality article or two?

Buzzwords currently has 16 articles available, the latest of which focuses on the perennial issue of Copywriting Rates. You’ll find plenty about PR Packages, SEO Copywriting and Article Marketing too. As a freelance copywriter, I’m always looking for a new angle on hot potatoes! (Watch out for my latest article on Social Media which is due to appear any day now!!!)

All I ask in exchange for free access to these articles is that you include a link back to Buzzwords’ website, plus the other biographical details at the bottom of each article.

(Finding the page is easy. Just click on Buzzwords’ logo on the right, then click the ‘Articles’ tab.)

Social Media and the Fear of Selling

I’ve just read a fascinating piece by direct response copywriter Daniel Levis. Part of the article outlines what a lot of people have long suspected – that social media is ultimately the perfect excuse for getting you off the hook of having to sell.

Make no mistake: fear of selling is alive and well.  Social media has looked like the perfect soft option for long enough, especially when the ‘gurus’ keep telling us that online interaction is good; ‘liking’ is good; and having an online forum where you can dismantle major brands is good. Yes, it’s true what you’ve heard… God is good and he’s living just a couple of keyboards away.

By empowering individuals at the expense of big business, social media has tamed the advertising lion. No longer do ads roar. Now, the lion explains, rather apologetically, that he’d like to eat you all up – but online etiquette forbids. So is it OK if he whispers?

Revisionist conventional wisdom in the world of social media tells us that quiet persuasion and understated information is the order of the day.  Companies who fail to heed this new order will have a rude awakening in the shape of falling sales and busted brands. 

By all means soften people up by using Facebook and Twitter to create a frenzy of interest around your brand, but never ever overstep the mark by doing something as vulgar as asking for the sale!  Direct marketing and telesales are the visible villains in this particular piece of the peace – as are forthright online messages that would love to close that sale, if only they were allowed to!

Social media generates masses of activity and information that is exchanged worldwide at the click of a mouse.  Engage your audience is the mantra – but make sure you’re targeting the right people.

Hang on a second!  Did someone say ‘targeting’?  Wash your mouth out and leave this temple at once.  The world of social media is no place for heretical thoughts that hark back to the old order.

This is the new régime where selling is outlawed on pain of attracting strange looks, frowns and a communal shaking of heads.  This, ladies and gentlemen, is passport control at the gates of sales hell! 

 

Good Copywriting Cannot Be Taught – Discuss!

I was on a LinkedIn PR and Communications forum earlier where one of the discussions was about ‘Good copywriting – and how it should be taught’.

As a copywriter with aeons of experience, I accept that you can ‘teach’ anyone the principles of good writing. Whether anything ‘good’ comes out at the other end of the sausage machine is another story.

Similarly, a by-product of ‘education’ is discovering how to develop an argument using a certain form of words. The best way to present an effective argument is to make those words as coherent as possible – but will this lead to ‘good’ writing?

It depends in part on the awareness an individual has of the importance of fluent writing and well-organised ideas.  This needn’t necessarily mean that an attractive or persuasive writing style will result – but at least it stands a chance of being ‘fit for purpose’.

(I would venture that this is the qualitative difference between a truly professional copywriter and someone whose time is spent on more general marketing work.)

Achieving higher levels of copywriting skill also depends on having an appreciation of how business and economics work.  Because of the size of the task, this can only come with experience.

To talk about ‘good copywriting being taught’ is only to scratch the surface.  In most cases, it should be more a case of case of ‘what can I learn for myself’. 

Individual skills and ability, as well as a commitment to the cause are probably greater requirements in the creation of a well-rounded copywriter who can consistently produce ‘good copywriting’.

Writing Landing Pages – A New Page on Buzzwords’ Website!

Every page on a website is potentially a landing page. What I mean is that each page can be optimised with the keywords that chime with your target audience and ultimately lead to a sale!

Unfortunately, even in 2011, so many companies aren’t aware that web pages should be optimised separately to achieve maximum SEO and SERPs benefits. Where that page is highlighting a company’s key product or service, it should be given special SEO consideration as a ‘landing page’ and optimised to tie-in with other online activities such as AdWords, Online PR and Article Marketing.

In addition, it may also be deserving of a little more ‘hard sell’ – as opposed to the ‘informational’ approach preferred for more general pages. This new web page on Buzzwords’ main website goes into a little more detail. To read more, visit: buzzwords.ltd.uk/writing_landing_pages.htm (just add the ‘www’!)

New ‘Freelance Copywriting’ page on Buzzwords’ website

This newly-edited page gives a more in-depth introduction to the range of copywriting techniques available from Buzzwords. Page links create what is, in effect, a copywriting portfolio with examples of previous work on most pages. When you’ve been a copywriter for as long as I have, the challenge is more a question of what to leave out of the portfolio than what to leave in.
(See: buzzwords.ltd.uk/freelance_copywriting.htm)

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Article Marketing – I’m a Diamond Geezer!

When it comes to article marketing (aka article writing, article PR or article submission), I now have Diamond Membership status at article directory <ezinearticles.com>.

This recognition is only given to writers who meet the highest quality standards. I’m happy to take their word for it that I can indeed walk on water!

Diamond status isn’t without its perks either. These include:

• Unlimited article submissions
• Express article approval
• Shorter articles accepted – provided they meet the required standard

This last point is key to Diamond Membership. Maintaining the quality expected of a top-level author also brings its own responsibilities.

That isn’t a problem for me. As a self-avowed ‘perfectionist’, everything I write has to be the very best.

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Are Copywriters Trying to Mug You?

Every copywriter should know that sooner or later they will come up against a client who will give a very good impression that they’re being mugged. It’s worth pointing out, however, that this brand of mugging usually takes place on a two-way street.

Check out this article I’ve just written – http://bit.ly/elZrcq - which takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the potential drawbacks of commissioning a copywriter… from the viewpoint of a sceptical client.

Maybe it’s possible to write a three-act drama about this and win an Oscar. For the moment, ladies and gentlemen, I give you: my article…

You’ll find it at ezinearticles (http://bit.ly/elZrcq). The focus is on ‘price versus value’ and whether it’s possible to achieve a happy ending for everyone involved. The article is about experience and price, expertise and price – and making business decisions with your eyes wide open (which is also about price!).

Every unreasonable client out there would say they simply bring a business perspective to dealing with copywriters. Creative? Copywriting? Nah. The copy has to be short and to-the-point, hard-hitting, with memorable headlines – and all fully optimised to guarantee a Page One presence on Google.

If the client had time, he’d write the damn copy himself. Switch off the mobile and lock the office door for a couple of hours. The silly prices that copywriters are asking just don’t make sense.

At the other end of the telescope sits a typical mild-mannered copywriter, often with an under-developed sense of his or her commercial worth. They know there’s an injustice going on here – but ironically, cannot articulate what it is!

Most copywriters would like to educate clients about what they do – and what they charge for it. Unfortunately, many of them do not have that personality type. And tilting the balance of power between copywriters and clients is not going to happen any day soon!

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Copywriting Rates – Sell the Sizzle, Reap the Rewards!

Setting Copywriting Rates is not a perfect science. As in all markets, buyers come up against sellers and the love dance begins. And as with all negotiating processes, arriving at mutually acceptable Copywriting Rates will involve casualties along the way.

Expert sales professionals know this, but where they score is in persuading people who would otherwise fall by the wayside to become de facto clients/customers. This involves various sales techniques, not least of which is overcoming price objections.

When it comes to Copywriting Rates, the problem for a copywriter is where to start?  Potentially, there’s a massive spectrum of rates that may or may not lead to a sale.  Too expensive?  “No deal – I can get it at half the price at a dozen sites on the Internet.”  Too cheap?  “You must be joking – are you any good at all?”

The variations on this theme extend to a copywriter’s experience; the competitiveness of the market in which a copywriter is working; and the specialist knowledge/experience required to justify charging premium rates.

The best – but not necessarily the easiest – way of overcoming price objections is by avoiding a simple ‘copywriting rate’ altogether.  Instead, it pays to focus on what your copywriting work will bring to a client’s business. 

It’s OK to say your copy will lend authority and persuasiveness to a client’s business proposition or brand image.  Oh, and by the way, this will cost you (a flat fee of $X; $Y per day; $Z per page/per word/per anything!).

It’s far better to say that your copywriting solution addresses a range of issues that you will overcome as part of the copywriting process; that it will vastly improve a client’s image or perceived product value; and you will really get under the skin of their business to achieve the best results.

Along the way of course, you will use your experience to explore other avenues and opportunities on a client’s behalf, as well as advising on other innovative and profitable ways in which your copy can be used and/or adapted.

Without being in any way apologetic for quoting professional-level fees, a copywriter should then provide the client with a written breakdown of the project proposals as soon as possible.  This can be achieved by having some form of template – or, at the very least, a fixed format that will allow you to provide the necessary details… with every semblance of the personalised touch!

In all this, it’s important to ‘sell the sizzle’.  Quoting bald Copywriting Rates (hourly, daily or whatever) puts you on the defensive right away where you’re selling your time as opposed to your expertise.  A battle-hardened client can immediately come back at you with questions that will try to undermine the key reasons you charge a higher rate, namely: your skills, experience and suitability for producing a range of expert solutions in that client’s market sector.

Bearing in mind that most copywriters charge too little and that most clients will happily pay the going rate for the peace of mind that working with a professional copywriter brings, it’s important not to be sucked into the scenario where copywriting is seen as a marketing commodity, a mechanised process or a service that can be purchased from the Third World for sweatshop rates.

In the meantime, I’ve also been looking at other issues surrounding Copywriting Rates including the controversial aspects of cheap content writing versus more traditional copywriting where much higher rates have been expected (but are now under threat). For details, see: Copywriting Rates – Get Real, or Get Out?

The sequel to this looked at what other copywriters’ views are on Copywriting Rates in general. Visit: Copywriting Rates – What Copywriters Say

Copywriting Rates – What Copywriters Say!

The hot topic of Copywriting Rates is becoming something of an obsession with me.  As regular readers of this blog will know, I subscribe to a number of newsletters about online marketing in general and copywriting in particular.

It seems that Steve Slaunwhite is probably on the ball more than most when it comes to what copywriters should charge.  According to a recent newsletter from Steve, he spent a large chunk of December and January compiling a comprehensive report: How to Price, Quote & Win B2B Writing Projects

Reading around, the consensus among successful and well-established copywriters seems to be that writers don’t charge nearly enough for their services.  Of course, a part of the thinking behind this is to attract a bevy of copywriters who would like to earn more.  One way of achieving this is to subscribe to, or buy, the offerings of the various online gurus! 

Less-experienced copywriters - writing less formally on blogs and so on – don’t have a commercial axe to grind in that they don’t have a boxed-set of CDs for sale and are therefore less ambitious/more realistic in their expectations.

If there is a consensus among this relatively small group who are willing and able to spill the beans on copywriting rates, it is that all copywriters should fine-tune their skills and experience to the market place and what clients are willing to pay.

It’s interesting to note the difference between experienced and inexperienced writers.  Apart from the issue of confidence, this boils down to their ability to negotiate and fend off price objections in the face of cost-averse clients.  These skills aren’t confined to copywriting of course and, in their more sophisticated form, are the difference between successful sales strategies or otherwise.

Inexperienced copywriters are unlikely to be aware of the subtle and spontaneous techniques needed to handle price objections when their main concern is still on mastering their craft!  Rather than allowing client-copywriter negotiations to become bogged down on anything as lowly as price, the most savvy and businesslike operators take a more strategic view and emphasise the added value their services bring to a client’s business.

Selling copywriting as a highly professional service or package is the way to persuade clients that you’re not just a jobbing writer who can be pushed around on price.  A pre-prepared approach is essential  – as is the age-old skill of ’selling the sizzle’.

For tips on setting and negotiating Copywriting Rates, see: Copywriting Rates – Sell the Sizzle, Reap the Rewards!

I’ve also been looking at other issues surrounding Copywriting Rates including the controversial aspects of cheap content writing versus more traditional copywriting where much higher rates have been expected (but are now under threat). For details, see: Copywriting Rates – Get Real, or Get Out?

 

Copywriting Rates – Get Real, or Get Out?

This post about Copywriting Rates follows on from my recent introduction to a perennially popular theme. It doesn’t drill down into the way other copywriters see Copywriting Rates (that’s for later!). What it does is take a general, ‘soap-box’ view of what is a big subject, in copywriting terms at least!

So where to begin? Let’s start with plain old-fashioned market forces. Copywriters want to maximise their earnings without pricing themselves out of the market; clients want professional copywriting work that doesn’t break the bank. Somewhere in between, there’s a match made in heaven for everyone involved.

There’s no doubt that the Internet has muddied the waters. On the one hand there’s a vastly increased demand for commercial words. On the other, it’s opened up the floodgates to an army of so-called copywriters who primarily provide ‘content’ at ridiculously low rates.

The ease of entry to copywriting as a market where the inexperienced (and often untalented) can earn a crust has devalued – nay commoditised – what was once regarded as a skilful, creative occupation.

Fortunately, creativity and quality copywriting are still needed by big companies, ad agencies and those clients who appreciate the value of sparkling, persuasive words and ideas. Even better, they are willing to pay realistic rates for a copywriting job well done.

This is looking at copywriting rates from the client end of the telescope. For weaker copywriters in the market place, there are still plenty of opportunities to be gainfully employed, especially if the rates offered are along the lines of $10 for a 500-word article (and this, apparently, is the going rate on some of the ‘Dutch auction’ bidding sites out there).

Whilst offering rock-bottom rates may bring in work, it has the unfortunate knock-on effect of devaluing the copywriting profession for those who are serious about perfecting the craft and providing clients with a professional, cost-effective range of services.

The provision of mass, optimised online content has its place in a fast-moving world that consumes words and advertising messages in the blink of an eye. It’s important to be realistic and accept that the world has changed. Being ‘precious’ about creativity flies in the face of what copywriting is all about, namely: providing a hard-hitting commercial service that helps clients sell or persuade.

What needs to change is either the description of differing types of copywriting which obviously involve enormously different skillsets - or (and this is more difficult) there needs to be a shift in perception among clients that copywriting is a ‘catch-all’ service where, for example, dozens of optimised e-commerce descriptions are seen in the same light as writing persuasive sales letters, web pages or ad copy.

There’s no mileage in denigrating the role of content writers, however. They provide a valuable service. The danger of course is where the term ‘copywriting’ overlaps to include skills of a totally different nature and, arguably, of greater commercial worth. The downward pressure on copywriting rates has prompted many old-school copywriters to question whether freelance copywriting is still a viable occupation.

The sequel to this looks at what other copywriters’ views are on Copywriting Rates in general. Visit: Copywriting Rates – What Copywriters Say

For tips on setting and negotiating Copywriting Rates, see: Copywriting Rates – Sell the Sizzle, Reap the Rewards!

Copywriting Rates – An Introduction

The Copywriting Rates page on Buzzwords’ website has a ridiculously high hit rate! This isn’t a casual observation based on a couple of weeks stats. The page has featured prominently on Google UK for many months, hitting the Number One spot for the keyword/keyphrase ’Copywriting Rates’ in the autumn of 2010.

Obviously, ranking highly on Page One brings a lot of hits so it’s probably wise not to draw too many conclusions as to the importance of what I have to say Yes, the SEO is good (even though I say it myself!), but what about the content? To find out more about Copywriting Rates in general, I decided to take a closer look at what my competitors are saying. 

In the meantime, I’ve also been looking at other issues surrounding Copywriting Rates including the controversial aspects of cheap content writing versus more traditional copywriting where much higher rates have been expected (but are now under threat).  For details, see: Copywriting Rates – Get Real, or Get Out?

The sequel to this looked at what other copywriters’ views are on Copywriting Rates in general. Visit: Copywriting Rates – What Copywriters Say

For tips on setting and negotiating Copywriting Rates, see: Copywriting Rates – Sell the Sizzle, Reap the Rewards!

Technology, Luddites and Creative Thinking

In 1990, I remember my secretary going goo-eyed at having an electric typewriter that included a memory disk. For her, this was a whole new labour-saving world where mailshot addresses and other frequently used lines of text could be printed out without having to re-type them.

Computers and PCs were around in those days of course, but the price tags were relatively high. For those who could afford it, desk top publishing was the ‘next big thing’. As more and more companies embraced this revolutionary software, so it seemed that the days of graphic designers were numbered.

Of course, we now know that technology of itself cannot destroy the creative professions. The clue here lies in the word ‘creative’. Machines will always be just that: mechanical tools whose potential (or limitations) are set only by the people who’ve designed them – and the people using them.

Ground-shifting technological changes started to sneak in a decade or so later. By this time, personal computers were more powerful and infinitely more affordable. The typewriter had long had its day, and even the word processing functions on PCs had been relegated to the lowest levels of computing.

Now, my friends, we had the Internet. E-mail was a modern miracle. Snail-mail was an also-ran whilst the new communications medium opened up the world at the click of a mouse.

Yet this was as nothing compared to the information revolution that the web (and search engines) brought in their wake. To begin with, there was a handful of search engines competing for our attention. Then along came Google and the online world changed for ever.

This was the beginning of an era of rapid and ongoing change. The old familiar names such as IBM faded into the background as new technologies were integrated into new solutions for personal and business computing.

We were in the thick of a social revolution that continues apace with advances in computer processing power, software and online innovations. Social media has arrived and matured with breathtaking speed. Facebook and Twitter are now literally the tools of revolution and social foment!

We mustn’t forget the massive role that mobile communications plays in all this. Mobile phones are now fully-integrated web-enabled computers that optimise the potential of the likes of Twitter and Facebook.

When threatened governments and military regimes try to disable these tools to prevent the spread of viral anarchy and/or populist resistance, then you know there’s been a power-shift.

Few people could have envisaged the directions in which computing power has taken our world – and all at an ever-accelerating rate of change! Luddites or their latter-day equivalents no longer feature on the social landscape for the simple reason that change is so rapid that any inkling of reactionary thinking is quickly swept away by the technological tsunami.

Should a copywriter specialise?

There’s a new article on Buzzwords’ website entitled ‘Copywriting Choices’. The URL – minus the ‘www’ – is:

buzzwords.ltd.uk/copywriting_choices_specialist_or_non_specialist.htm

TO LINK DIRECTLY TO THE ARTICLE, YOU COULD CLICK ON THE TWITTER LINK TO THE RIGHT OF THIS BLOG POST!!!

The article explores whether copywriters should specialise, or is the niche occupation of copywriting specialised enough already?

‘Copywriting Choices’ looks at the argument from the standpoint of copywriters and those who use copywriting services.

For copywriters who do specialise, this can be either by sector or skillset. For those who commission copywriters, the choice on the Internet is huge – but how do you choose?



Copywriting and PR Packages – A New Web Page!

There’s a new article on Buzzwords’ main website entitled ‘Copywriting and PR Packages – They’re Good News for Everyone!’

You’ll find it on the ‘Free Reprint Articles’ page – or visit: buzzwords.ltd.uk/copywriting_and_pr_packages.htm (just add the ‘www’).

Alternatively, just click on the Facebook or Twitter links opposite – or go to: http://ezinearticles.com and type in ‘Mike Beeson’!!!

The article itself looks at the strategic and tactical options available to copywriters and clients when it comes to tailoring a copywriting or PR package.

Standalone copywriting skills aren’t always enough when it comes to creating effective business solutions. This article scratches the surface of a big topic…

Freelance Copywriting – It’s a Greasy Pole!

If you’re toying with the idea of becoming a freelance copywriter, read this article on Buzzwords’ website first – buzzwords.ltd.uk/freelance_copywriting_a_health_and_wealth_warning.htm (add the ‘www’ first!). It touches on the business and personal traits you’ll need to succeed in the highly competitive field of freelance copywriting.

As you will see, it ain’t no free lunch. Nor is it any guarantee of financial success or future job security. What you CAN do is prepare in every way to confront the financial and personal challenges that are part of a freelance copywriter’s daily lot. That’s assuming of course that you have the writing flair, intellectual stamina and thick skin to support your business acumen and determination to succeed.

Adding value with copywriting and PR packages

Like most copywriters, I’m interested in what other copywriters are doing and thinking. Over the years, I’ve signed up for dozens of copywriting newsletters of which Steve Slaunwhite’s is one.

I like Steve’s newsletters. They’re always informative, and often feature useful tips about the BUSINESS of copywriting – and not simply the CRAFT of copywriting.

A couple of weeks ago, Steve was urging us to sell ‘packages’ as a way of adding value to basic copywriting services. It certainly helps when it comes to demonstrating a higher level of professionalism to a client as well as persuading them that a ‘package’ is worth paying a premium for.

All this struck a chord with me for the simple reason that I’ve been providing copywriting and PR packages for quite some time. Given the diversity of the work I do and the diversity of client needs nowadays, it makes plenty of sense to provide packages that can be tailored to achieve specific ends.

It’s also important to point out the synergies that can result from combining copywriting and/or PR services in innovative ways.

What I like about Steve’s approach to ‘packages’ is the sheer practicality of the solutions he’s suggesting. It’s all very well talking about ‘synergy’, but clients want your solutions to be spelt out in simple language.

A ‘package’ is a collection of services that sit together logically to produce a profitable outcome for the client. Selling-in the concept is all about creating an image of a multi-layered solution.

That may sound complex, but a little thought about what a client might expect from an extended solution will soon generate ideas.

Copywriting isn’t just about WRITING commercially. The business of copywriting is also about anticipating client needs that will make a profit and add value for the parties involved. Now I wonder where I’ve heard that before?

Sales Letter Copywriting – Video #3: How to Follow Up

This third video – http://bit.ly/i82Qld – from the International Freelancers Academy tells you how to follow up on your sales letter copywriting in a professional and effective way.

Following up is an area of direct mail marketing where so many companies fall down. The video explains how to get around this by sending out sequenced e-mails and making well-timed phone calls.

If this still doesn’t bring the response you need over, say, a six-month period, send out articles, case studies or other items that may be of use to your prospect.

Simple really. All that’s needed is planned and focused input on your part. Check out Video #3 Sales Letter Copywriting now!

Sales Letter Copywriting Videos to Win New Clients

If you thought sales letter copywriting was an outdated and ineffective way of winning new clients, check out this series of videos by Pete Savage at The International Freelancers Academy – http://bit.ly/h82chT

Pete talks convincingly about using sales letters as one possible option in the confusing array of marketing techniques available to businesses today.

The great value of direct mail of course is that you can target those companies you’d like to have as clients. With other marketing methods such as article marketing, PR and so on, you can only go with what comes along!

Pete emphasises the importance of including an ‘Offer’ in your mailing. It must be something of value, and preferably something that solves a recipient’s problem. An example might be to offer a free report or white paper that addresses a specific problem in your prospect’s industry or sector.

Similarly, the majority of your letter should focus on solving your reader’s problem. Pete suggests that 90% of the letter’s content should be dedicated to this, plus an outline of how your Offer can help. Only then – at least half-way through your letter – should you talk about yourself and your services – the ’90:10 Rule’, he calls it!

There are some useful hints about the content of a sales letter package, especially the value of including a bulky item that will make the envelope irresistible to open!

Once opened, the letter should feature the Offer in your headline, whilst your company logo is relegated to the bottom of the second page of your letter – ‘subordinating the brand to your offer’.

Then there are the other detailed tricks you can include to improve response rates. These include things like using ‘tick’ marks instead of bullet points, and leaving the final sentence on Side 1 of your letter half-way complete so the reader is obliged to turn to Side 2 to find out more.

In the third of this video series, Pete goes into more detail about the importance of following up on sales letters – and the best ways of doing it. In the meantime, click on the link to International Freelancers Academy and enjoy Videos 1 & 2.

A Great SEO Copywriting Tool – the Google ‘Wonder Wheel’

SEO copywriters (and anyone interested in SEO copywriting) will appreciate the Google ‘Wonder Wheel’. This little-known free tool responds to your keyword search with a word or words at the hub of a ‘wheel’ and a selection of related keywords at the end of ‘spokes’.

You can click on each of these keywords to create another ‘Wonder Wheel’ – it’s very simple, quick and effective. To the right of the page, Google presents its keyword findings, as with a typical search.

To reach the Google ‘Wonder Wheel’, you simply type in the search term you’re looking for. On the left side of the page (below ‘Everything’ and ‘Standard View’) you will see the ‘Wonder Wheel’ link.

Buzzwords’ new SEO Copywriting page

There’s all-new content on the SEO Copywriting page of Buzzwords’ main website – buzzwords.ltd.uk/seo_copywriting.htm

This was written in response to the big SEO changes which have taken place in the past year or so.  The way Google looks at web page copy has changed, especially with regard to keywords and fluency of style.

Social media sites and the ability to share and link pages has also had a big impact on what succeeds online and what doesn’t.  Content is still king but this constant change must be making the king a little sore in more ways than one!

Article Review: PR Packages Part 3 – ‘Newsletters & Online PR’

(To read the complete article – and others in this series – go to: buzzwords.ltd.uk/free_reprint_articles.htm)

Harness the power of the Internet by reaching out to the audience of your choosing. This article highlights the power you can release through a PR Package that combines:

• Online Newsletters targeted at the ‘opt-in’ database you’ve built from your website, blog and e-mail marketing – or using bought-in lists
• Online PR, which clearly has the potential to achieve impressive media coverage with speed and pinpoint accuracy

Interestingly, Online Newsletters can best be characterised as the ‘micro communications’ side of PR, whilst Online PR can be as ‘micro’ or as ‘macro’ as you wish!

The newer format of Online PR can of course reach out across a universe of common interest.  Whether it’s hard-core news or simply outlining ‘what’s new’, the urgency of Online PR differs markedly from Online Newsletters where the approach is more leisurely.

Both can be used in equally strategic ways, however.  A sequence of planned online news releases can be extremely effective, whilst the ‘slow-drip’ effect of newsletters can be supportive either of wider marketing aims or focused on a single, ongoing issue.

Using both techniques in a single PR Package can phase-in messages to your chosen audience in a more sequenced way.  Online PR can be used to disseminate information in a staccato style – sandwiched between the measured yet more expansive Online Newsletter approach.

Article Review: PR Packages Part 2 – ‘PR Provides the Social Proof’

To read the full article (and others in the series), visit: buzzwords.ltd.uk/free_reprint_articles.htm

Although I’ve written extensively on the way PR Packages can create unexpected synergies, this article is the first to explore ‘social proof’ as a powerful marketing benefit. 

Evidence of social proof can come from many quarters, yet few would consider case studies to be up there with the best.  As a complementary offshoot, using case studies in what must be any company’s seminal collateral – its annual report – will showcase third party endorsement in the most prestigious and persuasive way.

Although this particular PR Package may be seen as an almost notional – if not accidental – creation, it highlights the potential of combining seemingly standalone PR techniques.  I would go even further and say that it makes just one small part of a very big case for integrated marketing (including social and digital media as well as offline traditional marketing).

Article Review: PR Packages Part 1 – ‘SEO the Easy Way!’

You can read the full article (and others in the series) by linking from  Buzzwords’ website page: buzzwords.ltd.uk/free_reprint_articles.htm

This article outlines the SEO benefits of combining Online PR and Article Marketing.  Both techniques have intrinsic value in their own right by providing useful information and by generating those all-important inbound links to your website. 

As a PR Package, the two together are an unstoppable and affordable SEO resource.  Whilst the emphasis with Online PR will obviously be on what’s newsworthy, Article Marketing presents valuable information that should ideally be timeless and therefore more likely to generate links for the long term.

The complementary aspects of these marketing tools will appeal to organisations of every type and size.  Each makes full use of the burgeoning numbers of online publishers and directories.  Information suddenly becomes easily and quickly accessible, as well as being available to targeted audiences in almost any country or marketing sector. 

Equally important is the scope for targeted SEO and optimising your website landing pages with the keywords of your choice.  To say this PR Package provides ‘SEO the Easy Way’ is probably the understatement of the year!

‘PR Packages’ Articles Complete the Online Jigsaw

Of the recent articles I’ve written for online submission, there are three (so far) in the PR Packages series.  Each of these focuses on a range of PR and copywriting skills that can be bundled together to achieve various objectives.  These could be for SEO purposes, generating a wider awareness of a company’s products and services, building business or protecting reputations.

The articles are, of course, as much about the SEO process of article marketing as they are about the benefits of Buzzwords’ PR Packages!  I make no apologies for that.  Everything that’s written online should, wherever possible, have the capacity to be re-cycled and fit into your online jigsaw.

Copywriting is a time-consuming business, so it makes sense to make it as cost-effective as possible.  Article marketing is probably at the top end of the spectrum as far as time input is concerned.  And yet, a lot of people don’t realise just how much of a ‘slow burn’ process SEO and link building actually is!

Blogging and online PR will probably give a quicker return per hour spent, but for staying power and generating a wider awareness of you and your field of expertise, articles are more expansive – and definitely more enduring.

Over and above the ‘slow burn’ effectiveness of article marketing, another concern that clients have is centred on how much skill and hard cash need be invested to do a good job.  As a copywriter, I have the skills at my fingertips, so the cost is nil (except for my valuable time, that is!).

What I would say to companies who doubt the power of article marketing is that it will pay off in the medium-term (we’re not talking ‘quick fixes’ here), especially if you hire a professional copywriter who can also help you to integrate all your social media activities.  Like any other form of marketing, you need to invest in the best to see a decent return.

Article Marketing – A Revival!

Writing articles is back on Buzzwords’ SEO agenda – as is blogging! It’s all part of an inter-linked approach to generating more traffic to the main website using social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

There’s a lot of scepticism about using Facebook and Twitter for business. Personally, I think the best approach is to leverage every digital marketing opportunity to generate a buzz around what you’re up to! Simple, but there’s no doubting the rewards that plenty of online activity brings in the SEO stakes.

To illustrate the point, every article I write is linked from ezinearticles to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. My blog posts go direct to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Squidoo. Twitter goes straight to Facebook. And there’s a dedicated ‘Free Article Reprint’ page on Buzzwords’ website - buzzwords.ltd.uk/free_reprint_articles.htm – which features all my articles (as standalone and optimised web pages) for use by anyone, anywhere.

The net effect of all this is to create a virtuous cycle of activity and interest in what Buzzwords is doing – and of course generating traffic to the main website. A major reason why social media doesn’t work for so many companies is because they aren’t active enough in writing and creating the various blog posts, tweets, Facebook entries, articles and website updates needed to shake Google’s tree.

The reasons for this are really quite simple: lack of time, commitment and the opportunity cost of time and attention wasted doing what is a non-core activity – not to mention the lack of confidence in some quarters to write what’s needed to the standard that won’t let the side down.

All of this is a great shame. To give social media a fair crack of the whip needs confidence and commitment. Without it, the endeavour is doomed to failure. To coin a phrase, it’s really a question of reaping what you sow.

Copywriting is a business too!

In a recession, the only answer to shrinking markets is to diversify into new ones.  This is as true of copywriting as it is of any other business activity.

Buzzwords has therefore moved officially into copywriting-led marketing services.  I say ‘officially’ because these are areas where we’ve had plenty of previous experience, but they were seen as as peripheral to the main copywriting business.

This is all good news for Buzzwords’ existing clients – and new clients too.  It means that a wider range of services is now available from a single source.  And it also means from a trusted source when it comes to quality and price.

Everyone is price-conscious right now.  so giving clients more choice is also providing a better service.  This is probably one of many ways a company can sidestep the main impact of recession.  Tighter margins needn’t necessarily mean lower profits.

Copywriting for the construction industry – a new dimension

In less than two years, copywriting for the construction industry has been turned on its head.  Recent economic events have had real-life effects that have trickled down into every area of everyday life.

Everyone in the construction industry – and everywhere else for that matter – knew the party would have to end eventually. The way it happened, however, was both unique and breath-taking.

Suddenly, plans and developments were put on hold.  The future was fudged and nudged back a little.  Balance sheets were written in red ink for the first time in a decade.  And yet, the blood-bath could have been worse. 

Recessions are times when businesses are forced to take stock.  The self-correcting nature of capitalism steps in to allow companies to cut away the fat, re-focus on core business activities and re-arm for the future.

Of course, copywriting is but a side-show in all this.  And yet, effective marketing is essential for corporate recovery in any business sector.  Copywriting for the construction industry will become more streamlined.  Websites will become ‘content managed’.  The media relations side of  PR will move online.  The dissemination of  ‘information’ will be more fluid.  And accessing it will have to be ‘on demand’.  

Integrated marketing will receive a shot in the arm in the shape of resurgent inter-personal selling.  As everyone becomes more web-savvy, the split between online and offline marketing will become less pronounced.  The need to differentiate will disappear.  And marketing will be re-instated to its status of being a major standalone business discipline.

The ‘satellites’ of online marketing, networking and social media will mutate from fads into mainstream tools.  As ever among all this, copywriting will be there, forced by necessity to be quicker, leaner and totally business-focused. 

Like so many other marketing services, copywriting will become ever-more commoditised.  The days of self-indulgent creativity and precious preening are well and truly behind us.  And when it comes to winning respect in the wider business community, maybe that’s no bad thing.

SEO Copywriting and Ongoing Optimisation

When it comes to SEO copywriting, one of the biggest problems I face as an SEO copwriter is persuading clients that optimising their websites is an ongoing process.  Most think it’s like writing a brochure.  Choose a set of keywords, wait awhile – and hey presto!  Google loves me!  Not.

Probably one of the best vehicles for encouraging clients to embrace SEO copywriting as an ongoing concept is to sign up for a content managed website (CMS).  There’s no substitute for being in control – whether the client writes the content, or a copywriter is commissioned to do it.

Of course, this involves finding out about basic on-page SEO copywriting skills like keyword research, meta tags and knowing what goes where.  An even bigger potential problem is with off-page SEO copywriting and link building.  Even with a CMS, the downside to building links is that it takes lots of time and effort.  That’s why it makes sense to leave it to a professional SEO copywriter.

Ongoing optimisation is definitely not a quick fix when it comes to creating a successful website.  Fine-tuning keywords and meta tags, for instance, doesn’t generate results overnight.  Nor does article marketing. 

With all the other demands of running a business, ongoing optimisation will inevitably slip down the list of priorities, especially if progress is slow.  Employing a copywriter who also monitors the results of SEO copywriting activities is probably the best way to approach optimisation.

Set a six-month target.  Monitor the rankings of the web pages you’ve optimised.  (Remember: Google ranks pages and NOT websites!)  Monitor and compare rival keywords.  Search for new keywords and compare their performance.  And look closely at which aspects of your SEO copywriting are working – and those that aren’t!

The importance of your website as the focal point of all your online marketing cannot be over-stated.  It follows therefore that the effects of your site’s rankings on sales lead generation makes SEO copywriting and ongoing optimisation one of the most important online activities in which your company should be investing.

SEO Copywriting – 10 Steps to SEO Heaven!

New SEO copywriting content has been added to Buzzwords’ copywriting website (buzzwords.ltd.uk/seo_copywriting.htm).   ‘SEO Copywriting – 10 steps to SEO success!’ is all about the various steps that Buzzwords goes through when conducting an SEO copywriting makeover for a client. These include:

• STEP ONE – Analysing the website structure and sitemap
• STEP TWO – Keyword appraisal
• STEP THREE – Optimising every page with the appropriate keywords
• STEP FOUR – Including keywords in URLs
• STEP FIVE – Optimising for business leads from the immediate locality
• STEP SIX – Writing for people, not robots!
• STEP SEVEN – The time lag between SEO copywriting changes and visible search engine results
• STEP EIGHT – Results and the limitations of on-page SEO copywriting
• STEP NINE – The need for strategic off-page SEO copywriting
• STEP TEN – Persistence pays off with free online advertising!

 

Web development packages introduced by Buzzwords

Manchester-based copywriting agency, Buzzwords Limited, has introduced three web development packages to complement its website copywriting and SEO copywriting services:

• Bespoke website design – Everything from a five-page ‘brochure’ website to an an all-dancing e-commerce catalogue.
• Content Management Systems - Buzzwords will manage and write the copy and content for your website.  Design and hosting are all part of the CMS package.
• WordPress blog development - Add a blog to your existing website.  Or create a standalone blog ‘website’.

“A choice of one-stop solutions is what more and more clients want when it comes to their online marketing, especially the smaller company which often doesn’t have the time or the know-how to shop around and co-ordinate all the website services ” says Buzzwords’  Director, Mike Beeson.  “With this new service from Buzzwords, clients get expert website copywriting and SEO plus whatever type of website or blog suits their needs or their budget.”

Website Design page added to Buzzwords’ website

Buzzwords now offers bespoke website design services for clients looking for more than the website copywriting and SEO copywriting services currently on offer. Many clients – especially SMEs – prefer to deal with one supplier rather than having to source and co-ordinate an army of website professionals. Buzzwords has worked with website designers and programmers for many years so it makes sense to roll it all up into an optional turnkey service. 

(Buzzwords’ website copywriting and SEO copywriting services continue to enjoy great popularity and are still provided as standalone services.)

SEO copywriting and meaningless links

We all know that link building is today’s main mantra for sucessful SEO copywriting with Google. And yet, I don’t see that links generated through article directories are necessarily a good guide to a site’s ‘authority’.

The quality of articles on some directory sites are pretty dire, even if they are the bees’ knees for search engines. The article directory concerned may have a respectable Google PR (Page Rank) but when they’re publishing dross, the net effect flies in the face of Google’s aim of delivering a quality search experience.

Which brings me back to a hobby-horse of mine that those pages at the top of the SERPs aren’t necessarily the best in that subject area. They are in fact the ones that most closely meet Google’s SEO criteria and are unfairly rewarded because their webmasters know how best to play the SEO game.

You could say that life – and publicity in particular – is like that.  Advertising and PR has always rewarded those who know how to shout the loudest. It’s just that Google claims to apply ultra-sophisticated methods (algorithms) to bring us a new marketing paradigm when the reality is that things haven’t really changed. In years to come, the likelihood is that building ‘links’ in this way – or any way? – will be seen as a wrong turning for SEO  .

Check out Buzzwords’ new ‘Guest Blogger’ article on huliq.com

The following article by Mike Beeson was published today on US online news portal www.huliq.com:

http://www.huliq.com/1/82686/new-greed-stalks-financial-neverland

‘New Greed Stalks Financial Neverland’.

Check it out – Huliq’s a good place for some interesting stories!!!

Buzzwords on Twitter at COPYWRITINGBUZZ

Buzzwords is now on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/COPYWRITINGBUZZ

Follow Mike Beeson’s updates about copywriting, SEO and PR!!!

Personalised copywriting training courses – Cheshire, Manchester, Lancashire, Liverpool

Buzzwords is now offering one-to-one copywriting training at its Cheshire (south Manchester) base.  (More details are on Buzzwords’ website at:  buzzwords.ltd.uk/copywriting_training_courses.htm – add the  ’www’ prefix)

Half-day modules focus on specific aspects of copywriting (such as website copywriting, SEO copywriting or copywriting for PR) and use a personalised coaching model.  The training is particularly useful for:

• Ambitious would-be copywriters who want to start a new copywriting career (as well as those with some copywriting experience – in a marketing department, for instance – who want to improve their skills and move on to more challenging copywriting roles)
• Those who run small or medium-size businesses (SMEs) who want to save money by taking the copywriting function in-house
• Individuals in larger organisations looking to boost their effectiveness at work by increasing their knowledge and confidence in dealing with external suppliers of copywriting services

An initial two-hour Assessment is provided at Buzzwords’ Knutsford premises to find out exactly what is expected of the training.  This is a departure from the standard training approach where one-day courses deliver a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution – which, in many cases, is no solution at all!

Mike Beeson will take into account an individual’s aims, timescales and natural aptitude before setting out recommendations in a written Report.  This approach will ensure that those who move on to the actual training modules have exactly the training they need, thus saving precious time and money.

An initial Assessment costs £POA + VAT. 

Half-day training modules cost £POA + VAT.

To find out more, call Mike Beeson on 01565 654023

- or visit Buzzwords’ main website:

buzzwords.ltd.uk/copywriting_training_courses.htm (adding the ‘www’ prefix)

Copywriting Rates page now on Buzzwords’ website

The slippery subject of Copywriting Rates has made its first appearance on Buzzwords’ main website (see: buzzwords.ltd.uk/copywriting_rates.htm).

This is a page I’ve been meaning to write for a couple of years – but never got round to it. It’s certainly the topic which is read most frequently on this blog.

Anything relating to Copywriting Rates is clicked on avidly. Most people who want to know more are usually disappointed, however. I would guess that, if a survey was done, the percentage of copywriters divulging their rates would be minuscule.   Why?

Go to Buzzwords’ new web page now and find out more!

Radio Copywriting page now on Buzzwords’ website

There’s a new Radio Copywriting page on Buzzwords’ website.  I’ve taken a novel approach by using a radio script for some of the page content. 

Radio advertising is an oft-maligned medium, but the proliferation of stations makes it an interesting avenue for a freelance copywriter, especially when a complete production and media package can be created alongside the copywriting input.   

It’s always good to see a script brought to life and – unlike TV – radio is the only broadcast medium where a copywriter still has a measurable creative contribution to make.

Technical copywriter vs technical writer

I recently added a new technical copywriting page to Buzzwords’ website (buzzwords.ltd.uk/technical_copywriter.htm) in which I discuss the differences between a technical copywriter and a technical WRITER. 

Although this may seem like doing battle with semantics, I feel that the term ‘technical copywriter’ is always going to have a marketing association.  When it comes to the efficacy of online search, this is massively important.  From a webmaster’s standpoint, he will want to select the keyword that best does the business.  For someone conducting the search, they will want to know that the results best match their needs. 

A technical copywriter will likely bring essential marketing skills to the table – if this is what the searcher wants.  If they want someone with the detailed and specialist skills of a technical writer, then the term ‘copywriter’ will dilute the relevance of their search results.  This example alone highlights the shortcomings of search engine optimization (SEO) and keyword research.  For those people who may not be familiar with the word ‘copywriter’ and who are acquainted only with the term ‘writer’ (even in a commercial context), organic listings will do them a major disservice, although it has to be said that a little keyword research could help here!

This is only one example of the potential anomalies that SEO and SEO copywriting can unearth.  To the initiated, it all seems simple.  Get your head down and keep drilling down for the results you want.  For those who may be thrown with something as simple as plural versions of their chosen keyword, they should really be consulting SEO copywriters (and other SEO professionals) who can help them avoid elephant traps that could be costly both in financial as well as informational terms. 

 

 

Copywriting in Knutsford – and the Cranford link

Buzzwords’ copywriting business is only one of many companies in Knutsford looking for rewarding local opportunities. No less a figure than Knutsford  MP George Osborne has been pointing out how local businesses could make commercial capital out of the town’s links with Victorian writer Elizabeth Gaskell. Her ‘Cranford’ novels are enjoying a renaissance thanks to recent airings of her stories on BBC TV.

Exactly how the town’s businesses can make the leap and the link is more difficult to work out. Should there be gingerbread characters or sticks of Cranford rock? Should there be Cranford stickers on everything sold in Knutsford, or a literary festival or mass PR events in a summer show of solidarity?

There is of course the problem that most businesses want to be seen as modern and forward-looking.  Harking back to genteel Victorian values may have some touristic mileage, but how this can be harnessed for the many consultancy-type businesses in Knutsford isn’t quite so obvious.

As for copywriting and how it can relate to Elizabeth Gaskell and Cranford, the main link has to be in the process of writing. Given that writing Victorian novels with all their intricate characterisations is a largely introspective affair – as opposed to copywriting which is outward looking  even in its micro-economic context! – the scope for linking is limited.

Talking around the subject and the ways PR can be used to heighten awareness of the Cranford link is the most obvious service that copywriting can perform.  By keeping the Cranford pot bubbling, copywriting may yet stimulate new commercial ideas among Knutsford businesses.

I was a financial copywriter. I still am a financial copywriter!

When it comes to adding relevant content to Buzzwords’ website to support my claims to being a financial copywriter (among many other things!!!), it doesn’t help that a large body of my work has disappeared.

This is because freelance work I did as a financial copywriter in the late 1980s onwards for companies such as Girobank and Royal Insurance – not to mention the Manchester Evening News – were all written before I recorded my work on a PC.  In other words, the only surviving record I have of some really good stuff is in either typescript form (and a bit mouldy round the edges after all that time in a cardboard box!) or – in a few cases – as printed ‘proofs’! 

(buzzwords.ltd.uk/financial_copywriter.htm)

This is true of other aspects of copywriting work done over a long period.  My computerised files ‘only’ go back to 1996 which effectively means that over ten years of my work has been consigned to oblivion.  Admittedly, much of what was written then would seem hopelessly out of date now, but there are some aspects of copywriting such as advertising and direct mail which don’t date as much.

As this type of work made up a big slice of what I was doing in those days, it’s a shame it’s all gone to waste.  Just think of  all those SEO links!  Buzzwords would be top banana in so many Google searches, based on ancient texts!

These are merely observations and I do have 15 years of more recent work to use as examples on Buzzwords’ website!  Yes, I am still a financial copywriter - as well as being a copywriter in areas I never would have dreamt of  in those early days!

Why the Copywriting Agency concept has never been more relevant

It’s not only for SEO purposes that a Copywriting Agency page has been added to Buzzwords’ main website (buzzwords.ltd.uk/copywriting_agency.htm).  There is an increasing demand for bulk copywriting, usually for online use and – more specifically – to enhance search engine rankings.

Enquiries roll in for ‘optimised’ content writing for things like online catalogues, mass produced articles, newsletters, case studies and so on. In most cases, the copy is all about extending the range of keywords on a website and focusing on selling a tight range of products or services.

It has to be said: the quality of  copy is rarely a consideration with this type of work.  It’s usually about ‘price’ and what amounts to the wholesale ‘commoditisation’ of the copywriting function.  There are some ridiculously low rates being quoted for bulk copywriting where quality will inevitably suffer.  Buzzwords would never go down that road. 

The notion of providing Copywriting Agency services does, however, have its logic in the obvious limitations there are in using a one-man-band copywriter.  If, for example, you need to have newsletters written on a regular basis and then a 60-page brochure comes along followed by an online sales promotion campaign, an individual copywriter would soon be swamped, especially if there are existing retained client commitments.

Buzzwords has always worked with a network of established copywriters to overcome these eventualities.  In pre-Internet days, it was usually to meet the needs of catalogue companies whose appetite for copy (and copywriters!) was voracious.  Today, the type of copywriting work may have changed, but the demand for a Copywriting Agency response has never been greater.

For a more effective website – Buzzwords has a FREE download!

Visit the Home page on Buzzwords’ website (buzzwords.ltd.uk) for your FREE 59-page download where you will discover how and why Content Management System (CMS) websites are so effective.

This easy-to-read PDF provides a perfect introduction to things like website copywriting, SEO, how to use images, domain names, hosting, e-mail and Pay-Per-Click advertising.  More importantly, it takes you through the benefits of having a CMS website – namely: flexibility, ease of management and cost-effectiveness.

SEO copywriting articles on Buzzwords’ website

I’ve added a couple of SEO copywriting articles to Buzzwords’ main website – see: /seo_copywriting.htm. They reflect how search is constantly changing and, with it, the skills and approach demanded of a SEO copywriter.

Copywriting and the social media mix

How can a busy copywriter find the time to indulge in social media, if ‘indulge’ is the right word?  This implies social media is some kind of luxury, a bit of fun that copywriters can have instead of doing the crossword.

Well, I must admit, I’ve decided to make a fist of the social media thing and try to make it work in a B2B context.  I’ve dabbled with blogs in the past, opened an account with LinkedIn and even had a brief dalliance with MySpace some time back.

The blogs I had were fine but they took up a lot of my time, and without any apparent benefit.  When they were banned for using too many links back to my main website (or was it too many tags?), I shrugged my shoulders and got on with life. 

What I didn’t realise at the time was just how much SEO-juice the blogs were feeding back to my main website.  The content itself wasn’t earth-shattering, although I guess the spin-offs from being more industry-aware had some value (to someone, somewhere!!!).

So why the conversion (or re-conversion) to social media?  What’s brought on this Damascus-like change?  This may sound pathetic, but it’s mainly to do with my tweets ranking on Google!

My first venture into social media was in the dark days before Twitter, so I do have some kind of explanation!  It was also to do with blogs linking with Twitter, and online articles linking to Twitter and so on.  (You’re right, it still sounds pathetic – but I will persist, dear reader!)

Another reason I’m re-visiting social media is because clients are actually hinting that I should be offering this as a service or, at the very least, offering advice on its feasibility for their company.

I must confess that it feels a bit limp-wristed to say to them that social media doesn’t really apply to companies – that it’s a ‘social’ thing!  The fact is, if it can be used to benefit SEO – and even help in opinion-forming by hooking up with even a small number of customers – then B2B social media must be ‘a good thing’.

Whether it’s a ‘cost-effective’ thing or not is a moot point.  This type of SEO is not measurable in its splendid isolation.  It may add to the weight of a full-blown SEO campaign, but assessing the ROI of B2B social media strikes me as tricky.

Having said that, tweets that are ranked by Google – albeit because they have links to other content – obviously have value.  Blog links have value too, and even the content on sites like Facebook may have some PR value.

So, yes, I shall be persevering with social media, if only to say to clients: “Yes, it works!” – or: “Don’t go there!”  With first-hand experience, I will have a leg to stand on, and a bag full of mixed metaphors to boot!

Buzzwords’ Copywriting and SEO Copywriting info now on Facebook

Find out more about Mike Beeson and Buzzwords’ freelance copywriting and SEO copywriting services on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mike.beeson1

Copywriting and the World Cup

What effect will the World Cup have on copywriting – and business in general? Will everyone (ie. mainly men) work like crazy all morning and then let it all hang out for the rest of the day? Will the nation suddenly be afflicted with workplace sickness and absenteeism – a plague on everyone’s houses?

There can be little doubt that major events like the General Election or World Cup are hugely distracting for business and businesses for days or weeks as the general public are caught up in a media-induced frenzy. In tough times, this may be a good thing (cathartic and all that). The negative effect it all has, however, on sales of everything except World Cup paraphernalia and beer will soon be seen!

Copywriting in a vacuum – it gets pretty crowded in here!

Freelance copywriting can be a lonely business with strange contradictions.  On the one hand, you can be frantically busy meeting deadlines, with the traffic in your head moving at breakneck speed.  In your immediate vicinity, on the other hand, all is peaceful, silent even!

Like every type of freelance work where you’re not working directly with colleagues, life is lived inside your head.  This may not be good for one’s sanity but it does have its compensations.  Yes, you can go insane – but at least you do it in enviably quiet surroundings.

If you could do less of a frontal lobotomy and more of a vertical slice through the centre of a freelance copywriter’s head, you’d probably see lots of different rooms, not unlike a typical ad agency. 

Busiest would be the Studio.  There’d be some cursing going on that some ‘suit’ had the effrontery to ask about a deadline.  And maybe some verbal jousting about which creative concept works best, or which freelance designer would do the best job.

Upstairs, you might find the Accounts Department.  “Anyone know why that client invoice hasn’t been paid yet?” Or… ” Why is that client whingeing about price when they’ve already agreed to it  and been over-serviced like crazy for the past 12 months?”

In the New Business Department, there’s lots of frantic debate going on about using social media in the integrated marketing mix; which markets should be targeted in the wake of public sector cuts; and how to balance servicing existing clients with the need to visit potential new ones.

That’s a lot of noise for one copywriter’s head.  And it’s happening round the clock, not just in business hours.  The freelance life is one of always being open for business, always developing new ideas and finding cool ways of maximising ROI (ie. time!).

The next time you’re at a party or networking event and you suspect that the person opposite you may be something in the freelance way, don’t be surprised if there’s a long wait before they give you an answer to your blindingly simple question: “What do you do?”

The reason for the delay is because the question’s being circulated around every department in the poor soul’s head before an appointed spokesperson from ‘New Business’ blurts out: “Freelance copywriter!”

Copywriter manqué pictures Oz in the 50s

Visit my Facebook site for a brief snapshot of what life was like for ‘£20 Pom’ emigrants to Australia in the mid-1950s. It was written by my father, Geoff Hewitt, and showcased by England’s Dorset Echo in 2009.

Geoff has lived in Sydney since 1954 when I emigrated there with him and my mother. I’ve been back in England for longer than I can remember but it’s interesting that both my father and I share a need to write. Given a different life, I guess he too could have been a copywriter. Today, instead of ‘Buzzwords’, you could be looking at the work of ‘Hewitt & Son’.

Buzzwords’ Article Marketing – Free Reprint Articles

For a taste of article marketing in action, visit the new Free Reprint Articles page on Buzzwords’ main website.  You can read a selection of  Mike Beeson’s recent articles at buzzwords.ltd.uk/free_reprint_articles ( just add the ‘www’ and stir!).

These cover SEO copywriting, article marketing, PR packages and case study copywriting.  All articles are available for FREE reprinting by webmasters, bloggers and publishers of e-zines and online newsletters – anyone in fact who needs high quality online content.

All that’s asked in return is that the article wording isn’t changed and that Buzzwords’ URL as it appears in the ‘resource box’ is included in full.

SEO Copywriting – Google’s Mayday Update Takes Us Back to Reality

Plenty has been written already about Google’s 2010 Mayday Update and the effect it will have on SEO and long-tail keywords.

For an SEO copywriting take on the issue, you may want to look at my latest article ‘SEO Copywriting – Embracing Google’s Mayday Update’ – at www.ezinearticles.com – or at Buzzwords’ main website on the ‘Articles’ page (buzzwords.ltd.uk/free_reprint_articles.htm – don’t forget to add the ‘www’).

From an SEO copywriting viewpoint, this is a welcome continuation of Google’s move towards ‘real’ language. For SEO types who’ve been creating huge amounts of low quality website content in the hope of capturing a share of the lucrative long-tail keyword search market, their come-uppance hasn’t come soon enough!