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. 

 

 

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.

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!

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)

 

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!!!

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!!!

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  .

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.

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.

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.

A copywriter for the construction industry?

The interest in Buzzwords’ construction industry and property copywriting services in the past six months has been surprising.  Given the dire state of new house building in the UK and the contraction of the commercial side of the construction industry – what’s going on?

Here’s my guess.  Unlike during the last recession, marketing people in 2009 aren’t simply battening down the hatches until this ill-wind dies down.  They are in fact taking the medium-term view – and most aspects of construction planning involve time-spans of three years or so.  Seizing the moment has translated into ‘getting ready to seize tomorrow’.

Whether we’ll ever return to the mad days of the past decade is debatable, but one thing is certain.  The UK has a housing shortage – and there will always be a demand for high quality offices, stores and warehouses on both urban and out-of-town developments.

So it looks like construction industry marketing departments are diverting some of their resources into developing their business profiles, extolling their expertise – and maybe using the services of a copywriter or two to help them out!

Construction industry copywriter – a new page on Buzzwords’ website

Flying in the face of the recession, a new page has been added to Buzzwords’ website today: Construction Industry Copywriter. This complements the other building industry page on the Buzzwords’ site: Property Copywriter. Building is still continuing in the UK, even if at a much reduced level. Crucially, from a copywriting point of view, there are still thousands of people out there who are employed in what could be described as ‘construction industry support services’ – surveying, civil engineering, consultants and so on. Many major planning projects are either mid-stream or being discussed for launch in the medium-term once the major impact of this recession has passed. And there are of course parts of the economy, such as supermarkets, which are doing very nicely and which need buildings into which they can expand their business. And as with all businesses right now, everyone is fighting for market share. Fortunately for copywriting, this creates demand for website copywriting, SEO copywriting and e-mail/e-zine marketing – to name just a few disciplines.

SEO copywriting and the problems with ’search’

I’ve just posted an article on Buzzwords’ main website (see: buzzwords.ltd.uk/news_links.htm) which highlights the shaky ground on which the conventional wisdom of online ’search’ rests and how it relates to SEO and SEO copywriting.

Many people assume that the web pages which come top in a Google search are ’simply the best’, when in fact they are probably only the ‘best-optimised’. Of course, the search engines are working tirelessly to find an algorithm that delivers the ultimate search experience, while SEO types (including SEO copywriters) are working equally hard to manipulate their clients’ websites into pole position.

Whether the ultimate dream of matching round pegs with round holes will ever happen is doubtful.   Until then, clients looking for marketing success should embrace SEO and SEO copywriting with every dollar at their disposal!

Buzzwords Copywriting Manchester on Facebook

Buzzwords Limited is now on Facebook.

 

Is outsourcing your copywriting to India a good idea?

Western businesses tempted by the low rates charged by Indian companies for copywriting services – SEO copywriting, web content writing and so on – would do well to consider the styles of English which Indians use. 

For many, English is not their first language.  Hindi is the majority language among many others.  The likelihood is that outsourced copywriting may come back as something which is not what would be regarded as ’standard English’.  Even worse, it may read like ‘Hinglish’, a hybrid argot which has acquired a certain cachet among India’s middle classes! 

That’s not to say that Indian companies dealing with SEO and website design don’t produce good work.  They do.  Copywriting, however, is different in that English has many hues.  In the same way that Chaucer’s English is divided from modern English by a big chasm of time, so present-day Indian English (or even American English) is separated by geography.  To paraphrase the saying: the UK and US are divided by a common language.

Indian copywriting tends to reflect the more formal English syntax used 50 years ago – or more.  Before any work becomes usable, a time-consuming editing process is usually necessary.  Suddenly, this can make the low fees much more expensive.  As any copywriter will tell you, there’s often as much work involved in a ‘re-write’ as there is in producing original copy. 

Where more colloquial English is needed – as in ads, sales letters and (to a certain extent) with websites – it’s essential for the copywriter to be on the same cultural wavelength as his audience.  Without cultural empathy, the sales process is severely compromised.

 

SEO copywriting meets PR – hello Article Marketing!

Submitting articles to publishers – online or offline – is a highly effective way to generate interest in a company or person, especially in a niche market which has its own specialist media. ‘Selling in’ feature articles has always been – and remains – a mainstay of PR and media relations.

The advent of the Internet as a marketing tool has seen the evolution of many traditional offline methods into full-blown techniques which boost search engine rankings through the clever use of search engine optimisation (SEO) and SEO copywriting.

Article Marketing relies for effectiveness on linking the websites of online directories, e-zines, blogs and other websites to the landing page URL of the article sender.  Also vital is ensuring that every article has keyword-optimised content for maximum search engine recognition of the landing page published.

The skills of the SEO copywriter (and other online marketers and SEO professionals) in identifying appropriate keywords and using them in opportune ways as the article and landing pages are written creates a wonderful synergy.  Google also rewards the quality and relevance of inbound links with potentially higher rankings for website pages to which published articles are linked.

 

 

SEO copywriting beats the economic slowdown!

Search engine success starts with SEO copywriting.  It’s the most cost-effective marketing tool around.  You’ll see a clear and rapid return on your investment in the shape of higher search engine rankings and more website traffic.

For REAL immediacy, of course, there’s Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising.  Whether this counts as SEO copywriting is a moot point, although PPC does rely heavily for its success on good keyword selection that relates to tightly configured AdGroups, well-optimised landing pages and keyword-focused small ads.

It hardly matters, but PPC is firmly rooted in the search engine marketing (SEM) stable.  For purists who see SEO copywriting solely as a way to achieve higher website rankings, we have to be talking about optimised website copy, complete with appropriate keywords, meta tags and smooth, semantic syntax!

Other link-building tools which also draw on SEO copywriting skills include online PR and article marketing although, in this context, their SEO uses are focused on improving a website’s search engine rankings.

For businesses looking to generate sales and qualified leads in the most straightforward and cost-effective way, SEO copywriting and the improvements it can make in organic search engine ranking make it an essential secret weapon in any marketer’s armoury.

Elvis Presley features in Buzzwords’ case study writing for Amtico!

amt0063-graceland

• Buzzwords was involved in case study writing for hundreds of clients for the upmarket flooring specialists Amtico.  This example – for Elvis Presley’s home, ‘Graceland’ – is one of the more colourful!

CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE TO VIEW PDF FILE.