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The Copywriter’s Dilemma: Google or the Public? A SPN Exclusive Article

By Nikki Cripps in Featured

Recently a potential client contacted me to write content for his site for a new product.

The brief was as follows:

“The text is for Google not the public. The language needs to be “normal verbiage” in original copy but does not have to be technical. I want a key word density of 8%.”

At that level of density the keyword would have appeared at least every second line, and this was for a piece of work of 1500 words.

I declined.

I don’t write for Google, I write for humans. Keywords are important – essential – for search engines. But it is people who read the online content, who pick up the phone and who place an order. Who has the patience to read 1500 words with the keyword stuffed in so monotonously that the content becomes unreadable?

But the bigger question is: How did a website owner become so convinced that this was how content must be written? His commitment to the keyword density was unwavering and he even sent me examples of how easy it was to do. It would have been a challenge to make it work but a waste of time for me and the client. I’m not sure if someone out there took up the project – I’ll keep monitoring the site to see if it appears.

Keyword obsession is a dangerous game. The roulette spinner, aka Google, dominates the market for keyword promotion, ably assisted by SEO marketers and companies who have become enslaved to the idea that keywords equal profits and they are the one true path to success. Ten years ago the term “keywords” was not part of everyday lexicon. A search in Google (sigh) returns 301,000,000 results for “keywords.” All of this has undoubtedly contributed to the belief that filling content with keywords so it’s fatter than Santa’s sack is what matters in online content.

While the jury is still out on the appropriate density of keyword frequency (and I’ve seen some SEO companies recommend 10 to 12 percent) a creative approach to including keywords in content can overcome unreadability and obvious stuffing. Well written content, that is engaging, interesting, covers the keywords, answers customers questions, creates trust, and makes the customer want to do business with you is a more successful model than content written with an overblown emphasis on keywords.

As a professional copywriter I ask my clients to send me a list of their top ten keywords, in priority order, along with all the other information necessary to compile the content for their sites. Copy is prepared with the keywords included, but written with the ideal customer in mind. Good copywriters will always have “Think like a customer” as their primary focus. “How will this copy rank in search engines?” should always be second.

Writing for people is far more enjoyable than writing for a search engine, and I’m sure readers respond accordingly. Overuse of keywords alienates readers who feel they are being talked at, rather than communicated with. Why risk your credibility with customers unnecessarily?

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Nikki Cripps is a Sydney based copywriter who writes exclusively for small business websites. She’s been a journalist, public relations consultant and writer for almost 20 years. She is the owner and operator of www.wordsforwebsites.com.

How To Get Great Copy Without Hiring A Copywriter

By Ken Hoffman in Featured

Most business owners now understand the importance of strong copy. What many business owners don’t realize is there are other alternatives to paying a fortune for great copy.

Most of these do require a nominal investment. But nothing compared to the huge fees for copywriting. A big part of the value a copywriter brings to the table (aside from marketing knowledge and being a wordsmith) is a fresh perspective. It’s that second set of eyes from a new perspective that can catch mistakes and provide more successful approaches.

Unfortunately, copywriting is deceptively simple. Almost anyone that can write to any degree thinks they can write great copy. Creating a piece of copy that causes the reader to take the action of spending money simply from reading words on a page is no easy task.

1) How A Simple Copy Critique Can Improve Your Copy

Perhaps the simplest way to improve your copy is getting a copy critique. In the direct marketing industry this is a common term. Professional copywriters use copy critiques to sharpen each other’s skills and copy. You can either hire someone to do this for a few hundred dollars typically, or you might be able to find someone to do it for free. Just be careful that you are getting someone who knows what they are talking about.

The biggest value here is having things pointed out to you that you missed. It could be a headline that’s unclear. Or a part of the copy that causes the reader to stop or bail out. Even your entire approach may be all wrong. These are all things you can find out with a simple copy critique.

If professional copywriters can improve from a copy critique, imagine what it can do for someone who’s not a copywriter.

2) How A Simple Rewrite Of Your Copy Can Help

The next step up from a copy critique would be a copy makeover. Not all copywriters offer this, because sometimes if the copy is way off track, it’s more work to rewrite it than just starting from scratch. The key to this is you are doing most of the legwork. Not recommended for rank beginners at copywriting. However, if you’ve got a sense of good copy and you can get something together in rough form, sometimes a simple rewrite of your rough draft can produce some great copy. And again, because it takes a lot less time than writing from scratch, you’ll save a bundle on copywriting fees.

Be careful because not everyone has the same definition or scope of what a rewrite entails. Some just fix the worst parts. Others do a complete rewrite and edit of what you’ve written. So read the fine print and find out exactly what you are getting before you commit.

A rewrite is more expensive, but still a fraction of hiring a freelance copywriter to create your copy from scratch.

3) Get A Free Consult From A Marketing Consultant Or A Professional Copywriter

Most copywriters and marketing consultants offer a free consult upfront. There’s nothing wrong with calling a few of them to get some contrasting opinions. In the process you’ll most likely pick up some great ideas that you can apply to your copy. Just having a short conversation with someone who knows marketing can give you some great insights.

You can generally tell pretty quickly whether you are dealing with an experienced copywriter verses a rookie. Be careful in putting too much stock in anything they say.

Test it out for yourself first. Make sure that it’s a direct response copywriter/marketing consultant. They are the only one’s who use methods proven to sell, as opposed to just creating general awareness of your business.

If you are speaking with a marketing consultant focus the conversation on the sales strategy and positioning of your product. If you are speaking with a copywriter focus more on the specific aspects of your copy. The most important parts of your copy are the headline/opening and your offer.

4) Model Your Copy After Proven Marketing Promotions

If you have to do the copywriting yourself without any help, be sure to have a successful model available. Avoid generic templates. Model your copy after an example that’s already proven to work. Only then will you be sure to at least have the structure in place that follows proven sales formulas.

What you want to do is copy the structure, not the content. Try to stay close to the structure because the further away you get from the original the less likely you’ll end up with a winner. For example, when modeling this classic headline, “They laughed when I set down at the piano, but when I played…” I’ve seen some people leave off the second half of the sentence. That destroys the curiosity building power of the headline.

Also changing it from “laughed” to some other emotion like cried can be risky. So be careful. Try to make a fill in the blank template out of it.

Here’s a simple example. “They laughed when I _______, but when I _____.” Do this with every sentence in the copy, not just the headline.

This is probably the single best way to write your copy if you aren’t a professional.

5) Record Your Best Sales Pitch And Then Have The Recording Transcribed And Edited

The other simple way to write copy yourself is to do this. You need someone that knows how to sell. If you aren’t good at sales then have someone else in your company or else have a friend help you.

The key to this working is to have a good sales person, record their best “pitch” live and uncensored. Then have it transcribed and edit it to take out the um, ah, etc. Do NOT edit into something that takes away the conversational tone. Be careful to maintain the essence of what they said.

That’s why you really don’t need to write copy. You can record it being spoken by a sales person. You end up with the same end result. Just make sure you have a good sales person and they know your product well so they can make the best pitch possible.

These are the five best ways I know to improve existing copy or create it from scratch. The power is in getting an outside perspective, using proven principles of selling, and using the time saving of rewriting rather than starting from scratch.

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Ken Hoffman is a strategic business adviser and direct response copywriter. He is the author of “Scientific Advertising For The New Economy.” Download his free report, “17 Website Conversion Strategies To Boost Your Bottom Line.” Download it now from www.goodmarketingforbadtimes.com/ezine.html.

The 6 Golden Rules When Hiring A Copywriter

By admin in Featured

For many people the prospect of writing a sales letter is a daunting one and can frighten even the bravest of entrepreneurs. If you don’t feel ready to tackle that task yourself then outsource it and hire a copywriter to do it for you.

There are 6 golden rules to follow when you are looking to hire a good copywriter so check these out and get answers from the person you are looking to hire.

Rule One – How Good Are They?

For many people the only way to get first class copy that pulls in order after order is to hire a talented copywriter.

Easy isn’t it? BUT… not everyone who decides to call themselves a copywriter is one! Copywriting is a specific skill that not all writers have and you want someone who can write a simple sales letter that has impact and will pull in sales for your product or service.

You need to know if they are earning a living from copywriting and if it is their full time job or just something they do to earn a bit extra on the side.

Rule Two – How Much Do They Charge?

The old adage of ‘you get what you pay for’ has been around for years for a reason. When you are starting out it’s tempting to choose the lowest quote for a job, but I am sure you’ve heard the analogy for a £500 brain surgeon versus the £50,000 brain surgeon….who would you trust more?

An hourly rate is charged by some copywriters; this works to your disadvantage because what incentive have they to finish your job on time and on budget? Ask if they charge for revisions or not, and you also want to know exactly how many revisions are included in the price. Personally, I prefer to hire by the project and have a set number of revisions for free so that way I know exactly what my costs are going in.

Rule Three – Are They Dependable?

However good someone may be, if they are not dependable then you are going to be looking at trouble along the way. You usually hire a copywriter because it’s not a skill that you possess, or you have a deadline that you can’t meet by yourself.

I suggest caution if someone says they can accommodate last minute rush jobs. It sounds good, but what it means is that to do your job they will push someone else’s job to the back of the queue to get your business. The problem here is that the next time you hire them yours could be the job that goes to the end of the line.

When asking for references always include a question about how reliable they were on delivering on time.

Rule Four – Can They Work Long Distance?

Copywriters are available all over the world, from individuals working out of their home to huge teams contracted to an agency. If you are hiring a copywriter outside your own country, then make sure that they are fluent in your own language.

Many horror stories abound of people who hired ‘cheaper’ copywriters and then spent days correcting language, grammar and spelling. With the technology available today for live emails and video conferencing a professional copywriter can work with anyone, anywhere on the planet. Your ideal is someone who can work without constant supervision or ‘hand holding’ and is happy to have no face-to-face meetings.

Rule Five – Are They Easy To Work With?

They may be on the other side of the world, but your copywriter is going to be part of your team so they must be easy for you to work with. You are hiring them, so find someone you get along with. Not someone who doesn’t listen to your suggestions, refuses to take direction from you or is unwilling to compromise.

You are the client and they have to respect that, but in a good team the leader knows when to listen. They have an expertise you don’t so if they make suggestions to you listen, take on board what they are saying and ask questions.

If you still disagree then acknowledge their concerns (on paper or email) and explain why you want to go with your suggestions. Not only will things go more smoothly, but you get an opportunity to learn more about what makes a good copywriter and add to your own skills.

Rule Six – What Have They Done Before?

You ideally want to hire a copywriter with experience, but what kind of experience? It must be relevant to your market and your products. If they have written sales pages aimed at teenagers and your niche market is senior businessmen then it could work, but you are taking a risk.

So check them out and ask for samples of what they have done before and contact details for at least two references. You can also tell a lot about a freelance copywriter by the company they keep. Ask to see their client list, and notice how comfortable a fit it is with you and your business. Would you like to be associated with people or companies on their list?

Summary

By asking these questions and listening to the answers you are on your way to successfully hiring your first copywriter. Once you find someone who you are happy to work with AND who produces great work for you, stay with them and develop a long lasting relationship.

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Neil Stafford – ‘Test drive’ the UK’s longest running PRINTED Internet Marketing Newsletter for FREE. Visit this special web page for more information: Internet Marketing Review Newsletter

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