Want to be a copywriter?

You want to be a copywriter…

You are probably just starting out, and want to know how to write genuinely compelling and effective copy that actually does its job. (Whatever that job may be – copywriting isn’t just about selling.)

Before you jump in at the deep end and learn how to write the text, you need to be sure you have the attributes to become a top copywriter.

Writing Skills
Plain and obvious. Or so you might think…

The beauty of copywriting is you don’t need to be a literary genius. You don’t need to have an English degree.

Writing copy is all about engaging the reader, putting yourself in the readers’ shoes, and writing as the customers speak.

While you should be aware of correct grammar – it can sometimes be a sin to obey it in copywriting.

Imagination
You don’t need to be a literary genius and you don’t need to be a ‘creative writer’.

Long, waffling descriptions is an absolute no no for copywriters. Short, simple and concise is the key.

But you do need an active imagination. Think of breakfast cereals. Quite a mundane product to sell. But if you watch the TV, you’ll note that good copywriters are always coming up with new, inventive ways to advertise breakfast cereals.

A businesslike approach
Most, if not all, of your clients will be business people – often in senior positions. They want to know they can trust you with their business, and rely on you to generate sales.

The last thing they want from a copywriter is someone who is going to give them a headache. You must be professional at all times.

Attention to detail
Journalists have the pleasure of sub-editors. Freelance copywriters don’t. You are the producer, designer, writer and editor of your own work.

Self motivation
Especially important if you are freelance. Hard work and self motivation are inevitably rewarded.

Although you don't have a boss (as such) standing over you, telling you to work harder and work faster – you still need to put the hours in and stick to deadlines.

Easygoing temperament
Like ghostwriting, copywriting is all about suppressing your own ego.

The customer is always right – even when they are obviously wrong.

You client is your customer. Your client pays your wages. Don’t risk falling out or arguing with your wage-payer because you disagree with his/her approach.

Listening and questioning skills
On average, you’ll get around 15 minutes worth of brief from your client. You need to know exactly what is required of you. Do not be afraid to repeat questions and do not be afraid to ask as many questions as you like.

The more questions you ask, the more detailed your brief, the better your copy. The more questions you ask, the more enthusiasm this shows to your client. This can help towards gaining future work from them.

Adaptability
You need to be versatile. You need to be able to write about anything. If you narrow down your topics too much, you risk your copy becoming trite and predictable.

You also narrow down your chances of finding regular work.

Persuasiveness
Not just to convince potential clients that you are the copywriter they need, but if there is one key feature of copywriting it is this:

The goal of a copywriter is to influence a reader to change their attitude or behaviour.

Can you persuade someone to buy a product? Change political party? Apply for a job? Stop smoking?

People skills
You need to be sociable and a ‘people person’.

You may be working for a mechanic one week and the director of a multinational blue-chip organisation the next. You need to be able to talk with them in their language.

People buy from people they like. At any stage of the spectrum.

You need to be able to prove to potential clients that you understand them and understand what makes their business tick.


So there you have it; the skills to be a pro copywriter.

Do you have the necessary skills?

Well, that doesn’t really matter. The more important point – are you willing to work at these skills? If the answer is ‘yes’: enjoy your career as a successful freelance copywriter.

Writing For England
www.writing-for-england.co.uk

Go Barrow website

Go Barrow is the ultimate Business Directory for Barrow-in-Furness!

Run by Paul Moore and Ben Tyson - Go Barrow is the 'go-to site' for ALL the information you could need about modern Barrow.

WE NEED BUSINESSES
Yes - we are in the process of a complete overhaul of the existing website. We want our local businesses to strengthen their customer bases, increase sales and make more money.

That’s our goal…how can you help us achieve this?

We need our pages BULGING with information on all of the Independent businesses in Barrow.

So if you are a local business owner in Barrow - get in touch with either Paul or Ben, and we'll feature you on Barrow's favourite website!

PEOPLE OF BARROW - WE NEED YOU!
Go Barrow isn't just for businesses. Oh, no...we want to hear from local bands, sports clubs and activity groups!

Barrow-in-Furness is a beautiful part of the world - the land that defines 'Hidden Gems'.

But what makes Barrow, Barrow, is the people! We're currently looking for local bands to interview and place on our upcoming Music Scene in Barrow page!

Barrow Sports Clubs - we want training times, contact details and all other information about you. We'll invite a whole new host of members to your club!

SOCIAL MEDIA
AND finally...we understand the VITAL importance of using Social Media in today’s modern world of Business and Marketing. In fact, we'd consider ourselves experts on the subject. We work alongside numerous local business owners, showing them how to use social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook to gain new customers.

If you'd like more info on this..please give Ben a call: 07920 409 158


We look forward to hearing from You!

Donating to Haiti, via Effective Copywriting

We have all been deeply saddened by the horrifying events in Haiti. A series of massive earthquakes has taken the lives of thousands of Haitians. It has devastated and destroyed the lives of millions more.

Families being torn apart by disaster is something we see unfold on the News all too often. The Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, earthquakes in Pakistan and Italy, and now it’s Haiti’s turn to suffer and endure the wrath of mother nature.

All of these events have led to hugely generous donations from people all over the world. Appeals are made in newspapers, on television and by charities, all urging You to give generously to people in desperate need. While these have been successful campaigns to help raise funds for victims, there are still far too many people who are not actively lending their support.

This is not necessarily people who are unwilling to donate, but more likely people who are unaware of how they can donate. In today’s modern society of mobile phones and social media, the internet has become an increasingly popular way to appeal directly to everyone who has the ability to donate.

Many of the most popular websites on the internet have launched their own appeals for the cause. Facebook, Google and eBay, to name but a few, have all added ‘donation links’ to their Home Pages – making it easy to find, somewhat unavoidable in some cases.

A similar theme has been set up by the American Red Cross – donators simply text ‘HAITI’ to 20222 – and $10 is automatically added to their phone bill, going directly to the relief fund.

Adding donation links to popular websites is one thing, but how exactly does this make donating appealable to as many people as possible. Are the general rules of copywriting obeyed in the same format to a piece of sales copy? After all, it is the same basic concept – persuading a reader to part with their cash. Is the language different? How are key words and emotive words used to attract the attention of the wider audience?

Facebook
The most popular social networking site on the web, with around 321 million people registered worldwide. Their Haiti appeal is very open, thoughtful and most notable for me, personifying.

General emails and contact from Facebook are very generic, obviously sent out in bulk, with little emotion or personifying key words. This is of no detriment to Facebook – the whole point in the website is for its users to interact with each other, Facebook merely acts as the host.

The devastation in Haiti, however, has given Facebook reason to speak directly to each and every user. The appeal is not aimed to be a generic email which will blend in with all the others. It serves a different purpose, an important purpose, and it has to come across as speaking directly from the heart and to each user personally.

This is achieved by using power words such as: ‘destruction’, ‘death’, ‘outpouring’ and ‘thousands’. These words are unusual for Facebook, so stand out in peoples minds – it proves the sheer scale of the atrocity. It is basically saying: ‘something has to be done, and this is Your chance to help’.

Google
In the early days of Google, there were very few words on the home Page: ‘Google’, ‘Search’ and ‘I feel lucky’. With the immense popularity of Google, this has inevitably changed. There is now Google mail, Google Ads, blogging options and a range of other services displayed on the Home Page.

However, there are still very few words, and the page is dominantly filled with white space, making any new or additional text stand out. There is currently a link under the main search box which states:

‘Information, resources, and ways you can help survivors of the Haiti earthquake.’

By clicking on this link you are taken to a donation page which is titled: ‘Crisis Response’.

While the actual copy is not as personable or emotive as the Facebook page, it is still very effective. There is a brief description reminding of the magnitude of the earthquake, and also a line in bold which reads:

‘Google will also donate $1 million’.

This being highlighted shows the enormity of what has happened, and the importance to give whatever you can to the relief funds.

The main selling point of the page is the two links where you can donate. There are two options to choose from: Oxfam or Unicef. You simply enter the amount in £’s that you want to donate, and click ‘donate’. Very simple, very effective and very clever.

The point in providing two charities to choose from is a clever tool in itself. Obviously, both will use your money to help in Haiti, but they will both be doing different things. A brief description of what the charities will be using your money for is supplied under the logo. Oxfam will be concentrating on providing shelter and clean water – Unicef will be concentrating on food and medical supplies, with particular emphasis on children.

The work being carried out by both charities is essential to the people of Haiti. While one is providing water, the other is providing food – people will realise that they must contribute to both charities to give the best support possible.

The charities are not working against each other – they are working with each other to do the best for the people of Haiti.

Clever marketing technique? Effective copywriting? Yes and yes.

Who benefits? The people of Haiti.

EBay
EBay takes quite a different approach. Whereas Google is very plain, simple and generous, eBay, in my opinion, attempts to use the donation link as a way to boost its own profits.

Is this unethical? Or is it just clever business?

EBay is encouraging people to donate up to 100% of their Sale profits to the Haiti fund. This encourages people to place products on eBay to raise funds for donation. It also persuades people to buy products so that their money can be donated, whilst getting something in return for themselves (the product purchased).

While this is great for the relief effort in Haiti – what it’s all about – for every item placed onto eBay, eBay makes a profit. Insertion fee, and then a final value fee.

There is the encouragement for people to use eBay more (as it helps people in Haiti), and at the same time, eBay itself is making a profit from the additional auctions.

I must stress, though, that eBay does supply a ‘Donate via PayPal’ link. EBay is also the only site out of the three to include emotive images. Images of the devastation – people can see what they are donating for. They do not have to read, actions often do speak louder than words.

The text they use, although shorter in length, is very similar to that of Facebook: ‘destruction’, ‘critical’ and ‘mass devastation’ are strong attempts to tug on the heartstrings of potential donators.

Conclusion
So, has clever copywriting been involved in the making of the various donation links? Each has clearly been well thought through. How they layout the page, how they format their sentences and how they use emotive language has all been done carefully.

Each has applied a different technique to really draw in the donator. Facebook concentrated on appearing personal to the user through terms such as: ‘Dear friends’ and pronouns such as ‘we’ and ‘you’. The main invigorator, however, is the use of terms to describe what is going on in Haiti: ‘death’ and ‘destruction’.

Google appears very simple and easy to use and understand. This will have broader appeal to a wider, larger audience. In showing that Google themselves are donating $1 million, it shows just how important it is to give as much as you can, as the people of Haiti are in desperate need.

EBay uses a mixture of emotive language and images, and also has various options on how you can donate. This is an attempt to attract a wider audience – donate through buying, selling or directly through PayPal – but also sees a good marketing opportunity.

All have used proven copywriting techniques, however, the focus is much more on what they are donating for, as oppose to the benefits that the donator will get in return. While this goes against the number one rule of sales copy – people only want to know what is in it for them – it has undoubtedly proved a successful way of obtaining donations to the people of Haiti.

How to squeeze the most out of Squeeze Pages

Earn loads of easy cash now; simply enter your First Name and Email below!

Well, there’s no box here – but would you be tempted? I bet you were a little interested. And I bet you read the whole message.

This is the power of the squeeze page. It is a fact that squeeze pages are a phenomenal way of offering your products online.

But what is are squeeze pages?

A squeeze page is a small sales page. Every so often, you visit a website where a small box appears, urging you to enter your email address, with the guarantee of joy, happiness or prosperity. These boxes are designed to entice you to enter a website, or give your contact details.

With the proliferation of spam, internet users are often wary of where and to whom they give out their contact details. Therefore, as a simple point of contact, internet marketers use squeeze pages to gain your email address, so that they can send you emails over a period of time, offering their products.

Successful squeeze pages are created using a combination of catchy sales copy, colour psychology and keyword rich text. Advanced internet marketers will use video or audio in their squeeze pages to draw instant attention to the box.

There are many advantages of using squeeze pages. As a box that pops up on your screen, you cannot help but view it – reaching out to an unlimited number of potential customers.

The greatest advantage of all is the incredible increase in visitor-to-buyer conversion rates.

This is because, although you are making the first point of contact with the customer – it is the customer who is approaching you and your sales page. If people are interested enough in your initial squeeze page to enter their email address, they clearly have an interest in buying your product.

The point in the squeeze page isn’t to make a sale – it is to engage the interest of the customer. Like any copywriter, salesman, businessman or journalist will tell you – engaging the customer into wanting to know more is half the battle. A squeeze page – with very little space for content, is a simple way to engage the customer.

A squeeze page can also create a sense of trust with the customer, as they are not put-off by a pushy sales pitch, or feel as though they are being forced into anything.

When designing a squeeze page, you have very limited space; therefore you have to be clever, and utilise the small space you have. Being smart with limited space is the key to a successful squeeze page.

Hiring a professional copywriter to write your content is the best way to attract as large a crowd of customers as possible. Copywriters will include as many search engine friendly keywords as possible in the limited space available.

A problem with squeeze pages is that with so little text, search engine spiders often don’t find them relative enough to the original search. Therefore, great quality copy is absolutely vital to achieving a highly successful squeeze page.

Remember, people are only interested in one thing – what’s in it for them. Don’t waste time and space trying to explain things – just get straight to the point, i.e. “Earn loads of cash now!”

How to Engage readers in Your Copy

Three…Two…One…


…Times up.


This is how long you have to attract a reader to your article. The average person will take three seconds to look at your work, and then make a decision to read on, skim through, or ignore it.

As a copywriter, it is vital to draw in your reader’s attention as early as possible.

The secret is to keep your sentences short, sharp and snappy. Never open your article with a text-heavy paragraph. It puts-off your potential reader before they even think about reading.

One technique, used by many professional copywriters, is to keep opening-paragraphs to just one or two lines, often just one or two words. For example:

Paragraph one: “Relax.”
Paragraph two: “Unwind.”
Paragraph three: “Chill out at one of our stunning health spa’s for only…”

Without even knowing it, you have gained the reader’s attention by creating curiosity in their mind, and now they are into the main body of your article.

In doing this, it is important to remember your audience. Don’t forget who you are writing for, and who you are trying to attract. You want to attract the right readers as early as possible:

“Fix your roof for only £20”.

This is only going to appeal to people who want their roof fixing – there is no point in waffling, trying to draw in people who don’t want their roof fixing. Likewise, you don’t want to risk losing the right customers by being too ambiguous – get straight to the point.

An easy way to draw in your audience is to ask questions. Make your reader think. Make your copy personal to them. Make them think that the article is about them:

“Are you fed up with your job?”
“Do you need some extra cash?”
“Do you need your roof fixing?”

This engages the reader and can immediately sift through the people you do and don’t want to attract. Using the “roof” example, people who need their roof fixing will automatically think “yes” to this question, and naturally read on, as there could well be a ‘Problem – Solution – Benefit’ scenario about to approach them. For example:

“Do you need your roof fixing? (Problem) Smiths Roofers will fix it for only £20 (Solution), keeping your house warm and damp-free. (Benefit)”

The key point to always remember is:

People are only interested in one thing – what is in it for them.

Make your reader aware that the copy is directed at them. Remember to keep asking questions to make the reader think. Use Action Words like: “Save, Earn and Feel.” This is telling them what can happen as a result of [for instance] buying the product on offer.

Keep using Key Words such as “You and Your” so they can furthermore see the article is aimed at them, and can be beneficial to them.

Whilst selling a product, providing entertainment, or supplying information is the point of the body copy – the whole point of your headline and opening paragraphs are to engage the reader and make them read on.

By following these simple copywriting techniques, you will be achieving results with your own quality, effective copy in no time.