How a Copywriter Makes Money For Your Business

So you decided to invest in a website. You had a professional designer build the whole thing and it looks absolutely gorgeous. It’s an exciting time for your marketing and your business.

If the designer built things right, your site should also be highly functional. There should be a well thought out architecture and page structure to your site, making it easy for people to use.

At this point you’re halfway home. Don’t stop here!

You’ve attracted attention to your website. From this point it is up to your copy to sell your product. It does not matter how pretty the design is, if you use the wrong “your/you’re” in a prominent home page headline, people will take note.

You only have a few seconds to grab a customer’s attention. If you do it with a grammar or spelling mistake, they will click away. A good copywriter understands this. A good copywriter has spent time mastering the craft, and will have a portfolio of samples to back it up. 

An engaging, attention-grabbing headline written with action words and mistake-free is your best bet to bring people in. In fact, it’s the only way to turn eyeballs into paying customers. This will turn an average website into a good one, and make a good website great.

Copywriting For People

At any one time, there are thousands of forces vying for people’s attention. Your website viewers are no different. If they don’t find precisely what they are looking for, they’ll move on. With new technology, everybody is fickle.

A good copywriter understands this. A good copywriter looks at your brand, your website, and sees the opportunity to tell a story. It’s through that story, and the engaging copy, that people will interact.  

There is a lot of discussion on the web about SEO copywriting and writing for people. Both are extremely necessary, but it is people who will buy your product. So ask yourself a simple question: If you were surfing the web, would you invest the time to read your own website? Be honest. If the answer is no, it might be time to rethink your website copy.

A good copywriter will know how to tell your story, and also how to get the word out across the web.

Copywriting For The Search Engines (SEO Copywriting)

You’ve got the good story. It used to be that you buy a newspaper or yellow pages ad, and wait for the foot traffic. That’s not how people are finding their information anymore. There’s a reason Google has become a verb.

A good copywriter knows to hone in on the story first. After all it’s people that will buy your product. But if you ignore the search engines, traffic will be difficult to come by. That's where SEO copywriting comes into play.

You have to think of the words and phrases that you want people to find your business by, and find ways to incorporate them into the headlines and the copy on your page. These words and phrases should be backed up by keyword research.

The search engines are continuously changing their ranking algorithms, and what they are seeking in an informative website. Some of these changes have to do with design, but many have to do with copy as well. It’s vital to have a basic understanding of search engine optimization if you want your website and copy to travel well online.

Forget buying a print ad. When people want information on a business, the search engines are where they find it.

Final Copywriting Thoughts…

Writing for people and the search engines at the same time is the perfect storm for bringing in more business. This equates to more sales, or an increased client base for your business. Here’s the bottom line:

Quality copywriting geared toward today’s marketing world = more money in any business owner’s pocket.

I wrote this blog around the website example because a website should be your marketing hub. It’s the place on the web that is totally yours. There are no space limitations, and you can fit everything you want about your business right there, within its confines.

The same principles apply to any form of marketing writing, however. Tell a good story. If we are talking about online writing such as blogs, articles or social media posts, gearing them for the search engines still applies. Brochures should still be peppered with engaging content designed to attract attention.

There are many talented business owner-writers out there. If that is not you, or you are looking for the extra SEO push, do not hesitate to hire a quality copywriter to help your business make money.

How To Create Content That Brings In Business

Your company is unique. There is something about you and your work that makes it different from what your competition is offering. The sooner you understand that, and are able to convey it in your marketing efforts, the better off your business will be.

Content marketing efforts are increasing all over the web. More companies are catching on and blogging, producing videos, and writing white papers every day. So how do you make yours stand out among the heaps of content thrown up on the Internet daily?

The best answer is to add value. Make sure that people are learning something from the content that you produce. Tell your clients why what you do is important. Why is your industry so vital? Breaking down the industry speak into something everyone can understand is a valued skill, and will resonate with your audience.

Of course, you’ll need to write interesting content. Think about how fast Twitter streams move. Your blog headline needs to catch someone in that split second interval. Otherwise no matter how valuable your content, it’ll be passed up.

Your blog writing and videos need spark. They need that burst of personality to carry people through from start to finish. Whether you write 200 words or 2,000, you’ll need to give people a reason to get to the end.

That means strong, punchy writing. Read what others in your industry are doing. That will provide a wealth of ideas. Make sure to keep reading outside your industry as well. This keeps you fresh, and thinking outside the box.

Don’t be afraid to join a writer’s group, take a class or hire a freelance writer if that’s what it takes. Your content is a great way to expose new people to your business. It needs to solve people’s problems in a fun and engaging way in order to succeed.

Twitter Chats Break You Out Of Your Shell

Are you looking to get the most out of your social media campaign? Utilizing your networks to reach out to others in your industry is a must.

Twitter chats are a great way to do that. Here is a list of several great Twitter chats that can help you break out of your social media shell. 

 If you have a business blog, a great way to meet new people and learn some tricks is through #blogchat. It's probably the largest of the Twitter chats, and is organized through using the #blogchat hashtag. The tweets move so fast that it helps to use a social media aggregator such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to monitor them.

The group meets every Sunday night at 8 p.m. central time, and discusses various topics that have to do with blogging. Sometimes there’s a specific topic on the table, and sometimes it’s an open mic format.

            If you have questions about building traffic, optimizing your blog, or which platforms to use, it’s a great place to seek some answers. They work to discuss any aspect of blogging. There is a special #blogchat on Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m.

            Consider giving it a try, and bring a couple blogging questions. It’s a great way to interact with other Twitter users in your industry.  

Five Tips To Improve Small Business Marketing Copy

In today’s marketing world, writing is an intricate part of communicating your message. If you have decided to take that aspect of your business on yourself, you should be setting aside the time, and learning the best ways to communicate through the written word. Whether it is website content, blogs, articles, white papers, or social media posts, these five tips can aid your small business marketing copy.

1    Know What You Want To Achieve—Before you pick up the pen and paper, or sit in front of the computer, you should know what you want to achieve. Are you trying to write something educational, or is the goal of the piece to sell product? What’s the desired end result? Knowing this before you begin can help keep you focused.

2    Know Your Audience—It’s always good to know who you are writing for. Writing for doctors will be vastly different than writing for healthcare consumers. If you know where your audience is at on the issue, you’ll be able to relate a whole lot better.

3    Check Your Spelling and Grammar—It only takes a few minutes to learn the difference between they’re/their/there. Use it wrong in your copy and potential customers may leave forever. A tiny brush up on your English will make a large difference in your copy.

4    Find Your Unique Selling Proposition—Your competition does what you do, so what makes you different? What will someone gain from doing business with you instead of them? Your closest competition will be right there with you in the Google search results. It’s up to you to keep your viewers engaged.

5   Write Like You Sell—If you are in business for yourself, chances are you are passionate about what you sell. You probably have your sales pitch down. Now it’s time to transfer that passion into your copy. If you can transfer that same passion and enthusiasm into your marketing materials, it will serve your business well.