Best Copywriter

Stop Worrying About Content, Marketers: Outsource It Instead!

Monday, March 21, 2011 by Sharon Long

outsourcing content marketing takes away worries about content creation

According to a recent MarketingProfs article on B2B email marketing, these marketers are primarily concerned with improving the relevancy of the content in their emails.

In fact, it's so important to them, 66% of B2B marketers surveyed cited improving content as a goal for the next 12 months. The next highest goal was list hygiene at only 42%.

In the interest of being self serving, may I point out that it's interesting that content is such a huge concern at the time when content marketing is coming into its own as a marketing strategy and tactic?

And if two-thirds of B2B marketers want to make their content more relevant, then copywriting and content marketing services providers like We Know Words should plan to get really busy. Because the best content, the most relevant content these marketers will create will come from tapping into a customer-centric approach to content creation, the intellectual property known as their employees, the seasoned and skilled input of professional writers and editors, and a content coordination approach that ties it all together.

Which is a really long-winded way of saying the answer lies in outsourcing content marketing to a reputable, experienced content marketing agency...like We Know Words.

Really, why is this a concern for so many B2B marketers when there are companies like We Know Words who can make it all happen?

Outsource the content marketing, marketers, and move to the next item: list hygiene.

I can't help you there. But I sure can help you with the content!

Is Content Marketing the Evolution of Copywriting?

Thursday, February 3, 2011 by Sharon Long

content marketing as evolution of copywriting

I just re-read an older article on content marketing with fresh eyes, and just about spit out my coffee.

The article says content used in content marketing should be unique, useful, well executed and fun. Excluding "fun" which I have several times in my 10 years as a freelance copywriter had clients say "no" to, the other three qualities that content should have are also three qualities that copywriting should have.

This is not new information...or at least it shouldn't be. As freelance copywriters, if our content is not unique, useful and well executed, we should hang up our copywriting caps and go wait tables instead.

Maybe content marketing is simply the evolution of copywriting? Because it's definitely not a re-volution.

Or maybe the silver lining here is better educated clients who will give the copywriting work submitted a more thorough evaluation. I like that thought! Then we'd have the best copywriter for a job chosen based on skills and marketing savvy, not on price. :-)

What makes good content marketing? The same thing that makes good copywriting!!

Grip Rite Semi Shows Freelance Copywriters the Right Approach

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 by Sharon Long

Grip Rite shows freelance copywriter how it's done

Whoever designed the advertising for the side of the Grip Rite semi I just saw is a savvy marketer. Instead of pictures of products, the whole side of the truck trailer was plastered with photos of the products being used with captions that said what the product was being used for. Rather than a Grip Rite doohickey pictured on the side of the truck, with claims of faster, stronger, better, cheaper...or whatever claims Grip Rite might make, the photos were captioned with things like "Fencing" and "Molding and Trim." And the photos showed the product being used.

They are showing the solution!! They are showing customers the problems they solve! Now I don't know anything about Grip Rite, but I'm assuming people don't sit around thinking "I need a faster, stronger, cheaper fastener." They probably think "I need a good way to get this molding up."

And Grip Rite is showing them!

This is what freelance copywriters must do. It can be hard for clients, I know, trust me I know! They want to talk all about product. They live, eat, think, breathe, sleep product. But the best copywriter is going to be the one who can get the client thinking about problems and solutions like their customers do!

Then the freelance copywriter must translate that messaging into the copy.

Grip Rite's truck is simple in appearance yet perfect as a marketing tool. Freelance copywriters must emulate those trucks!

Content Marketing Best Practices: We Know Words Was Ahead of the Game!

Monday, January 24, 2011 by Sharon Long

I admit it: I haven't blogged for six months. Why? Watching and waiting...

Things are changing for us freelance copywriters. The demand is different. There's still some demand for the kind of qualified freelance copywriter who can whip out a dynamic ad or compelling brochure. But now we have Content Marketing. And it's not the same as freelance copywriting. Where a copywriter might be hired to provide quality, Content Marketing has a bit more to do with quantity...but one must not ever lose sight of the quality, no matter how much content you're charged with creating for your company's Content Marketing program!

So I've been watching and waiting the Content Marketing discussion evolve, and determining how to keep We Know Words relevant with this hugely fundamental shift from copywriting to content creation.

As part of that, I've been reviewing the We Know Words website and was pleasantly surprised to realize I have been ahead of my time! Below is content drawn from our Approach page, written several years ago. It describes how we approach messaging (my preferred word over copywriting) and you can apply these exact same principles and standards to Content Marketing best practices!

Being customer-centric (putting your customer first, not you)
Giving your business a distinct voice
Telling your story: What makes you remarkable?
Speaking directly to your target market(s)
Developing messages and marketing methods that are sustainable
Considering all three types of customers: potential, present and past
Knowing when to integrate different marketing methods
Being consistent in all messaging across every channel
Delivering the message in a form appropriate for your audience

A clearcut definition of Content Marketing is yet to be agreed upon as I write this blog. But certainly the best practices We Know Words has adhered to since its founding in 2000 ring true as Content Marketing best practices too!

So maybe I didn't need to spend so much time watching and waiting. Maybe We Know Words never stopped being relevant...maybe we were really ahead of the game!

Blogging Is Like Online Dating for Your Business: Get Out There to Get Found!

Monday, May 10, 2010 by Sharon Long

Imagine trying to find someone to date without ever leaving your house or going online. How would you meet anyone? You wouldn’t. You have to put yourself out there in order to meet potential dates and mates.

Same with marketing. If you don’t put yourself out there, you won’t be found by potential customers.

Blogging is one of the best ways to put yourself out there online…if you’re doing it right, meaning with enough of the right keywords and frequently enough.

As a freelance copywriter and now a Copy Coach, I’ve been promoting blogs as marketing tools for a long time now. But this report from Hubspot should convince you. If it doesn’t, I’ll think you want to “stay single” meaning you don’t want to find new customers!

According to Hubspot, companies that blog enjoy:

55% more visitors
97% more inbound links
434% more indexed pages

Still not convinced? Read the article on small business blogging.

Ready to get your blog up and running? Or want help making your blog make more business? Drop me a line!

Does Your Website Suck? What You Can Do About It, for Cheap!

Monday, May 3, 2010 by Sharon Long

Is business slow? Maybe now is the time to figure out where your website needs improvement…and do it, before the economy picks up and you get busy again.

Websites prove the age-old adage, “Out of sight, out of mind.” That’s why horrid sites stay that way—we don’t see them, we don’t do anything about them.

Bad sites don’t sell. Bad sites don’t do anything but make you look bad. Can you live with that?

Now, when business is slow, is the time to take a good, hard look at your website and figure out how to make it better…so it makes you money.

Very few websites are the best they can be, or even close to being decent. I’ve been a website copywriter for 13 years. I’ve seen some pretty bad websites.

And I’ve developed a low-cost method for assessing websites and recommending simple changes that can add up to big improvement. I call them website assessments. Not a glamorous name, yet a fitting one, because the report I give clients is straightforward and easy to act upon.

If you’d like to take advantage of this downtime to improve your website, hire me for a website assessment. I’ll review your website. Then I’ll give you a written report and roadmap for improving it as your time and budget allow. Implement all of the suggestions or only a few. Change it yourself or hire someone else to. As long as you do something.

Most of these changes will be basic because people go online to find information, not to be impressed with fancy graphics. There also basic because my experience is that of a website copywriter, not designer. I’ll also give you suggestions for ranking better in the search engines, so people find your site.

When you hire this website copywriter to review your site, here’s what I’ll do:

I’ll interview you to figure out your target audience and their perceived problems.
I’ll figure out why they go to your site, how they get there, and what they want to do when they get there.
I’ll listen as you tell me what you want them to do there.
I’ll assess your website based on all this information to see how well your website is doing its job.
I’ll present you with a detailed report outlining recommendations for improving your site to make it a better information and sales tool.

A website assessment costs just $500 for up to seven web pages. A measly $500 for a detailed reporting that spells out what you can do to improve your website as a marketing tool. Best of all, with your assessment in hand, you can make the changes whenever you want, as your time and budget allow.

The recession will end. The economy will pick up. And customers will be back. Be ready to be busy by making your website better now while you have time.

Take it from this website copywriter: Your website has to be good, otherwise you’re missing out on opportunities…especially if you’re not even getting found on the Internet in the first place!

And when the economy does pick up again, the better your website works, the faster you’ll recover from this recession!

To see other assessment I’ve done, to ask questions, or to get started, call 206.459.8225 or email Sharon@weknowwords.com.

Do I Want to Be the Best Copywriter? Or the Happiest? This Email Made Me Happy!

Thursday, April 22, 2010 by Sharon Long

I received a wonderful gift today. One a non-copywriter might not appreciate, but one worth its weight in gold, for someone like me, a professional copywriter often working alone, struggling to make clients happy, to stay on top of changes like SEO and social media...

Wow. Sounds like I'm having a pity party! But I'm not. I'm having a joyful copywriter day, because I received the following wonderful message from a fellow freelance copywriter:

"I’m a freelance copywriter in my spare time, and have been for 20 years. For the last few months I’ve been in a rut, feeling generally uninspired and just plain wondering if I’m just any good at this. Marketing is continually evolving, the social media thing can be overwhelming, clients expect miracles—you’ve been there, I’m sure. Anyway, stumbling upon your site today I actually felt excited about what I do. The passion you have for writing jumps off the page. I used to feel that same passion and thought it had left me. Now I know for sure it’s still there."

Some days being a freelance copywriter is really hard. You have to work to find work. You're often thought of last in the creative process. You're pigeon-holed and only asked for words, when you know so much more and can add so much more value. You're asked to do work beneath your abilities. And we freelance copywriters do tend to work alone!

Add all that up, and it can be hard to keep your passion! This email did two things: It reminded me my passion for copywriting is still there, burning strong and lighting my way. And it made me ever so grateful that I was able to reignite that passion in another freelance copywriter.

What a gift this email is! I might not be the best copywriter on the planet, but as long as I'm inspiring others, I might be the happiest. Long live the freelance copywriter!

Follow Up to Yesterday's Website Copywriting Whine: Praise!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010 by Sharon Long

Yes, this professional copywriter whined yesterday about writers pretending to be copywriters, and ripping off clients as a result. This morning I received the following praise from that client, now a happy copywriting client, and I'm happy to share it, because it tells me that although good writers are out there working as bad copywriters, people can tell the difference given the chance:

"Hi Sharon. I love all the changes and additions you made. You turned this whole project around for me. I was at such a low point about it when you came into the picture, and now I am very pleased with how it is all shaping up, thanks to your very capable interventions. There is a line in L.A. Story (I am from L.A.): Steve Martin meets the new woman in his life (in real life, his wife) and stares at her and says: 'wonderful, wonderful, and yet more wonderful'. That is the line that popped into my head when I read all that you did for this website, because it was wonderful what you accomplished. I was very impressed that you could understand so quickly and intuitively what it was that I do and what it was I wanted to convey. Thank you so much."

I guess I share this too because I don't toot my horn very often (too Catholic for that?) and this praise put a huge smile on my face, knowing I did a good job, knowing I helped someone out, and knowing she knew it too.

I hope if you're reading this, you're also taking a good hard look at the copywriting you're getting, making sure you've hired the best copywriter for the job, not simply the one wielding the pen and claiming he knows how to write.

Web Copywriter to Rescue: Trying to Salvage a Crappy Copywriting Job

Monday, March 15, 2010 by Sharon Long

Sigh...

Why is it people think anyone can be a copywriter? I just did a rush job as a website copywriter trying to save a project for a poor soul with hardly any budget or time. She had been sucked into what I think sounds like a shifty web designer deal. He hired some friend of his to write her website. She didn't like the copy. She turned to me in desperation, with little money and a hard due date of today.

I deleted 90% of the crap I was given that the supposed freelance "copywriter" had done. It wasn't poorly written. It wasn't wrong. But it wasn't doing its job. This guy had gone off on some tangents that while potentially helpful information to a prospect later in the sales cycle were totally irrelevant and useless as far as the website's job: marketing this person.

Not only did I delete most of the thousands of words, I completely redid the sitemap. None of the copy made sense, none of it, not even the structure.

In only seven hours, I did the best I could and the client now thinks I'm a goddess. (I even did some basic SEO, but very little.) But it's not going in my freelance copywriter portfolio because I know how much better it would be if I'd had the time. And this woman has to move forward with a "good enough" website, having wasted money on the schlep.

Too many freelance writers pass themselves off as freelance copy writers. They think because they can write, they can write copy. And people seem too accepting of whatever their writer gives them. So we get literally millions of bad websites, poorly written direct mail, spam instead of email copywriting, ads that do nothing but take up space in a magazine...I could go on and on.

The best copywriter is the copywriter who knows marketing as well as she knows words. And she knows her strengths. I am strong as a:

Website copywriter
Email copywriter
Whitepaper writer
Case study writer
Newslettter writer

I do not do, because I don't know how to do:

Script writing
Speech writing
Presentations (OK, I can do these, I just don't want to)
True journalism
Catalog copywriting
Those convoluted direct mail pieces that have letters and postcards and...

I know my strengths, I know my limitations, and I'm honest about both. Every professional copywriter should be.

People, if you are hiring a freelance copywriter, be picky! Don't assume simply because they say they are a copywriter that they are. Ask for proof. Don't be afraid to question the samples you're given. Expect more.

This is your marketing, your branding, your voice, your reputation. Do you want the best copywriter for the job? Or any ol' freelancer with a laptop?

Don't Use Press Releases if Your Website Sucks and Your Blog Is Nonexistent

Friday, March 12, 2010 by Sharon Long

Last of my MarketingSherpa “Marketing Wisdom for 2010” freelance copywriter insights...

Even small businesses can get a big bang from PR, and I don't mean hiring a publicist and trying to get written up in the national news. For years, the We Know Words copywriters have pushed clients to do more with press releases. Use the right freelance copywriter, and your press releases can:

*Be written with keywords and optimized for search
*Be added to your website, increasing your SEO
*Be submitted to an online press release distribution company like PRWeb.com, also increasing your SEO
*Provide blog fodder
*Be linked to in your email newsletter, taking people back to your website
*And more!

But here's a good point from the Marketing Wisdom report, submitted by Tino of ImageLight: Make sure your online presence is worth going to if your press release does intrigue a member of the media!

We've all seen crappy websites. Heck, some of us are even guilty of having crappy websites! And if that's the case, if your website is an embarrassment and your company lacks a blog, then you'd better skip the press release. Because in this day and age, anyone looking for more info about you is going straight to the Internet. Better not to get found at all than to be found lacking!

So hire the best copywriter you can afford, improve your website, launch your blog, and then get busy on those press releases!

That wraps up my week of recap of the MarketingSherpa Marketing Wisdom report, through the eyes of a freelance copywriter! Hope you found it useful!

Be Emotional to Get Your Copywriting Noticed, Read and Reacted to

Thursday, March 11, 2010 by Sharon Long

Day 4 of my MarketingSherpa “Marketing Wisdom for 2010” freelance copywriter insights...

Today's topic ties in with my "marketing is like dating" philosophy. Ron Baginski of Advertising That Works (no website was listed) encourages marketers to "connect with emotions."

One of my "marketing is like dating" points is that: You must be emotional. Think about dating, meeting someone for the first time, going out on that first date...if they were all business like and professional and, well, cold, you would either think they didn't like you (if you're a woman) or you wouldn't like them (if you're a man).

As a professional copywriter, it's my job to grab the attention of a prospect, whether the copywriting services being put to use are web copywriting, email copywriting or print.

That's why I ask about pain points. I ask what problems the prospect is trying to solve, and how they see their problems.

It is by knowing the pain that I can determine the emotion needed to get their attention.

As a freelance copywriter, I've found some companies have a hard time with that, with being emotional. They want to keep it all business. And then you know what you get, in the opinion of this professional copywriter? Me too, generic copywriting that doesn't stand out, doesn't engage. It's just more clutter.

Demand more from your marketing, more from your content copywriter. Demand more from yourself, if that's what it takes. But find the pains, and let your copywriter speak to it, let your copywriter be emotional in the messaging.

Maybe you'll end up with some emotions too: the happiness you'll feel when your copywriter does her best and engages those prospects at last!

You Will Always Need a Great Content Copywriter, Because Content Will Always Be King

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by Sharon Long

Day 3 of my MarketingSherpa “Marketing Wisdom for 2010” freelance copywriter insights...

Ah, content. What a lovely word. :-) Today's favorite topic from the Marketing Wisdom report is about budgeting for content creation. I didn't pick it because I'm a content copywriter. I picked it because content often gets the short end of the marketing stick. All kinds of attention goes to design, but quite often not enough to the copywriting.

John Miller of Marketo gets it. He understands the importance of content, especially in the age of social media. He even says, in this report, "...marketers should take some of the budget that you would normally allocate to trade shows and list purchases and allocate it to writers that can generate great content and the efforts to promote it."

Thank you, John Miller!

Content will always be king. Therefore, a content copywriter will always be needed.

Have you made your investment in the best copywriter possible?

Content Is Still King, so Hire the Best Copywriter and Get to Work for SEO

Monday, March 8, 2010 by Sharon Long

MarketingSherpa just rocks. They put out great reports and summaries in addition to their weekly wisdom. And speaking of wisdom, reading through their recent “Marketing Wisdom for 2010” report prompted quite a few insights for this freelance copywriter. This week, we’ll delve into one per day (since there were a total of five, I figure it was meant to be!)

Today, I gush over what Dean Rieck of Direct Creative had to say. Any comment that starts with "Content is king" is going to speak straight to a freelance copywriter's heart. But he gives proof, talking about a client that created more than 7,000 pages of blog posts and pages. And got results. As he says, it boosted the website in search engine rankings and it created a large pool of keywords.

Although I'm "just" a copywriter, I keep up with all things marketing...or at least as many as I can. How to increase your search engine rankings via organic SEO is one of those things. It's not rocket science, but it does take work. As this guy says, in this case, thousands of pages of work. But that's not hard!

Over and over I am approached by company's that want to improve their SEO and over and over I tell them to consider blogging...and they do not listen. It's like me saying I want to lose weight while chowing down on chocolate chip cookies. I have a choice to make. So do they. But blogging takes commitment and they must want a magic bullet instead (which is, I think, why so many companies turn to pay per click instead).
If you want to improve your search engine rankings, add blogging to your marketing mix. Blogging is not hard, nor is it time-consuming! In addition to blogging, your company has ample opportunities to be creating content that can go on your website: press releases, tip sheets, whitepapers, how to guides, FAQs...

Content is king, especially in the world of search. The way to win search is to have great, keyword rich, relevant content. It's that simple. Hire the best copywriter you can find, and let her get to work creating your content so you can get the rankings you want.

It's not rocket science, but great content might take your SEO to the moon.

Copywriter job? English majors need not apply!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 by Sharon Long

Because I am a mother, I tend to click on those links promising "entry-level jobs that pay" or "best degrees to get now," that kind of thing. I skim them and send some on to my teenager, hoping to spark an interest in something. Anything!

Because I am a professional copywriter, I was annoyed at the last such article. It suggested English majors get jobs as copywriters.

Ouch.

I've been a copywriter for 10 years. Although I've always enjoyed writing, I do not have a degree in English. I have a degree in Cultural Anthropology. And a Master's Degree in Art History. But back when I was putting all that knowledge to work publishing my little art magazine, I fell in love with marketing.

And that's why an English major can't cut it as a copywriter. At least not straight out of college, and definitely not in my experience.

Being a freelance copywriter, or an in-house professional copywriter, requires a way with words, yes, but more important, knowledge about marketing. In fact, I consider myself a marketer first, a writer second. My business card gives my job title as Marketing Maven.

I've had the English majors and the journalists work for me. It took me three years with one very talented writer to get her to where she was writing marketing copy without my help. She wrote wonderful copy! But it didn't DO anything but read well. It didn't market. It didn't sell.

The others I didn't waste my time with. Once I realized their gift was for writing but they were complete marketing neophytes, I'd give up. I don't have time to teach them about marketing.

I'm not advocating copywriters who don't get English, who can't punctuate or write with correct grammar. But I am advocating marketing before copywriting. If you don't know how to sell something, how are you going to write about it in a way that works?

Do I sound grumpy? Sorry. I'm just so tired of bad copy. And articles like this likely contribute to bad copy by perpetuating the myth that as long as you can write, you can write copy!

One of my favorite sayings is: "Write to sell, not to tell." The English majors might be able to sell eventually. But please don't encourage them to go out and sell themselves as copywriters until they get marketing down!

Freelance copywriter appreciates well done ServiceMagic emails

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 by Sharon Long

Everyone's inbox is full of emails, much of it poorly written email marketing. That's why I enjoy the emails I get from ServiceMagic. They have attention-getting subject lines, and copywriting that's fun to read but helpful too.

Their most recent email to me had the subject line "All parties end up in the kitchen somehow..." and then the header text when you open the email said "Unless your sink is smelling up the place." The rest of the email newsletter gives advice on getting rid of a stinky sink odor, then offers a link to look for home cleaning pros to help.

I'm a freelance copywriter. I read pretty much everything with a critical eye. And this email newsletter passes the test every time because it does what I encourage my copywriting clients to do:

It provides useful information, without a catch.
It builds trust.
It has a call to action, so when the recipient is ready to look for a service, she can.
It's fun.

People are bombarded with emails. It's hard to stand out. The words can help. So put some effort into your email marketing by hiring the best copywriter for the job, one who gets email and how to engage your audience, not just sell your stuff.

Your copywriting should be like a big dog

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 by Sharon Long

Three days ago, a dog named Bear joined our family. Animals now outnumber people by 5 to 1 (not counting squirrels).

Being a professional copywriter who wants to relate everything back to marketing and copywriting, I was thinking about Bear, and how he sleeps on my daughter's bed and is so protective of us. And boy, does he look protective when he's laying there sleeping next to her! They're the same size!

Thinking how to relate this to my job as a freelance copywriter, I kept coming back to the idea of peace of mind and security. Having Bear around means feeling safer, even if he might turn out to be a big huge chicken, more than a big huge dog.

But it's the idea of security that matters here, the comfort my daughter feels with that big lug sleeping next to her, and the peace of mind I feel when he raises his head and gives a soft bark just in case. It feels good in a world that quite often doesn't.

Does your marketing offer a feeling of security? Does your web site copywriting make people feel safe buying from you? How about your printed collateral, has your freelance copywriter conveyed your marketing message in a believable way?

I think about Bear, and even the warm fuzzies I feel as he dozes at my feet while I type, and I think, "This feels good. I want to feel more of this."

I'm not alone. Your prospects and customers want to feel more of that too. Work with your best copywriter and make that happen, make those words on the page or the screen convey that you can be trusted, buying from you is safe, that you really do have that customer's best interests at heart, as Bear does mine.

Be like the big dog.

Copywriter craves toast, not words, after reading toaster blog

Friday, January 22, 2010 by Sharon Long

Fridays are a fast day for me. Not all day, just until dinner. But I just made this Friday harder buying salivating over the toasts and bagels pictured at the Global Toaster blog.

It's not that I'm obsessed with toasters. I'm obsessed with blogs as marketing tools. And by that I mean blogging for SEO.

The Global Toaster blog is the best blog I know of for showing how quick and targeted blog posts can be.

For me as a copywriter, it's kind of funny, because I love words and I love to write and I love to market...and that all adds up to wanting to write longer blog copywriting blog posts. Even the ghost blogs I write for clients tend to be longer. I rationalize that I get to be more verbose because it gives me more room for the SEO keywords too.

But Jane Toast, the clever and witty author of the Global Toaster blog, puts this SEO copywriter to shame. Her posts are short and to the point, but still entertaining and keyword rich.

I check out her blog on a regular basis to inspire me as the SEO copywriter to do a better job with my own blogging.

But I just learned not to do that on Fridays. Because now my stomach is grumbling and I have about 8 more hours of fasting to go.

It was really the egg and muffin toaster that did it...man, that makes me hungry!

If you're using blogs as marketing tools and SEO is a big part of it, definitely check out the toaster blog for inspiration. Just make sure to do it on a full stomach, OK?

What is the freelance copywriter's role in 2010?

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 by Sharon Long

I've just returned from a meeting in Seattle with a copywriting prospect. And earlier today I had another meeting with a copywriting client. Both times, I was called upon to be knowledgeable about much more than copywriting. I've long viewed that as part of my job, to know about all kinds of marketing, so I know where I fit as the Seattle copywriter, and to give the best advice to the client whether we're talking websites or email or (now) social media.

But starting with the new year last Monday, I see my role changing... from being able to give advice to doing certain marketing tasks myself.

I already work as a ghost blogger, something I plan to do even more of in 2010. But I'm still figuring out my place in social networking, as a content provider.

And maybe that's where I'm not sure? I'm in marketing, but my role in marketing is as Seattle copywriter. I have to know marketing to be a good copywriter. But what do I need to know to be a good social media content provider? Maybe it's even too early to say?

I know how to be an SEO copywriter. I know how to use blogs as marketing tools. I know small business email marketing. I know how to do all these specific things that require specialized knowledge.

But what is the specialized knowledge required for copywriters in 2010? Are we now faced with copywriting 2.0? Or even 3.0 (if I missed the boat the first time around)?

As I told the copywriting client this morning, it's my job to stay ahead of the marketing curve, in order to be the best freelance copywriter I can be. But I've yet to figure out my place in the new marketing world order.

Something to think on. Any thoughts on it, from other copywriters or people who hire copywriters?

Copywriting subject lines: cheats sheets and changing copy

Monday, January 11, 2010 by Sharon Long

Your subject line can make or break your email. It's a small but critical part of your email copywriting. "Small" because it's only a few words. Critical because it either gets people to open your email or doesn't.

Some copywriters say write your email subject line first. The make the body of the copywriting carry through the promise of the subject line. Another freelance copywriter might tell you to write teh body of the email, then go back and write the subject line, spending just as much time on the 5 words in your subject line as the 105 in the body of your email.

This Seattle copywriter falls somewhere in the middle. I first work with the copywriting client, of course, to learn about the customer (in order to stay true to my "talk to them, not at them" copywriting approach), the email strategy, etc. We come up with the goal of the email, then I suggest possible email messages.

I then start copywriting the body of the email, then I check my subject line "cheat sheet" for inspiration. Although the core message of the email won't change, the subject line can determine the hook or catch for the message in the body of the email. For example, if I write a subject line like "3 ways to something something," I will tweak the body of the email to fit into three steps or ways.

At the same time, I brainstorm 4 or 5 possible email subject lines.

Then I go back and forth between the email subject line, headline and body of the email, copywriting all at the same time.

At this point, I've lost you, right? Because really now you don't care about my approach to email copywriting and subject lines. Right now you're only interested in the aforementioned "cheat sheet," aren't you!

It's not really a cheat sheet, it was an article in MarketingProfs.com way back when, a list of the 100 best performing subject lines for their newsletter. It helps me as the freelance copywriter to read through them when working on email copywriting, inspiring me and encouraging me to think differently about my approach to email subject lines. And hey, the article was titled "Steal this..." so I did!

I hope if you're in charge of writing email subject lines and email copywriting, you find similar inspiration!

Find the MarketingProfs.com article at http://www.marketingprofs.com/rb/1/?rbid=2854&file=&adref=pfnl1.

Best and worst company names: Did the marketing success come solely from the name, copywriter wonders...

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 by Sharon Long

Today's MarketingProfs email newsletter has a quick read on the best and worst company names of the past decade. As a freelance copywriter who is occassionally hired to help with naming and who works daily with words, I enjoyed the read through of the best and the worst. I don't just know words, I love words!

Never underestimate the power of a word. One word can change the power of a tagline, a handful of words can change the power of a Website, a sentence can change the power of an email. (And in your personal life, one word can change everything.)

Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, and the success of some of the winners likely has to do with other marketing factors, luck and trends as much as with the name itself. As the Seattle copywriter who considers herself a marketer first, a word person second, I really believe that to be the case. Is Twitter a success because of its company name? Or because it was first to market, or so new, or whatever it was that made Twitter a household name (if not a household technology). Ditto for Flickr, and Wikipedia, and the other winners named in the article.

Marketing is a mixture of art and science, I think. And there are certain factors one has no control over, those kinds of factors that make something go viral...or make it flop. If you've read Malcolm Gladwell's "Tipping Point," you know what I mean. If you haven't, put it on your reading list for 2010.

I really feel this mixture of what I can control, what I can't. Sure as a copywriter there are certain rules that apply and factors I rule over. How I approach Web writing differs from my approach to blogs as marketing tools differs from my approach to email copywriting and so on. But all I can do is study the target market, work with the copywriting client to determine a message, do the copywriting...and then wait to see what the client does with my work. And it has been butchered many a time, trust me, either by change, or by being used in a totally ineffective way.

So it is with marketing in general. There are some things we can control--like the name of a company--but there are others we can't--like why something becomes a trend overnight. That's why I don't want to read too much into why these company names are winners. I think it has more to do with outside factors and inside marketing prowess than the name itself, although a good name definitely helps! But it's more like one more ingredient that makes your recipe for success even more tasty than the key ingredient itself.

My thoughts anyway.