How to Start a Copywriting Business

Content Made Easy! How to Make Content Creation a Piece of Cake

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 by Sharon Long

creative content marketing is a piece of cake

After the amazing success of Content Marketing World last week, with over 600 people in attendance, I wonder if some marketers are heading back to their desks full of new ideas and energized to take their content marketing programs to a whole new level...but are still stymied by the content creation itself.

As a freelance copywriter, I have run into this situation with clients years before content marketing ever became a term, let alone a mainstream one. It would usually come up in conversation when I was encouraging clients to consider using e-newsletters for marketing. "But what would we write about?" I was repeatedly asked.

Then when blogging as marketing tools became an effective SEO strategy (remember, this is before we were talking about content marketing), I was repeatedly asked the same question: "But what would we write about?"

Marketers had an easy time figuring out what they would say in a brochure or on a website. No problem creating content for those marketing pieces! Those would be produced once then maybe modified later. With the e-newsletters and blogging, I was suggesting they commit to creating content--new content, mind you--over and over and over again. Even when they knew they could use We Know Words to supply the copywriting and content, they would be fearful of running out of ideas, and fearful of their own in-house ability to write.

Well, the obvious answer to the first fear is to outsource content creation. :-)

But the answer to the second fear is just as easy. And this is when I'm going to tell you how to make content creation a piece of cake. Seriously. In fact, it will be easier than baking a cake. Ready?

Tell stories.

That is it. That is all I am suggesting you do. Tell stories.

When you go to a cocktail party, a networking event or a family gathering, people talk, right? And a lot of times, that talking is story telling. Stories about pets or kids or bosses or clients or vacations of the mechanic who tried to cheat you or the hairdresser who got your color just right...stories, stories, stories.

Do you have to sit around tapping your pencil on your desktop struggling to determine what you'll talk about when you get to that party, event or gathering? Of course not! You're just talking and telling stories and entertaining.

So tackle your content marketing the same way. It's a creative content marketing approach that will require only the effort of typing and spell checking. Tell a story about a new client, an old client, a favorite client, a troublesome client (and maybe make that one anonymous). Talk about how your business started or why. Tell a story about an employee or a company tradition or picnic. Talk about the industry, maybe how it used to be or what you see now.

If you were talking to me right now at a networking event, both of us holding a glass of wine and getting to know each other's businesses, what would we talk about? What stories would you tell me, the freelance copywriter, about your business so I'd know it better?

Write those stories down. Don't worry about anything else except the story. Now spell check them. Now put them in blog posts and/or newsletter articles. Plug in your keywords as needed. Then publish these stories and share them via your social networks.

Now do it again. You, me, glasses of wine, you're talking and telling me stories...

There. Content creation without the agony, without wondering what you'll talk about.

Finessing your content marketing strategy can come later. For now, I only suggest you get the content creation part down.

Does it sound too simple? It's easier than baking a cake!

New Site Showcases Our Client and Our Web Writing Prowess Both!

Thursday, July 28, 2011 by Sharon Long

Watching a project go live is often like waiting for the birth of a baby, especially because content is usually first. That means us freelance copywriters and content providers are done with a project and moved on to something new before our content is ever laid out in print or html. And then we're busy and forget to find out later how everything turned out!

So it's a treat when a client comes back and says, "Hey, check it out, it's done!" because it reminds me to go take a look and see our copywriting prowess in action.

Today's treat came from Graphic Solutions. Graphic Solutions is an integrated marketing company with a lot to say. We had a blast as the website copywriter helping them hone their message and making all of their integrated solutions make sense.

Still for us, it's just words, and we're not sure how much sense we've made until we see a website go live, start clicking through, and realize, yes! We did a good job! :-)

Take a look at their site. It's a great example of making a variety of services easy to access and understand.

And if you need a website copywriter, you know where to go!

How to Start a Copywriting Business: Leave the Ego at the Door, PLEASE!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 by Sharon Long

I've had an interesting email dialog this week with a freelance copywriter who started his own freelance copywriting business a couple of years ago, but would like me to send overflow work his way because he doesn't have enough work. He's only about the 20th freelance copywriter to ask that of me in the 10 years I've had We Know Words, so it wasn't a new request.

What was new was my response. I finally, after years of trying to figure out how to work with other freelance copywriters in a way that made sense but didn't make me a freelance babysitter, have come up with a way for copywriters to work for We Know Words that easy for all of us...and doesn't require any babysitting on my part.

I told this freelance copywriter about the new business model and he balked. Big time. But what about his brand (meaning his name), he asked. What about his website? Um, if you're that busy, if your name and website are working so well for you, why are you asking me to send work your way?

And I got to thinking, this is soooooo typical of freelance copywriters! Do you realize how many of them have their name as their business and their website URL? Why is that? It's seems to ego-driven on the one hand, and so short-sighted on the other. How can you grow your business if you are just John Doe, will always be John Doe? How can you serve every copywriting need of a client if it's just you? You can't be good a good script copywriter and a good SEO blogger both. And if you are, well, are you any good as a whitepaper copywriter? You can only grow your business if you're more than you. You can only serve every copywriting need of a client if you're more than you.

When I started We Know Words as my copywriting business 10 years ago, it never even occured to me to call my business Sharon Long. (Or Sharon Baerny, my name in 2000.) I went through a huge long list of potential company names to get to We Know Words...and not one of my choices had my name in it.

What other business is as short-sighted as that of the freelance copywriter? Even my accountant has his business set up as Roland and Associates. Plus you totally lose on the SEO front when your name is your business and URL. (If I were to do it all over again, I would have named my business something SEO friendly...but I didn't know anything about SEO 10 years ago!)

So my number one advice to anyone asking how to start a copywriting business is this: Leave your ego at the door. Please. No one cares if you are John Doe or Mary Schmoe. They care if you know marketing and words. They care if your rates are fair. They care if you meet your deadlines. But they do not care about your name or your ego. And they never will.

And there's another point to this: You are dooming yourself to isolation, and you'll never be able to work with others together. If I'm building a brand for Sharon Long, and you're building a brand for Mary Schmoe, then we are missing out on the opportunity to work together to build a brand for freelance copywriters.

OK, that's what I have to say on the subject. Are you about to start a copywriting business? What do you think?

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.

Even on Facebook, Content Is King, So Hire a Professional Copywriter to Set You up Right

Saturday, April 24, 2010 by Sharon Long

Reading a SilverPop whitepaper on social media, I as the professional copywriter was drawn to section 4, called Create Content That Connects. It starts off:

"The foundation of effective marketing remains the same: content is king. For example, a company with 50,000 social media followers disseminating highly relevant, engaging content that users feel motivated to share can be more effective than a competitor with content that is not deemed valuable and is rarely shared by its fan base of 100,000." (Emphasis mine.)

Again, I see my role switching from Copy Writer to Copy Coach. In the social media marketing age, yes, customers will create content, as they use wikis, comment on blogs, post on your wall...or blog or tweet about you! But, you will set the stage for that content. Or you'd better, anyway, by getting a professional content copywriter in there to set it for you. If you don't set the stage, you won't have any say over the direction it goes.

I believe this so strongly, I'm now officially acting as a sometimes Copy Coach, helping small businesses and big companies figure out how to harness social media through great content...after figuring out if it even makes sense to do so.

Want a Copy Coach to guide your business onto the right path for social media marketing? Email me at sharon@weknowwords.com.

Freelance Copywriter on Why Your Business Needs a Facebook Page

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 by Sharon Long

I’ve heard this question from several small business owners lately: “Why have a Facebook page for my business?” As I re-evaluate what I do as a professional copywriter in the age of social media, i.e. the age of user generated content, where the customers create the copy, not the copywriter, I see my role shifting from Copy Writer to Copy Coach. So I take this social media marketing stuff very seriously!

To answer the question of “why,” I made some notes which you’ll find below. If you have anything to add, definitely post a comment! That is social media!

It’s Web 2.0, user generated content (UGC)…people want to talk back to you, and they want to talk to each other about you. Now that is their expectation, that they will be able to. And Facebook enables that.

It’s free.

It works for B2C companies with loyal customers who want to be engaged by the brands they believe in. If you have a ho hum product or service no one gets excited about, a Facebook page is likely a waste of time.

Facebook pages show up in search results, so it can help with your SEO and getting found when people search online.

You can have a vanity URL that’s easy to share and direct people too, like www.facebook.com/yourcompanyname.

Facebook (and Twitter) icons are now commonplace on websites and in emails, encouraging people to fan (or follow) your company. This is still new enough that people will.

For a small business, a Facebook page can replace a website. You can do all the marketing you want via your Facebook page, even solicit email signups. The only thing it can’t do is online transactions (i.e. letting customers buy from you).

If you go this route, your Facebook page is far easier to maintain and update than a website, and you don’t need to pay for hosting.

You can engage prospects and customers in a way you simply can’t with a website or even a blog.

It’s automatically viral. When someone becomes a fan, that shows up on their profile page. And they can easily invite others to be fans. Imagine someone doing anything like that with your website! It’s inconceivable.

Facebook integrates seamlessly with Twitter and blogging. I don’t want to turn this into a “why use Twitter,” but there is an SEO benefit to using Twitter, and when you have your tweets integrated with your Facebook page, you are updating your Facebook page without effort.

I also don’t want to turn this into a “why use blogs for Internet marketing,” but there are several benefits to blogging, among them SEO and credibility. And, like tweeting, your blog can be automatically posted to your Facebook page, keeping content fresh.

Maybe Facebook is going to become a bigger and more important marketing tool than websites. Facebook can be where you engage, build relationships with customers, and market. Your website might only be where business done, downloaded, bought and sold.

Your customers are on Facebook. It’s the third largest “country” in the world in “population.” That’s how many people use Facebook. In the age of social media marketing, guess what? You follow them. You go where the customers are. And the customers are on Facebook.

Still not convinced? Watch this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8.

And by then I hope the question is: “Why not have a Facebook page for my business?”

Need a Copy Coach to help you get started? Sharon@weknowwords.com standing by…

Find your story. Then have your copywriter tell your story

Monday, January 18, 2010 by Sharon Long

Last night I watched "Seabiscuit" again. Thank you to my daughter for picking that out at the movie place! It was timely given we'd been showing my racehorse (pictured here) to potential buyers over the weekend.

But as a copywriter, not horse lover, that movie is a wonderful reminder of the power of stories. Seabiscuit came along when the people needed something to believe in, a success story of an underdog winning against all odds. It was the depression. It was a horrible, scary time. And here was this scrappy little horse who paddled out with one leg (like mine!) but whose heart was bigger than War Admiral's, the 18 hand powerhouse rival.

As so often happens, the timing was right for this story...which made it an even better story. But Seabiscuit had a storyteller too. And this is the tie in to copywriting. Charles Howard was a salesman and success. And he knew how to tell the story to the press, to work this situation to get the most out of it. If it wasn't for Howard seeing and seizing the opportunity, would Seabiscuit have had more newspaper column inches than FDR and Hitler? He did. Without Howard, he likely wouldn't have.

You have a story. Every business has a story. You need to discover your story, yes. But then you need to tell it. That's where your copywriter comes into play. Your story is told by your website, your brochure, your PowerPoint, your email marketing. These are your story tellers. Make sure your copywriter is telling your story in a compelling and powerful way, whether it's an in-house or freelance copywriter.

Seabiscuit's story could be told by facts and numbers. And how dry that would be. It's more fun to hear about the drama, the second chances, his rough start in life, the men who came together and overcame their own demons to give him the chance to win...that's the story. And Howard made sure it got told.

What is your story? Is it really great customer service? Or is it that time that your entire staff worked at 20-hour shift to get something done for a client? Is it that you've been around since 1950? Or that your family still owns and runs the business, despite wars and economic ups and downs?

Is your copywriter telling your story? Are your salespeople?

Copywriters must do more than regurgitate facts. They must tell stories that intrigue, interest and inspire prospects to do business with you, no matter where they read about you, website, email, blogs, press releases, wherever and whatever.

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?

You don’t have to be an online copywriter to market your business online: use press releases

Wednesday, September 23, 2009 by Sharon Long

You can market your business on the Internet without being or using an online copywriter. Use press releases and an online press room. And here’s how, in an article written a couple of years ago by Marina Parr, when she worked for We Know Words as a copywriter. It’s great advice for anyone with a Web site who wants to improve their SEO! So here it is again…

Who needs on online press room? You do. But the reasons go beyond reaching the media and gaining coverage in next day's newspaper. These days a press room is just as much a "customer room" as it is a place aimed at journalists. Build one correctly, and you're able to use online press releases to tell your company's story directly to whoever is searching on the Web, boosting your credibility with both media and your potential customers. And with customers shopping online for everything from flowers to shoes to cars to enterprise management systems, they are just as likely to end up researching you at your press room as the reporter at the local paper.

Fact is, your online press room's real power is in boosting your visibility on the Web, a cluttered place where search engines crawl through content everyday looking for new, updated information. It's the kind of information that you can naturally add to your press room through online press releases, recent articles and awards, and much more without using and online copywriter or SEO copywriter. So not only are you telling your story to Wesiteb visitors and journalists alike, but your press room's fresh, search engine friendly content is helping people find you in the first place by using press releases for SEO.

An online press room, at its heart, is all about you. It's your best chance to use online press releases to tell your story from all angles, whether it's facts and figures, photos and bios, or logos and slogans. Configure it correctly and fresh content will build your web presence, help the media "get it right" when writing about you and help you connect directly with customers who may not have been looking for you in particular, but will be glad they found you! And you'll be glad to find out you can achieve that kind of SEO without using an online copywriter.

Now that you're convinced you'd benefit from online press releases and a press room, here are nine tips to help you build one relatively quickly and painlessly (really).

Nine tips for building an online press room that builds your online presence

Tip 1: Consider your online press room as an extended About Us page. This is your opportunity to present facts and figures-from when you started your business to where you're located to how many people you employ. It's also a place to flesh out your company's philosophy, give kudos to key employees, note awards you've won and post articles that have been written about you-or in some cases, for you.

Tip 2: You can pump up your online presence further by using press releases for SEO, sprinkling keywords that people naturally search on into the online press release copy you post. It's a simple way to boost your search engine rankings-and get found.

Tip 3: And when you suddenly have a story to tell, your press room positions you to communicate directly with the media, giving journalists instant access to critical information about your company. In addition to being used in online press releases, that information can be boiled down into two to three sentences for journalists to copy and paste into their own stories with little editing. It makes it that much easier for you to help the news media define who you are, rather than them defining you.

Tip 4: Even though you're using press releases for SEO, this is still online PR. Make sure your press room includes all the ingredients the media needs to write and report their stories. That means including key contact information--both email addresses and phone numbers--so reporters on a deadline can reach the right people right away. Also be sure to include a corporate bio and include basic data, including when the company was founded, the number of employees, location, gross annual revenue and other objective, background information that can be dropped into a story.

Tip 5: Think in terms of pictures when thinking about online PR. Nothing tells your story better than pictures that add a human element. So be sure to include photos of founders, directors and other key players. It also helps to have a jpg of your logo, as well as a scenic shot of your operations. Again, you help shape your story by providing reporters with the photos you choose.

Tip 6: Both in your online press releases and your press room, offer easy-to-find links to other information customers or reporters might be looking for: information about the company and its principals, information about your product or service such as product sheets or case studies, recent articles written about your company, etc. An online press room has to be straightforward and not overly salesy. Reporters will spot the hard sell and click away, and so will regular customers who happen to wander into the press room, either on purpose or by chance.

Tip 7: To use press releases for SEO, regularly create online press releases and submit them via an online service like PR Newswire. Or simply add them to your site as separate pages, and link to them from your press room. Regularly can be just twice a year, if necessary, just make sure it's regular (keeping in mind that they more frequently you update content on your Web site, the happier the search engines will be with you). And even if you don't spend the money to submit them online, still add them to your Web site. It shows both prospects and search engines that you keep your site current. After all, these days your online press releases about getting covered in the New York Times; as they're about telling your story to a potential customer as much as to a journalist.

Tip 8: Include a descriptive sentence or two with links to your online press releases, so journalists and regular folks know what they're clicking on. Too many press rooms provide long lists of press releases without enough supporting information telling someone why they should click on a link and what they'll find if they do. Without that summary information, visitors won't bother to click-and you miss the chance to enhance how you're viewed and written about.

Tip 9: Don't treat your online press room as a last-minute afterthought. Think of it instead as a portal to the rest of your Web site-and your company's credibility. Your press room can be-and should be-one of your most information rich, keyword loaded, always changing sections of your Web site. Your press room is also your opportunity to provide visitors a more personal look at you, your employees and your company. And because people don't always enter Web sites through the home page, prospects searching online for information might find your online press room first. So make the most of it by giving it plenty of your attention.

In short, your online press room is really a full view of you and your company, as well as a tool for SEO. Think of yourself in front of the dressing room mirror and take advantage of every angle-from the pictures you post to the articles to the press releases you use for SEO to a three-sentence corporate summary that can be quickly copied and pasted. You're in charge of how you present yourself…and how you get found online in the first place. The power is in your hands. Use it!

And if you find that this sounds too hard and you do want to hire an online copywriter or SEO copywriter to help, go for it. That or use blogs as marketing tools instead!

Seattle copywriter converts weekly marketing tips into free e-book of 104 tips

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 by Sharon Long

Note: This Seattle copywriter has been cleaning up a very cluttered We Know Words copywriting Web site. I’ve deleted a ton of files and pages and consolidated and made it much more manageable. I see now what Gerry McGovern means by being a “putter upper.” If blogs had been as easy (and if I’d understood them as well) back in 2002, I would have built a blog to market my copywriter services, not a Web site! Anyway, as I streamline the We Know Words Web site, I find stuff I don’t want to get rid of, so I’m moving it here to this copywriting blog instead. Plus I came across this little plug, and realized I might not have ever plugged my marketing tips ebook in this copywriting blog, oops! OK, enough preface…

Most small business owners can't afford professional marketing help. Nor do they know enough about marketing to do it well. That's why I compiled this ebook, "Marketing in a Minute."

Small business owners want to grow their companies. But growth requires sales, and sales require marketing, and many small business owners struggle with marketing... and time. So they don't necessarily have the skills, nor do they have the time to learn how to do the marketing.

That's where these marketing tips come in. They are short, easy to digest and easy to apply. Without investing in any expensive marketing program. "Marketing in a Minute" offers 104 such marketing tips, written for the realities of small business budget and time constraints.

So where does a marketing ebook crammed full of 104 marketing tips come from? Does one just sit down and write it? Not in this case. It took years to create this book...

In 2002, I took my copywriting prowess and started writing weekly tips and dispensing them via email to small business owners who desperately needed marketing help but couldn't afford to hire a marketing agency like We Know Words. The marketing tips were deliberately short and basic, but offered new ideas for those too focused on running a business to be a real marketer. The tips were nothing fancy, just text and just enough to fit in one's Preview screen. They covered print, Web writing, email marketing and more. I dubbed them "Sharon's Marketing Minutes" and made sure each one could be read in a minute or less. (Hence the title, "Marketing in a Minute.")

I wrote the weekly tips for almost 2 1/2 years until I ran out of time, but not out of ideas. The feedback was always so positive, and more than one subscriber confessed to archiving the marketing tips for future reference. When I announced that I was going to stop writing the marketing tips due to lack of time, many subscribers emailed to say, "Put the tips together in a book."

It took years, but most of the marketing tips are now gathered together into one extremely useful resource for small business owners and those in charge of marketing for a small business.

See sample tips, learn more about the marketing ebook, and read some glowing testimonials at www.marketinginaminute.com. Or just request the ebook sight unseen by emailing info@weknowwords.com and putting “book” in the subject line.

Tell your stories, influence your customers

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 by Sharon Long

Stories are compelling. Stories are how people passed along knowledge, lore and culture for thousands of years before the written word. If you have children, you know how compelling stories can be: There are some stories kids can’t hear enough. (I used to know “The Little Engine that Could” by heart, I read it so many times to my son when he was little.) Even longer books keep kids engaged: “Wolf Story” is a chapter book I read dozens of times to Evan, then later to his sister.

Or think about a dinner party: Who’s the most entertaining guest? The story teller, the one who spins the yarns while everyone listens and laughs.

Whether you're marketing your small business, freelancing as a Website copywriter or SEO copywritier, or focused on blogs as marketing tools, you should be telling stories every chance you get.

It’s part of what I call Indirect Marketing. The soft sell. The nuance. The influence. You tell a story about, say, a customer, and other potential customers will relate to that customer’s story much more than they’ll relate to you talking about you.

Here’s an example from the University of Washington Foster School of Business Web site, telling a story about how one person is involved at the corporate level to get other C-level executives interested in getting involved with the school too. The story is about Bill Ayer, CEO of Alaska Airlines, and his personal and business involvement with the school. By telling his story, we’re encouraging other execs to picture themselves there too, playing a similar role and getting a similar benefit.

Stories happen all around you all the time. You just have to get your antenna tuned to notice them. Then, guess the best place for your stories? Your Web site definitely, maybe your email newsletter if you do one, but your blog is the best place for your stories. Your stories can start there, in your blog, where it’s easy to post them. Then they can morph into Web content, printed content, an article in your email newsletter, etc. But if you’re blogging and constantly scratching your head, while at the same time using blogs as marketing tools, start telling your stories!

And you’ll be a hit at the next dinner party too.

p.s. Yes, I wrote the Bill Ayer story after interviewing him. Delightful person and the only person I've ever met who talks faster than I do!

Copywriting website for SEO requires a real website copywriter

Thursday, March 26, 2009 by Sharon Long

How many times has a prospect told this Seattle copywriter their site was optimized for search, and it wasn’t? Enough times that I could get rich off the “if I had a dollar every time…” way of thinking.

If you want a quick and easy way to know if your website—or your competitor's—is optimized for search, go to the website and look in the very upper left-hand corner. That white text in the blue bar along the top is the Title (created in the html using a Title tag). If it says simply Home, or About Us, or the company name, that website is not optimized for search. I don’t care how many keywords might be plugged into the body copy, that Title tag matters for SEO. (It also mattes when people are searching for you as it is THE text that shows up in the search results! But that's another copywriting topic for another day.)

I’m happy to say Old Friend Footwear finally got their long awaited site launched, and it’s a great example of SEO copywriting! Go to www.oldfriendslipper.com and check out the Title tags on that site. Plus they were willing to work with me to have lots of pages of content (oh, guess I should clarify: I was the SEO copywriter for this project! J), and more content means more opportunities for SEO.

They were also great to work with because they let me do my SEO copywriting without any “vanity” keywords, i.e. those keywords the client wants to win but has no chance at without a lot of money and effort. We have a lot of great long tail keywords, meaning keywords made up of three or more words. And we have a plan for adding content over time. The perfect Website copywriter client!

On top of all that, Old Friend Footwear believes in blogs as marketing tools. Now that the site is live, we’ll start blogging for SEO, using relevant keywords, winning searches, and driving traffic to the site. I look forward to reporting on their small business blogging success!

Blogs as marketing tools: Is your goal fame or fortune?

Monday, March 16, 2009 by Sharon Long

Confused about how and why to use blogs as marketing tools? Here’s a little help…

Last week this Seattle copywriter spent a day at Market to the Max, making sure I’m up to speed on the latest and greatest in marketing techniques and trends. I looked forward to the panel on blogging in particular, for two reasons: One, I’m a firm believer in blogs as marketing tools, and two, my friend Chris Baggott was on the panel, and I’m always intrigued by what he has to say.

The panel was a borderline disappointment, however, because Chris’ view, the only one that makes sense for the majority of businesses, was the minor one. (It was also a disappointment because of the moderator’s inappropriate behavior, but that’s irrelevant to my blogging point.)

Chris’ view on blogs as marketing tools is that businesses, including small business marketing, use blogging to get found online. It’s blogging to win in the search engines. What do search engines love? Fresh, keyword-rich content. What do blogs provide? Fresh, keyword-rich content. (OK, now I’m starting to sound like Chris, better be careful!)

But two of the panelists were too focused on using blogs to establish oneself as a thought leader. That’s all well and good and legitimate, but Mychal at Kona Kai doesn’t need to be a thought leader in the coffee business to make his small business successful. He needs to get people into Kona Kai for food, drink and fun (and free WiFi). His blog needs to attract people in Kent, Washington, not New York or Boston or …

Using blogs as marketing tools in the way the other panelists presented isn’t misdirected, it just wasn’t very helpful information for a room full of people charged with marketing their organizations.

Thinking about blogging? Start with a goal. Do you want to be a noteworthy leader in your industry with thousands of people subscribing to your blog? Go that route. Or do you want to sell more products and services and make more money? Then use your blog as a marketing tool and win the search wars.

Website copywriting: What’s the real job of your home page?

Monday, March 2, 2009 by Sharon Long

This Website copywriter's blog topics are often prompted by current copywriting projects. Right now I’m working on a small business Website copywriting project that’s requiring a lot of education…and all we’ve worked on so far is the home page.

People get confused about the real job of a Website’s home page. It’s not going to sell or convert. But it should get visitors deeper into your Website…and that’s the home page’s job. It should be short and concise and direct enough to tell someone at a glance what you’re offering, and compelling enough to get someone to click on a link to dig deeper.

As a Website copywriter, I think of home pages as doorways. A visitor knocks on your door when they land at your home page. You want to invite them in and have them accept the invitation. Then you can start leading them down the path to conversion, whether that conversion is to buy, to register, to subscribe, etc.

That means your home page has to be very targeted, another area where clients have trouble understanding how Website copywriting works.

If you have one main audience, one ideal type of customer, you’re better off speaking to that specific group with your home page rather than watering down your message trying to be all things to all people in just 150 words.

I once read words of wisdom that will stick with me always: Would you rather have one client who pays you what you’re worth or two clients who don’t? (I think it’s from a book called “Your money or your life.”) Every single time I’ve asked a small business client that question—and I do when they want to confuse, clutter and water down their message—they always, always answer “one client who pays me what I’m worth.”

If you try and make your home page work for a bunch of potential clients, you’re speaking to the masses and you’re less likely to get that one client. If you speak directly to that one client, you’re more likely to get him/her/it.

You also lose credibility when you try to be all things to all people on your home page.

So next time you sit down with your Website copywriter (or if you choose to work with me on your Website), remember these things about your home page:

· It’s a doorway into your Website

· It should tell your ideal audience what you offer at a glance

· It should be the right balance between concise and compelling

And now this Website copywriter must stop preaching, er, I mean blogging and get back to copywriting!

Website copywriter has to put the narcissist, I mean customer, first

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 by Sharon Long

Don’t believe customers are narcissists? Today doing keyword research for a Website copywriter client, I typed “restaurant” into the SEO Book tool http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook/. I had to laugh when I saw an estimated 175 searches per day in Google for the phrase “restaurants near me.” Not restaurants in Seattle, or restaurants near a certain ZIP code, just “near me.”

Keep this in mind when copywriting your Web site, or overseeing your Website copywriter. People are narcissists. It’s not anything bad I’m saying about consumers, it’s true of all of us (although admittedly some more than others!). But we all are the center of our own universes, as my friend Lisa once said. As marketers and copywriters, we gotta get our heads out of our %$#@s and put the customer first, not ourselves.

This is particular true online where marketing tends to be self serve. Whether you’re revamping, evaluating or starting from scratch, make sure you’re building and copywriting your Web site to:

Meet your customer’s needs first, yours second
Have your copywriter use words that will resonate with your customers
Use keywords your customers actually use, not the ones you assume they’ll use
Delight your customers by being appropriate, relevant and easy…this includes navigation, the words used for buttons and links, the ease of your forms, and more

Still not a customer-centric Web site after all that? Your Web site is your online sales person, or should be. Maybe you could watch your sales people in action to see how they put the customer first. Then apply those principles to your Web site?

One of my favorite services I offer as a copywriter is Web site assessments. That means I review an existing Web site to assess how well it’s meeting the business’ goals and the customer’s goals. In all the years I’ve been doing these Web site assessments, I’ve yet to review a Web site that didn’t have room for improvement to serve the customer better.

Want this freelance Website copywriter and marketing maven to take a look at your Web site? Just say the word: sharon@weknowwords.com.

Small business takes my small business blogging advice to heart

Thursday, February 19, 2009 by Sharon Long

When I posted my small business blogging guide, I got some nice feedback. But best of all is the comment from a small business owner who has now started a blog! Hurray! Good for you, Galina, for committing to blogs as marketing tools! Here's her comment, and kudos to her, because yes, readers will enjoy hearing about her travels! It makes her an expert and probably gives her plenty of relevant keywords to blog with:

"Hello Sharon, I received so many tips to follow to build my blog, thank you. I started my blog today http://beachvacationpackage.wordpress.com and I'm in traveling business. I think my readers would enjoy the info that I visited more then 40 countries, and how my hobbie became my point to
enjoy my business now. Thank you, Galina"

And here's a link to the small business blogging guide blog post: http://www.weknowblogs.com/blog/sharons-marketing-missive/0/0/small-business-blogging-basics--a-guide.

Also note that I and my copywriter buddy Mavis will be offering small business blogging clinics starting this spring in the Seattle area. Small business owners will leave that day with their blog up and running, their first couple of blog posts written, keywords to use, and a list of topics and a schedule to keep them on track. If you want to know more, email me at sharon@weknowwords.com!

This is just a quick note because I've been on vacation with my kids, but I'll be back at it tomorrow, traveling always gives this freelance copywriter great blog fodder!

Small business blogging: why aren't marketing consultants pushing it?

Thursday, February 12, 2009 by Sharon Long

Why are so many small businesses so slow to start blogging? Why aren’t small business marketing consultants encouraging them to do so? This morning I’m reviewing a prospect’s marketing plan in order to come up with a copywriting estimate for her. I recognize the name of the marketing consultant who created the marketing plan. And I’m disappointed to see she suggested this small business do the same old, same old kind of marketing…especially given that this small business wants to be found in search engines.

Getting found in search engines takes more than an SEO copywriter (i.e. me). It takes more than targeted keywords, keyword rich content and great title tags. I won’t go into SEO 101 here, but using blogs as marketing tools is a fantastic way to win searches and drive traffic to your Web site.

This plan also suggested the small business owner get positioned as an expert in the field, again without any mention of blogging. The plan recommends writing articles, doing an email newsletter, etc. All the usual stuff. OK, I don’t mind repeating myself, using blogs as marketing tools is a fantastic way to position yourself as an expert too!

Maybe small business marketing is slow to catch on to using blogs as marketing tools because marketing consultants are slow to recommend them. In my job as a copywriter, I consider myself not just the one who helps craft the messaging, but the one who also knows how to deliver it, from email newsletters to wikis to Web sites to blogging, etc. For years people have asked me why I don’t call myself a marketing consultant since I know so much about marketing. I say because I stick to what I know: I know copywriting. But I’m a copywriter giving my clients more value because I keep up with what’s going on in the world of marketing.

Marketing consultants must do the same thing. It’s 2009. If I were a small business owner, I’d be extremely wary of any marketing plan that left out blogging. You can’t use 2005 techniques in a 2009 world, especially with a tough economy!

Small business blogging is one of the most cost-effective ways a small business can both be found in search engines and be positioned as experts. If marketing consultants don’t know this and aren’t going to recommend it, they shouldn’t be handing out any advice.

If this small business had invested in a ghost blogger instead of a marketing consultant, they’d be way ahead of the marketing game.

In an earlier blog, I offered a bunch of small business blogging basics. See it here: http://www.weknowblogs.com/blog/sharons-marketing-missive/0/0/small-business-blogging-basics--a-guide

Marketing is like dating, so your copywriting better make promises you can keep

Wednesday, February 11, 2009 by Sharon Long

I hate The Ram. When Kent Station opened a couple of years ago, people were so excited to get a chain restaurant in downtown Kent. Meaning they were happy to get The Ram. My first experience there was awful, and after three more tries, I finally gave up on the place. Besides I like the food and the bar at Zephyrs better, it’s more my style, and now I have a martini bar as an option too.

But the other night a friend wanted to go to The Ram, because it would be new to him, and I’d drug him to Zephyrs and Shindig Martini Bar a few times already. Now he knows why I was reluctant to go there. The service was atrocious, the food awful and the prices high.

Hang on, hang on, this isn’t copywriter PMS. This ties into my copywriter theory that marketing is like dating: the customer expecting one thing and getting another.

When you are marketing to potential customers, you are wooing them, trying to get them to date you. You woo them with promises in your copywriting: good beer, good food, friendly service. But if you don’t follow through on your promise, your marketing and copywriting are for naught. Your marketing is a lie and trickery meant to get them in the door to spend their money. And then your marketing goes after the next prospect, just like a serial dater who seems intent only on getting someone to say “yes” to a date so he can start on his next potential date, to win her over.

Great marketing isn’t just great copywriting, killer taglines, awesome email copywriting, fabulous Web sites, kickass direct mail, etc. Great marketing is the whole enchilada. It means a business promises something to me as a customer, then delivers on it. That’s how you win a repeat customer.

If your company is a serial dater, then keep plowing away at marketing that gets them in the door but disappoints. Because you’re only aiming for the next customer anyway, not aiming to keep the one you just got. But if you’re company wants to be in a committed relationship, follow through on the promises your marketing makes. If you can’t, hold off on your marketing until you can, or make your marketing fit what you can really deliver.

And if you go to The Ram and order the calamari? Don’t be hungry or picky. So sayeth one disappointed freelance copywriter!

Free marketing tips from MarketingSherpa's new report

Saturday, February 7, 2009 by Sharon Long

I’m “just” a copywriter (not!) but part of my job is keeping up with marketing trends beuacse it’s not just what you say (the words) but when and how you say them (the delivery). So I’m happy to pass along that MarketingSherpa has a goodie for you: a special report titled “Marketing Wisdom 2009.” It’s a free pdf of lessons learned, contributed by real-life marketers like me and you.

I have only just started going through it, looking for the marketing wisdom most useful for me as a copywriter, but in my opinion, any insights to be gleaned via the experiences of other marketers and copywriters are worth downloading this document.

Even if you only read the Letter from the Editor, you’ll be a step ahead of other marketers. There Managing Editor Bill Rupp outlines three key trends identified while compiling this marketing report:

One, email is not dead. Great news for someone who specializes in copywriting for email marketing! (meaning me!)

Two, build social networks. More great news, as I’m a firm believer in blogs as marketing tools and figuring out how to market via social networks…and I’m a ghost blogger too!

Three, search engine optimization (SEO). Yet even more great news, as a Web site copywriter whose sweet spot is SEO copywriting!

Hmmmm… maybe I’m enjoying this report because it’s telling me all kinds of things I as a freelance copywriter want to hear? And that’s cheering up my dreary Seattle day a little?

Still, it’s free, it’s useful and it’s written by your colleagues. Take a look: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31039.

Oh, and if you can use more free marketing advice, ask me for my ebook of 104 marketing tips geared towards small business marketing but useful for marketing any size business.

Real words, real stories, pack real punch in your copywriting

Friday, February 6, 2009 by Sharon Long

Why do so many companies shy away from being real? I honestly don’t know. Maybe it’s like my dad used to say, that people are rude drivers because it’s anonymous, they are sheltered by their cars. They’d never cut in front of you in line at the bank, but they’ll do it on the highway. Do companies want the anonymity so they don’t have to behave as well as they otherwise would?

Being real is something I as a freelance copywriter preach and preach and preach. But just the other day working as a Web site copywriter for a new client, I found myself trying to persuade them to include photos of the founders on the Web site…and they flat out refused. As a copywriter, I see the power in words that are real, whether in blogs as marketing tools, small business marketing, email copywriting, wherever. Words are powerful. But only more so when real.

People, you are missing the boat here. Customers want to do business with, well, people. Not nameless corporations. Being real means making a connection to that customer, developing a relationship with her. One that will deepen her loyalty to your customer and brand.

Think about it: Isn’t there a company you stick with mostly because you like it or them? Like the farrier I had who wasn’t very good but was a delight to visit with while he shod my horse, or the drycleaners that’s a little farther from home but you keep going back because you like the owners, or the coffee shop that charges more but you like the welcome feeling you get when you walk through the door…we all have allegiances that don’t make economic sense, but then we shop with our minds and we buy with our hearts.

So how delighted is my little copywriter heart to have two great examples of being real to share with you.

My first example comes from a company I partner with. I do copywriting for their email marketing clients. They hired a new salesperson, no biggie, but the email this guy sent out to introduce himself to clients was a gem. It wasn’t about all this professional experience; it was about him as a person, a real person, who lives in an interesting town, met his wife via online dating, and has an interesting background, born in Europe and raised on the east coast. The tone was conversational and chatty. It made him real. If I were a customer receiving that email, I’d like that guy right off. And we buy from people we like. With our hearts, remember?

My second example comes from Basecamp, aka 37 Signals, a company I love not just because I love their Web-based project management software which I use for our copywriting projects, but because they excel at being real. Yesterday when I logged onto Basecamp, at the top of my screen it announced “Basecamp's birthday! Basecamp turns five!” and then went on to explain they started on Feb. 4, 2004 with a link to their story. This is brilliant because it’s promotion but sincere. When you read the story, you are that much more attached to this company. And what does that mean? Well, I recommend Basecamp to all the freelance copywriters I know, and to clients as well.

Both of these examples gave this copywriter warm fuzzies. And note that they both achieved their goals with words, nothing fancy, just words, real words.