Page 2 - Online Copywriter

Unlike Boyfriends, Blogs Are Forever...Make Them Part of Your Content Marketing

Saturday, March 19, 2011 by Sharon Long

online content marketing strategy includes blogs

Why blog? Because blogging is forever. OK, forever is relative in this day and age. But a blog post is going to be around a lot longer than other social media marketing.

A wall post on a Facebook page has a very short life span. A tweet even shorter. But a blog will be around always. It will be indexed by the search engines and served up when someone goes looking for what you're offering...even if it's two, three or even five years later. That's a lot longer than a lot of boyfriends! And that won't happen with any other kind of popular social media like Facebook and Twitter!

As a freelance copywriter and now as a provider of content marketing services, I have been pushing for blogs as marketing tools for a few years now. With the advent of content marketing as a strategic way to create and use content, maybe blogs will be taken more seriously.

Although I don't know. I still run up against the initial reaction of a) thinking a blog is just a place to spout off or b) the "there's no way we could keep up with one."

It's funny because people--even savvy marketers who should know better--seem to see the blog as something extraneous and extra. And a lot of work with no payoff.

It's none of those things.

It can be the hub of your online content marketing strategy. Dare I say it should be the hub of your online content marketing strategy? And blog content is easy to come by when you're focused on online content marketing. You simply need a strategy.

And isn't that what content marketing is all about? Being strategic with your creation and use of content?

To talk strategy with a content marketing agency that's been around the content block for a while now, reach out to We Know Words.

Does Fear Keep Marketers From Content Marketing?

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 by Sharon Long

I'm in love with the whole idea of content marketing because the premise is something I've pushed for for years. As a freelance copywriter, I have pushed people to be real and tell stories. I have pushed clients to get testimonials and find out their customers' stories. I have pushed for repurposing (now called reimagining) of content.

And why didn't clients listen to me before this whole notion of content marketing came along? I don't know. Maybe I'm simply not pushy enough. Maybe I wasn't secure enough because no one else was saying it so maybe my ideas weren't so great after all (or so said the little voice inside my copywriter head). Maybe I didn't explain it very well!

Today listening to a webinar on content marketing starring Chris Baggott, Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman...three of the biggest names in content marketing...I had a thought. What if it was fear?

I admit, it has been a battle at times to get the We Know Words copywriter clients to be real, to tell stories. "But what we do is proprietary." "But we need to sound like everyone else." "But we need to tell people about our widgets and gadgets." "But we can't sound that different." Those are the kinds of excuses I heard when clients wanted their freelance copywriter to create what I call "me too" copy rather than anything compelling and unique.

(And there was the time the landscaping firm had paid the PR firm tens of thousands of dollars and by golly, that was the messaging they were going to use, no matter how irrelevant it was to their target market!)

As We Know Words morphs from copywriting agency to content marketing agency (which, of course, includes copywriting as a core offering), I sense I will still run into the same kinds of "buts" as before. And this idea of fear makes it all make sense.

Ever since the publication of Seth Godin's "Purple Cow," we've been called upon to be different, to stand out. As Seth said in his book, the risk isn't in being different, it's in being the same. And yet, maybe 20% of We Know Words clients over the past 10 years have embraced that concept.

It's scary to be real! It's scary to be different! It's scary to stand out! Not just for me and you as individuals, but for companies too. What if you're wrong? What if you fail? What if no one likes you?

That's why we all dress pretty much the same and wear our hear pretty much the same and all that. And that's what most companies and brands do as well.

So as we move into thinking of what we do as content marketing, and we are called about to create, coordinate and distribute content that is real and engaging, as we work to convince those clients who hire us for content marketing services that yes, they do need customers telling stories and employees blogging, I suspect we will run into that same fear factor and bunch of "buts" that I've come up against before.

My job as the woman offering the content marketing services? Be more convincing.

It's a good thing I know words...

Content Marketing Will Make Waves for Seafood Company

Friday, March 11, 2011 by Sharon Long

Content Marketing Will Make Waves for Seafood Company Below is an email I sent to a seafood company looking to build a new B2C website as well as a Facebook presence. During my talk with the web designer, several things came up, so I emailed these thoughts to the client. They were so well received by him, I thought I'd share them here...

"They are for the most part what is now called Content Marketing, which means a more strategic use of the content you create or capture.

"And content is golden. Content is how you get found online by search engines. Content is what people share. Content is how you engage and build relationships. Content is a valuable commodity. The more good content you have, the better off you are.

"With a B2C company that is selling food—something consumers can really get into—you have some great opportunities to get your customers creating content for you. A possible scenario is this: You have a website, a blog, and a Facebook page, and maybe you’re doing email marketing too. Your blog content can come from anywhere. It’s not like you need some English major hidden away cranking out content about your seafood. Your blog content can be written by a freelancer or two, and/or by employees, and/or by customers. Every time you get a testimonial, that’s a blog post. A recipe is a blog post. A new product is a blog post. An employee talking about quality control and another talking about types of seafood and things to know…blog content. Talking about what’s going on elsewhere, like maybe on Chopped they had frozen shrimp as one of their ingredients…proper storing advice, party advice, side dish advice, busy family dinners advice… the possibilities for blog content are literally endless.

"Then it’s really easy to share blog posts with Facebook and Twitter. You simply click on a link and voila, it’s shared. So you’ve taken the same content, but made that many more people aware of it and given them a chance to comment on it, like it or share it.

"It goes the other way too. I just heard about a company that makes gluten-free baked goods posted a request for favorite gluten-free Thanksgiving recipes on their Facebook page and got over 200 recipes. If the company puts all those recipes into blog posts, guess what? That’s over 200 blog posts…that are naturally keyword rich. Plus they will be permanent content, unlike Facebook content that has a very short lifespan.

"Which is the other side of this: All online content has the potential for helping your search rankings. And organic search is still the way to go. Just this morning, I read eMarketer’s article on how organic search still trounces paid search. People trust the organic results. And if you can “organically” create that kind of keyword-rich content…and have people sharing it and spreading the word for you, you’ll get a lot more bang for your marketing buck. Or should I say Content Marketing buck?

"You can add in email marketing, with links to pages on your Facebook page…and those email messages can be repurposed as blog posts. You also can have recipe contests or even a food photo contest. If you wanted, you could pull together recipes and make an ebook…promote it by email, in the blog on Facebook…I hope I’m painting a picture here for you."

That was the bulk of the email I sent the client. I hope that gets your brain churning the way it did mine...and the client's!

Proof That Strategic Content Marketing Gets You the SEO That Gets You Noticed

Thursday, March 10, 2011 by Sharon Long

Experts have been saying for some time that people tend to disregard paid search results because they are much more trusting of the organic search results. Yesterday's eMarketer article on search behavior tells us this is still true. I quote: "research indicates that most search users overlook search ads almost entirely."

And you know what marketers overlook almost entirely? How easy it is to compete for organic search results.

Yesterday at MarketMix in Seattle, I moderated a panel on Content Marketing with two highly respected experts as my brainy and bold panelists: Chris Baggott of Compendium and Russell Sparkman of FusionSpark Media. If you were to attend that panel and read the eMarketer article, a lightbulb should go off in your head: content can be easy to create, it will be effective when used effectively, and it can be used to get you found in search engines...which is a better way to get found than by search ads...if you want to get noticed.

And you win searches by having more content to be found by the search engines. If it's quality, relevant content, it's going to have the kinds of long tail keywords people are searching on, so you won't have to spend time plugging in keywords.

Using content marketing for SEO is not hard, it's easy. Here are three examples of ways to do it that are easy, easy, easy:

1) Publish an email newsletter monthly, archive each issue on your website, and then summarize it in your blog and link to the archive. SEO benefit? More organic content to be crawled and indexed. You've gone from one email to two pieces of web content.

2) Write a whitepaper or tip sheet or something else relevant and useful to your audience. Summarize it online. Write an article about it in your email newsletter. And wash, rinse, repeat...or in other words, do the steps in number 1 above again.

3) Get your employees blogging. They will write about what they care about, and they will naturally use keywords relevant to the searcher.

Organic search is going to continue to be the preferred way to find results if you're a consumer searching online. Content marketing can help you be there on those first search results pages.

And maybe you'll save enough time and money doing your online content marketing that you'll have time and money left over for paid search! :-)

If you need or want some help coming up with simple content marketing strategy, email info@weknowwords.com.

Kraft Throwing Money at Old-School Marketing

Monday, February 28, 2011 by Sharon Long

freelance copywriter on content marketing

As the marketing world moves forward into Content Marketing, finally giving content its due, I guess not everyone is following suit.

In 2011, we can have our customers talking about us and marketing for us like never before. We can be more real, more authentic. We can let our brands have personality and engage with our audiences in completely new ways.

Or we can just throw more money at marketing the old-school way. That's apparently what Kraft is going to do.

Kraft is going to going the old route of more money, more ads. Some agencies are going to make a lot of money.

But will TV commercials build brand in the age of social media? Not the way content marketing would, says this freelance copywriter.

I like the Miracle Whip commercial, I confess. I think it's bold to have people saying they don't like your product. But I'd rather see Kraft spend their money on hearing from real people, not celebrities. Let's see money go towards viral social media campaigns, not expensive TV ads.

Oh well, what do I know. I'm just a freelance copywriter on cloud 9 because the popularity of content marketing is finally making people aware of principles I've been advocating for 10 years. (Be engaging. Be real. Be authentic. Have a personality. Repurpose content. Use indirect marketing.)

It seems like Kraft doesn't even know content marketing exists...

Good thing I don't like Miracle Whip! I suspect the price will go up so Kraft can afford the high cost of old-school marketing!

The Languages of Love. The Languages of Marketing. What's the Difference?

Saturday, February 19, 2011 by Sharon Long

freelance copywriter ready to write about languages of marketing

I'm reading "The 5 Love Languages" by Gary Chapman, and even though I'm barely past the introduction, my freelance copywriter brain is already going, "Oh! This applies to marketing too!"

I don't have to know about the five love languages to get the concept: Speak in a way the other person will hear.

At We Know Words, our mantra is talk to your customers, not at them. Another favorite: Your words have to sell what people are buying.

That means you're selling a good night's sleep, not a mattress. You're selling SEO, not blogging software. You're selling a mom's peace of mind, not organic apples. And sometimes you're selling a story, not a handcrafted cheese.

Kind of the same thing as the love languages, isn't it? If we don't speak in a language our audience understands--whether that audience is a target market or a lover--how can we expect to be heard? If we're not talking about the problem in the way they view the problem, we might as well not be talking at all!

As I plug away at my "Marketing Is Like Dating" book, I'm drawn to any connection between marketing and dating, relationships and marriage.

Now I'm thinking maybe after I finish this book, I'll write "The 5 Languages of Marketing." After all, if your marketing is like dating, you're wooing your customers...and talking their language.

It takes copywriting to a whole new level...

Freelance Copywriter Says Content Marketing Takes Style

Thursday, February 17, 2011 by Sharon Long

freelance copywriter says content marketing demands style

Twice in the last couple of weeks, I have had copywriting clients comment on how much they like my style.

They're not talking about my clothes, trust me. They are talking about my approach to their content as a freelance copywriter. And I find that funny, because I don't think I have a style. As a freelance copywriter, I mean. I know I have a style as a writer, and I love to entertain my family and friends with my writing when it's personal. But I think of myself as a professional copywriter who shouldn't have a style because I should simply be adapting to the client's voice and brand.

But then I realized, I can and do adapt when necessary. But clients like these, who just complimented my style, fit with my natural writing style. They probably like me as their freelance copywriter because I write naturally in a way that meshes with their brand. I am free to write like me when I write for them.

And I think style is something we're going to want a lot more of as Content Marketing becomes the norm! As we're creating more content, more whitepapers, more web writing, more blogs as marketing tools, we're also setting ourselves up to get lost in the whirl of words that will be swirling all around our prospects as they attempt to navigate all this "stuff" we're putting out there and online.

Just like the woman who walks into the bar dressed with style will shine compared to any plain Jane counterparts, so will the content with style outshine the drab and dull.

Style, huh? Well, yay for that! This freelance copywriter is going to consider that a plus to be exploited, not a minus to be escaped!

You Can Love Design But It's the Words That Win in Content Marketing

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 by Sharon Long

Love your design but words win says freelance copywriter

Reading David Baker's email marketing blog, I just had an "ah ha" copywriter moment.

He makes the point that we spend so much time, effort and money on creative, and maybe we should spend less on creative and more on content:

"We spend far too much energy on revitalizing creative. Don't get me wrong, good creative does pull, but does the effort involved warrant the output? Depending on your business, I believe most could compress creative costs 25% with rational approaches and better content management."

Is this music to the ears of a freelance copywriter? You bet it is, but not new music, rather classical. Good content, engaging content, customer-centric content...this is what We Know Words copywriters have been crafting for 10 years. That is what content marketing is all about.

And we have often as the freelance copywriter taken a back seat to the creative. Many times we've been called in as the website copywriter only to find the design and navigation are set...and aren't appropriate to the message.

Many times have we as the freelance copywriter been tasked with writing brochure copy or other sales collateral with very specific word counts...we couldn't write the right amount to get the message across, rather we had to write long or short enough to fit the already determined space...because the creative was foremost.

Now that we've entered the age of content marketing, and more and more emails are read on smartphones, words will matter more than ever. Content has always been king...but a bit of a tepid ruler, hidden behind a mighty council of designers.

But you know what? The right color doesn't get you found in Google. The right words do. The right logo doesn't get someone to click on your call to action in your email marketing. The right words do. And the design of your whitepaper is irrelevant if you haven't hired a whitepaper copywriter who builds a compelling case for your product...with words.

Thank you, David! I know this wasn't the direction you meant for your comment to go, but I appreciated taking it there just the same. :-)

Businesses Start "Dating" Their Customers With Thank You Notes

Tuesday, February 8, 2011 by Sharon Long

Yesterday on NPR's Marketplace, I heard a piece on the return of the thank you note as a sign of the recession. Apparently companies are wising up that they need to appreciate their customers...and to express that appreciation!

Yes, said this freelance copywriter! Why? Because I'm about one-third of the way through my "marketing is like dating" book and this is a fabulous example!

I might be "just" a freelance copywriter, but I'm also a marketing junkie who pays attention, and I'm a jaded consumer, and I'm a single woman.

Add all that up and you get an approach to marketing that suggests you think of marketing as dating, meaning you woo, court, date and ultimately marry your customers.

The thank you note is like the phone call after the date. It's your way of showing you care, you appreciate. Trust me, there's not near enough appreciation in the world these days! Whether a jaded divorcee or a jaded consumer, a sign of appreciation like a thank you note is going to go a long way in making that one-time buy into a long-term relationship!

From Webinar to Whitepaper: Voila! Content Marketing!

Friday, February 4, 2011 by Sharon Long

freelance copywriter creates content marketing

Why am I sharing this paper on the top 5 misconceptions about corporate blogging? Because I wrote it. OK, I transcribed it, wordsmithed it, edited it and formatted it, using the conversation between Debbie Weil and Chris Baggott as the source. But it's share worthy for two reasons:

1) It shows how a freelance copywriter can help you repurpose content for content marketing. This was a webinar. Now it's a whitepaper too. How cool is that?

2) There's great information in here about blogging and social media marketing and how it all ties together. If you're making blogging part of your content marketing program (and if you're not, why not??), read this.

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!

Copywriter vs. Content Marketing: What's the Difference?

Monday, January 31, 2011 by Sharon Long

This whole Content Marketing thing has admittedly caught me a little off guard. As a freelance copywriter, I work with words every single day. Marketing through content is what I do. It's my passion, my livelihood.

As a freelance copywriter, at first I thought, "Well, content marketing is what I already do." But as the articles keep popping up in the email newsletters I read, and eMarketer, and other places, I am trying to sort this out. And here's what I think...

Yes, as a freelance copywriter, content marketing is what I do. But in a way it's also what I've always wanted to do, and that is to be involved in the strategic planning of the content. I tried making a list of what I would consider copywriting vs. what I would consider content marketing...as a way to sort things out on the We Know Words website. But having two lists was disingenuous. From web content to banner ads to SEO to ghost blogging to writing articles, it's all copywriting.

But maybe what's happening here is an evolution. For two years now, I have been the freelance copywriter for a Bay Area company, integrating the ghost blogging, email newsletters and other content. I have from the start tried to tie all together, repurpose content, and link between different channels. And you know what that is? Content marketing.

I can see some distinctions, that I'm working to address at our We Know Words copywriter agency as I type this. If you need to generate 100 blog posts per month for online content marketing, you're not going to pay a typical freelance copywriter rate for that kind of volume. That's where I stop thinking of it as copywriting and start thinking of it as content generation.

Ditto if you want to generate weekly articles as web content, or weekly press releases.

Working on that here in our Seattle copywriter office...stay tuned.

Hiring a Freelance Copywriter? Questions to Ask...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 by Sharon Long

Yesterday I had a pleasant phone call with a potential client who asked me point blank, "If I were someone used to hiring a freelance copywriter, what questions would I be asking you?"

I've been a freelance copywriter for a decade, and I think that's the first time I have been asked that question. It took me by surprise! But it was valid. I'm looking for a used truck and I feel the same way: I've never bought a truck before. I don't even know what questions to ask!

So if you're hiring a content copywriter, and you're not sure what to ask, here are the questions I think make the most sense:

How do you work?
Where do you get your information?
How do you determine your pricing?
How many revisions will you do?
What is your approach to copywriting?

Granted these aren't specific to a project. If you were looking for an SEO copywriter, for example, you'd want to ask questions about other SEO projects.

But in general, you should be less interested in whether or not that freelance copy writer has done work in your industry before, and more interested in how she works and what you can expect as you two work together.

Don't get tied up in knots when hiring a freelance copy writer! Just ask the right questions!

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!

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?

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!

Cold Stone Creamery Uses Words for More Fun, More Brand...and This Copywriter Takes Note!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 by Sharon Long

Yesterday I treated my daughter to ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery…and got my own treat as a freelance copywriter! They’ve taken just a few words and gotten creative and added that much more to their brand…without any real apparent effort or cost at all.

If you’ve been there, you know your portion choices aren’t small, medium and large. No, they’re “I like it,” “I love it,” and “I gotta have it.”

Not only is that clever. I bet it influences the consumer’s choice too! Imagine ordering the “like it” size, could you? Doesn’t that seem so sad to be ordering ice cream and say simply “I like it”? If you only like it, why are you even ordering it? I bet there are people that bump up their portion to a “love it” purely because of this subconscious feeling that they should be ordering something they love, not like.

Then there’s the Employees Only door…only it doesn’t say Employees Only. It says Ice Cream Makers Only. Clever, clever, clever! Cold Stone is reiterating that these employees aren’t that, just plain old employees. No, these people behind the counter are making my ice cream! How much more fun to walk into a place with ice cream makers than a place with employees!

Did it cost Cold Stone any more to use different words on their portion signs? Nope. Did it cost them any more to change the words on the door? I doubt it. And all those little efforts added up to much more fun, much more brand, and much confidence on my part as a consumer (and freelance copywriter!) that Cold Stone is paying attention to the details…including the Heath Bars going into my vanilla ice cream.

Thank you, Cold Stone, for putting your words to work! This freelance copywriter took notice!

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.

Marketing Is Like Dating, Proven by B2C and B2B Social Media Differences

Monday, April 26, 2010 by Sharon Long

My "Marketing Is Like Dating" book has been on the back burner as I rethink my role as a professional copywriter in 2010. But a comparison chart of the differences between B2C and B2B in social media marketing illustrates a point I simply have to include: be appropriate.

Obviously if you're selling to consumers, Facebook, Yelp, Twitter and YouTube are channels you'll use. For B2B, the chart says blogs, LinkedIn, SlideShare and Twitter. (Interesting that Twitter is in both.) You have to be appropriate, and therefore market via appropriate channels.

Think of dating, and how, if you're a woman, you've been approached or asked out by all kinds of men you didn't (if you're honest) think even had a right to ask you out. Yes, it sounds snobby, I know, but it happens.

Or here's a great example from last weekend: Out at the Black Bottle, a bar in downtown Seattle, a young woman came in wearing a black cocktail dress, lots of bling and high heeled shoes, with her hair and makeup all well done. She'd obviously spent a lot of time getting dolled up for this date. But the date? Gag! Not only was he wearing jeans, but also a hoodie and flip flops! Flip flops! Inappropriate all the way! I told MY date, a real gentleman would have apologized once seeing her outfit, and run home to quickly change. Sadly, she must have liked him enough to go out with him despite his clothes.

In the marketing and copywriting world, your prospects are going to have to like you enough to overlook you're being inappropriate...so better not to be in the first place.

That all said, I doubt there hard and fast rules. I've been thinking on the differences already, because although it might not be appropriate for a B2B business to have a Facebook page, their customers are consumers in their off hours, and use Facebook then...meaning their expectations and experiences are influenced by the B2C social media marketing. I don't know yet what that means, and have yet to see anyone comment on it. I think there might be potential there to sometimes win by being inappropriate, with an unexpected B2B presence on Facebook, just like in dating sometimes being different and unexpected will get you a date when you otherwise wouldn't.

Online Copywriter