Archive for the ‘Content / Copywriting’ Category
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 |
I posted recently about the importance of testing Web copy. A commenter had asked how to do that - basically, how do you run a split-test on the marketing / sales copy on your website?
I hadn’t had a chance to sit down and write about it, but I came across an excellent article covering it thoroughly today. It’s far more eloquent than my own post would be on this topic (as copywriting is not the primary area I work in), so be sure to give it a read to pick up the fundamentals.
How Split Tests Can be Good for Your Web Site Conversion Rate - by Steve Jackson of Conversion Chronicles.
Posted in Content / Copywriting | No Comments »
Thursday, June 19th, 2008 |
My primary work is still PR, but I also do freelance business writing. One of the most common things I do is write marketing copy for business websites. I also network with a lot of newer writers, and see them bombarded with copywriting “tips” like “always use long-form sales copy,” or “no, long-form copy doesn’t work.” I always want to slap the people I see giving that kind of advice.
The truth is that most types of marketing copy work! If they didn’t, they wouldn’t still be around. What you need to figure out, as either a copywriter or a business owner / webmaster, is what kind of copy will be most effective for what you’re selling to the specific audience you’re targeting.
So please… stop simply copying what everyone else seems to be doing in the moment, and start taking time to understand your audience and what motivates them to act or buy. Test different types of Web copy, or even test different language choices. Watch what happens to your conversions.
And remember, the best copy isn’t necessarily the type of copy you think you want going into a project. You may want something touchy-feely, and find out that it’s not what actually sells to your audience (what they tell you they want and what makes them buy aren’t always the same thing - that would be like asking any of us if we want commercials playing during our favorite TV shows). Or perhaps you want something flashy, but your audience would respond better to a serious case study. The audience comes first. Then comes testing. Then, and only then, comes your amazing, high-converting copy.
Here’s something else to keep in mind: Just because something “works” doesn’t mean something else wouldn’t work better. Don’t stop testing and tweaking just because you’re satisfied for now. Would you really be happy with a 20% increase in conversions if a different style of copy could net you an 80% increase? Just saying….
Posted in Content / Copywriting | 3 Comments »
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007 |
A lot of webmasters really have a pretty lousy content strategy in place. Here’s an example (based on a question I recently saw asked on a webmaster forum):
Someone wanted to know whether it was better to write for bots (search engines) or human readers. Their purpose seemed obviously to lean towards making a solid content-rich site. Because SEO is always a hot topic (because frankly most people are either too lazy or too dense to look beyond it for quality traffic sources), you’ll find a lot of information like this around (paraphrased):
“Write for search engines first to get rankings and traffic, and then start writing for readers to keep them.”
I had a total “duh” moment when I read that, thinking I must be on a total idiot binge lately on the webmaster front. (more…)
Posted in Content / Copywriting | No Comments »
Monday, July 16th, 2007 |
My last segment of my Chick Tech Talk BlogTalkRadio show was on writing and marketing e-books. As an extension on that topic, I’ve decided to post a brief outline of my own personal e-book writing process that I used when writing Press Releases Made Easy. Now, my process won’t work for everyone, but if you’re just starting out and looking at an example of how it can be done, hopefully this e-book writing outline will help. Here’s my step-by-step process for writing an e-book: (more…)
Posted in Content / Copywriting | 2 Comments »
Sunday, July 15th, 2007 |
On my most recent segment of Chick Tech Talk, on Writing and Marketing E-books, Dee Power and I were discussing a form of self-publishing. While our main focus was e-books, Dee also touched on quite a few excellent points and suggestions regarding print self-publishing. Looking back, I was thinking that self-publishing as a whole is something often neglected by online entrepreneurs. Here’s why you shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it: (more…)
Posted in Content / Copywriting | No Comments »
Thursday, July 12th, 2007 |
If you’ve missed them, I recently posted two collections of sample blog headline templates at 11 Easy to Use Blog Headline Templates and 7 More Easy to Use Blog Headline Templates. I’ve put together a larger list, so here they are; blog headline templates in no particular order: (more…)
Posted in Content / Copywriting | No Comments »
Sunday, July 8th, 2007 |
Not long ago, I posted a collection of 11 easy to use blog headline templates here at ChickTech. I covered how-to posts, confrontational / attack posts, and self-help posts. Here are some more simple blog headline templates that you can use and adjust for your needs to help you come up with catchier blog post headlines: (more…)
Posted in Content / Copywriting | No Comments »
Friday, July 6th, 2007 |
The headline of a blog post is often the most important part of that blog post for a few reasons:
1. A catchy headline can entice people to click and read.
2. A good blog headline can incite discussion.
3. A clever blog headline is essential to using blog posts as linkbait; attracting natural links to your blog posts.
Yet many bloggers struggle to write compelling blog headlines. In an effort to simplify the process, I’ve put together a list of 11 easy to use blog headline templates (as well as showing them used in a few samples). Feel free to use them and alter them when crafting your own blog post headlines. (more…)
Posted in Content / Copywriting | 4 Comments »
Posts
