Why do companies, even huge multi-nationals, hire professional copywriters to created their content for them? Copywriters are a special breed of people. We don't just write grammatically correct sentences without any spelling mistakes, we create art. Our medium is the written word. We use it to entice, to amuse and astonish our readers. That being said, here are some examples of badly written copy.
a. I don't even know where to start with this. So, when the end comes, you'll stop loving the person? Past tense or present tense?
b. This makes no sense at all. Copy written for an advertisement should be short and sweet. This read like something out of a thriller novel. A bad one at that too.
c. Really? Its almost impossible to dance without legs? I know you're trying to imply that the jockey is physically handicapped and that controlling a horse will be difficult but the sentence structure is insane.
For beginners to SEO the
above definition may sound complicated so in simpler terms Search Engine
Optimization is a way to improve your web site so that it will appear closer to
the top positions in the search results of Google, Yahoo, Bing or other search
engines.When you perform a search on Google (or any other search engine) the
order by which the returning results are displayed, is based on complex
algorithms. These algorithms take a number of factors into account to decide
which web site (or blog) should be shown in the first place, second place etc.
Optimizing your web site for
search engines will give you an advantage over non-optimized sites and you
increase your chances to rank higher.
What are the main stages of
the Search Engine Optimization process?
As I mentioned above, SEO is
not a static process but rather a framework with rules and processes. For
simplicity though SEO can be broken down into 2 main stages:
On-site SEO: What rules to apply on your site to make it search engine
friendly
and
Off-site SEO: How to promote your web site or blog so that it can rank better
in search results.
On-site SEO
In my search engine
optimization tips for beginners article I have explained with examples the 15
most important rules for on-site SEO. These are simple tweaks you can do to
your web site and increase your search engine visibility. If followed correctly
these 15 SEO tips will also increase the usability and credibility of your web
site or blog.
In addition to the above
guidelines the structure of a web site is also very important for SEO purposes.
In my article: the importance of web site structure for an SEO optimized web
site you can read about the essential components of an optimised web site.
Which pages should not be missing from your web site, what is a high quality
site and why the navigation and URL structure is vital for good SEO?
If you seriously take into
account these 2 factors i.e. web site structure and the seo tips, then that’s
all you need to do to help search engines trust your web site. There is no need
to spend more time than needed with on-site SEO neither you should over
optimize your web site or blog because it can sometimes (under certain
conditions) generate the opposite results.
Off-site SEO
Besides the changes you can
do to your web site (on-site SEO) so that it ranks higher in the SERPs, the
other way to improve your web site’s ranking position is by using off-site SEO
techniques. Off-site SEO is generally known as link building but I prefer to
use the term web site promotion since a proper way to promote a web site
involves much more methods and techniques than building links.
In general, search engines
are trying to find the most important pages of the web and show those first
when a user enters a search query. One of the factors to determine the position
a web page will appear in the results is the number of incoming links.
Incoming links are a signal
of trust and depending from where the links are coming, they can greatly affect
your ranking position (either positively if the links are coming from
well-known and trusted sites or negatively if they are paid links, article
directories, link farms etc.).
What can you do to get more
links?
That’s a very good question
and I am sure that if you search the Internet for that phrase you will get
hundreds of different answers. In my opinion, and this is what I will try to
explain in this web site, you should forget about building links and
concentrate on creating good quality content for your web site.
Good content will get you
natural links which in turn will give you good rankings and traffic. If you try
to buy links or get them the easy way (read this: Guest posting for links), you
may have a temporary success and then see your web site disappearing from the
top pages after the next Google update.
What is the difference of SEO
and Internet marketing?
Some people often ask me “Is
SEO the same as Internet Marketing?” The simplest answer I can give is that SEO
is one of the tools available in your Internet Marketing arsenal. It is not
Internet Marketing as such but it can be part of your overall Internet
Marketing campaign which normally includes other things like social media
promotion, content strategy etc.
Good content is still the
most important success factor with or without SEO
Before closing this
introduction to search engine optimization you must have very clear in your
mind that SEO cannot help you if you don’t have good content.
In other words if you try to
SEO a web site with not very good content your chances of succeeding (in the
long term) are minimum. On the other hand a web site with good content can do
well with or without SEO. SEO will just give the web site an extra boost.
SEO is a must for every web
property
To sum it up, Search engine
optimization or SEO is a way to optimize your web site so that search engines
will understand it better and give you higher rankings. It is important since a
good SEO approach can drive more traffic to your web site, blog or on-line
store and gain more customers, make sales and fulfil your business purpose.
What is SEO? Search engine optimization or SEO in
short, is a set of rules that can be followed by web site (or blog)
owners to optimize their web sites for search engines and thus improve
their search engine rankings.
In addition it is also a great way to increase the quality of their
web sites by making them user- friendly, faster and easier to navigate.
SEO can also be considered as a framework since the whole process has a
number of rules (or guidelines), a number of stages and a set of
controls.
Why is SEO important?
In today’s competitive market SEO is more important than ever. Search
engines serve millions of users per day looking for answers to their
questions or for solutions to their problems. If you have a web site,
blog or online store, SEO can help your business grow and meet the
business objectives.
Search engine optimization is essential because:
The majority of search engines users are more likely to choose one
of the top 5 suggestions in the results page so to take advantage of
this and gain visitors to your web site or customers to your on-line
store you need to rank as higher as possible.
SEO is not only about search engines but good SEO practices improve the user experience and usability of a web site.
User’s trust search engines and having a presence in the top
positions for the keywords the user is searching increases the web
site’s trust.
SEO is also good for the social promotion of your web site. People
who find your web site by searching Google or Yahoo are more likely to
promote it on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or other social media channels.
SEO is also important for the smooth running of a big web site. Web
sites with more than one author can benefit from SEO in a direct and
indirect way. Their direct benefit is increase in search engine traffic
and their indirect benefit is having a common framework (checklists) to
use before publishing content on the site.
SEO can put you ahead of the competition. If two web sites are
selling the same thing, the search engine optimized web site is more
likely to have more customers and make more sales.
What does a compelling copy look like? Take a look at this advertisement. Even without the use of any images, it sends such a powerful message. This is the power of the written word.
Writing effective copy is both an art and a science.
It’s an art because it requires creativity, a sense of beauty and
style — a certain aptitude, mastery and special knowledge. Artistic
advertising allows you to create content marketing that’s not just
practical and persuasive, but awe-inspiring and breathtaking.
Writing effective copy is also a science, because it exists in the
world of tests, trial and failure, improvement, breakthroughs, education
and predictability. Scientific advertising allows you to develop an
idea, and then test that idea. It’s how you know if your content marketing is working.
In bad copy, one (or both) of these elements are missing. In good copy, they are both abundant.
Read on, in the next few minutes we’ll explore ten examples of good copy living (and selling) out in the wild …
1. Plain copy
The most basic approach to writing effective copy is to simply
introduce the product without gimmick or style. It’s a simple
presentation of the facts and benefits.
There is no story. There is no conversation. There is no “sizzle” and no superlative claims.
That copy isn’t going to win any literary awards, but it will get the
job done. It will give a prospect the information she needs to make an
informed decision about the product.
2. Storytelling copy
Everyone loves a good story.
We like hearing about people — especially interesting people. People
who’ve suffered challenges we can relate to, and can tell us how they
overcame those challenges.
And the moral of the story, coincidentally, is that your product was the catalyst to overcoming those odds.
You might find this storytelling technique in an email series, a
landing page, or a short video. Whatever the format, you’ll get four
basic traits in the story:
Opening: Introduce the pain. Show how the character
of the story had a normal life, then how that life was shattered by a
change of events.
Conflict: How is the life of the main character
threatened if he or she does not respond to the problem? What does her
journey look like as she tackles this challenge?
Dialogue: People are drawn to conversations in a
story. It’s human interest at its root: two people talking to each
other. We are also drawn to dialogue because it’s easy to read. “Our
eyes flow over dialogue like butter on the hood of a hot car,” says novelist Chuck Wendig.
Solution: Finally, your product is introduced as
the cure for your character’s problem. You increase the credibility of
your product by sharing specific results (347% increase in conversion,
for example).
Your story doesn’t have to be dramatic. It just has to be interesting to your target audience. And this is where good research comes in.
3. Conversational copy
John Caples calls conversational copy “You and Me.”
In this style of copy, you write as if there is a conversation between two people: the copywriter and the prospect.
The language here would be no different than a salesman sitting down
for lunch with a customer and talking through a sales presentation. It’s
a straightforward approach that tries to identify with the reader:
I know how you feel. I felt the same way. That all changed when I found x, y and z.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to be a polished copywriter to create effective conversational copy. Often the sheer passion for what you’re trying to promote breathes off the page.
In fact, you can record a conversation about the product, transcribe that conversation, and use it as a rough draft.
4. John Lennon copy
When John Lennon asked us to imagine there was no heaven or hell, no countries, religion or war, he was using an effective tool of persuasion: imaginative copy.
As an advertiser, you can ask your target audience to imagine a
painless way to lose weight, or what it would feel like to be a
successful travel writer.
Imaginative copy typically begins with words like “imagine,” “close
your eyes,” “pretend for a moment,” “discover,” or “picture this” in the
first paragraph of the text.
5. Long copy
The fundamental premise behind long copy is “The more you tell, the
more you sell.” Ads that are long on facts and benefits will convert
well.
Why?
Unlike a face-to-face conversation with a salesperson, a written ad
has only one chance to convert a reader. If you get in front of the
reader, you’ve got to lay it all out on the table.
Take the Google Analytics example above.
Page after page of facts and benefits are presented because the proposition isn’t simple
— typical prospects are going to be asking a lot of questions. Better
to anticipate those questions, and answer them in the copy.
But when you’re following the basic rules of content marketing that
works, remember that you don’t have to present all the facts and
benefits up front.
You can leak the presentation over a period of weeks through an email autoresponder (like our Internet Marketing for Smart People course), or a registration-based content library (like the Scribe Content Marketing library).
In this way, you’re turning long copy into short, easily-digestible snippets.
6. Killer poet copy
Here at Copyblogger we love Ernest Hemingway and David Sedaris. But
we aren’t so enamored by their writing abilities that we try to imitate
their styles at the expense of teaching and selling.
Our goal isn’t to convince our audience that we’re smart — it’s educating and selling with our copy.
As David Ogilvy once said, “We sell, or else.” But we try to sell with style. We try to balance the killer with the poet.
Killer poet copy sees writing as a means to an end (making a sale),
and the ad as an end in itself (beautiful design and moving story).
In other words, the killer poet combines style with selling. Creativity with marketing. Story with solution.
7. Direct-from-CEO copy
It’s a known fact — third-party endorsements can help you sell products.
But it’s equally effective to position your selling argument as a
direct communication between the company founder and his or her
customer.
This down-to-earth approach levels the playing field. It telegraphs
to the customer, “See, the CEO isn’t some cold and remote figurehead
interested in profit only. He’s approachable and friendly. He cares
about us.”
8. Frank copy
Some copy will explain the ugly truth about the product.
This approach doesn’t start with the jewels of your goods — it’s going to start with the warts.
When selling a car, you might point out the endless repairs that need
to be done — thin brake pads, leaky transmission, busted sway bar, and
inoperable dashboard — before you introduce the leather seats, Monsoon
stereo system, sun roof, brand-new tires and supercharged engine.
What you’re saying is this car will need a lot of TLC. You might even
go as far as to say, “Make no mistake here — there’s much work to be
done here.”
And here’s a curious thing: when you are honest and transparent about product weaknesses, the customer trusts you.
When the reader trusts you, they will be considerably more likely to
believe you when you point out the good qualities of your product.
9. Superlative copy
There are also times when you can make outlandish claims.
Claims like (these are actual ads):
“A revolutionary material from this Nevada mine could make investors a fortune in 2013″
“Stores across U.S. selling out of what some call a new ‘miracle’ diet fighter”
“Obey this one weird loophole to get car insurance as low as $9″
But you can only make extraordinary claims when you have the proof to back it up. The evidence can be in statistics, testimonials, or research — or preferably all three.
The problem with superlative copy is that it’s often hard to make outlandish claims and not sound like you are hyping it up — so use this type of copy sparingly.
Generally, it’s good to follow the “Remove All Hype” policy.
10. Rejection copy
Rejection copy turns conventional wisdom on its head. and tries to discourage people from being interested in your product.
This type of copy is a direct challenge to the reader that leverages the velvet rope approach — the idea that only an exclusive set of people are invited to use a product.
The American Express Black Card is a good example here — this card is
reserved for the world’s wealthiest and most elite. The only way you
can get your hands on one is if you are invited.
Similarly, consider the dating site Beautiful People. If you want to
be part of this exclusive dating club made up of “beautiful” people,
then you have to be voted in by existing members:
Potential rejection startles readers — they don’t expect to be turned down, especially not from an advertiser.
This approach also keys into our sense of wanting to belong.
It generates that curiosity itch and activates our pride. We think,
“How dare they say I might not be good enough to get into their club?
I’ll show them.”
Over to you …
In the end, great copy often combines several of these techniques into one ad.
The CEO of a company writes a conversational sales letter built
around a story about his passion for his product (whether it is peaches
or water pumps).
A copywriter writes a long rejection ad that explains why certain
people are excluded from receiving an invitation to dine at an exclusive
restaurant.
Or a Savile Row tailor writes a plain but elegant sales letter about his suits, which have been worn by kings and presidents.
This is the art and science of copywriting.
Can you share any examples of good copy you’ve seen recently out there in the wild?
Think of some of the most iconic brands you know. What makes them so
memorable? It’s usually bold graphics, wonderful packaging, engaging
ads, and well-written copy. Apple, Inc. is known for their fantastic
packaging, featuring generous white space, gorgeous product photography,
and tasteful typography. Nike uses strong type, inspiring imagery, and
bold color palettes to convey the energy and lifestyle their brand
embodies. Those two examples aren’t just an example of great branding,
but excellent graphic design.
So what is graphic design, and how can good design help your company?
Graphic design is the presentation of ideas and information to your
audience in a clear, visually engaging manner. Graphic design lets you
make a great first impression. Consumers tend to gravitate to
better-designed products. It provides a quality anchor in their mind.
Good design gives you instant credibility, inspires confidence and
trustworthiness, and clearly communicates its point to your audience.
Poor graphic design can have disastrous consequences for your product
or brand! Have you ever visited a website that was hard to navigate, or
an ad in your mailbox that was hard to figure out? You likely left the
website frustrated, perhaps even unable to complete the task that
brought you there in the first place. Similarly, an ad that’s hard to
read or visually disorienting probably failed to get your attention long
enough to convey the message it was trying to send. Those are dollars
the advertiser spent that failed to convert to a sale. The worse the
design, the costlier it can be for a business.
Good graphic design ties a piece together. Typography, colors, images,
and hierarchy are the resources a graphic designer uses to compose a
design that clearly communicates information, value, and reasons to care
in a quick, eye-catching manner. Designers use these principles to
minimize distracting, less-important elements and highlight the things
that are important, allowing viewers to quickly see what they need to
know to decide on a purchase.
Most businesses venture into social media expecting to see a big return on investment. The hope is that new customers will come in droves, and that the benefits and revenue generation
will be huge. However, this is rarely the case. It takes time to build
momentum with social media, and the benefits aren’t always as obvious as
we would like.
If you’re feeling a bit skeptical about social media marketing and
whether or not it’s worth the effort, following are some reasons why it
may be working better than you realize.
1. Brand Recognition – One of the most powerful ways
to use social media is as a brand-building tool. With social media, you
get to decide how you want to position your company and what you want
people to know about what you do. With consistent effort and great
content, you can build a reputation for your brand around your company’s
values, benefits, and advantages.
2. Community – There is nothing like social media
when it comes to cultivating a community. When your followers become
part of your community, you gain instant access to them. That means you
can find out what challenges they are facing and what they like and
don’t like about your offerings. You can engage in ongoing dialog that
can be more valuable than any kind of paid market research.
3. Repeat Exposure – There is an old marketing adage
that says it takes six to eight exposures to a product before a
customer decides to buy. A clear benefit of social media is repeat
exposure with your network. You have the opportunity to remind them over
and over again about what you have to offer, which can shorten your
sales cycles dramatically.
4. Authority – For coaches, consultants, authors,
speakers, and other service-based businesses, social media can be very
powerful in helping you establish authority in your field—making you the
go-to resource for your target audience to seek out for help. Share
great content, answer questions, and serve your audience, and you will inevitably build loyal fans.
5. Influence – As your following increases, your
influence grows. Having a substantial social media audience creates a
snowball effect that can attract new customers, media interviews, joint
venture partnerships, and all kinds of other opportunities. It’s a bit
like when you see a crowd hovered around something. You can’t help but
want to see what all the fuss is about, so a large audience will only
attract more interest.
6. Website Traffic – Many people don’t realize that
social media can be a leading traffic generator. When you share blog
posts, videos and other content from your website, you give your
audience a reason to click through and visit your site. Once there, you
have the opportunity to inspire those visitors to take action by
inviting them to sign up for your mailing list, make a purchase, or call
to schedule a free consultation. Install traffic monitoring service,
such as Google Analytics, and
if you are committed to your social media efforts, you will clearly see
that social media brings traffic. Also, make sure that your visitors
receive a clear call to action when they visit your site so that you can
convert that extra traffic into business opportunities.
7. Ahead of the Curve – Whether you realize it or
not, your prospects and clients are checking to see if you are engaging
in social media. I always find it a bit odd when I’m investigating a
potential service provider online and I can’t locate a social media
presence or worse, I find Facebook pages that haven’t been updated in
months, empty Twitter feeds, and a clear lack of interest in engaging.
Social media isn’t a fad and it’s not going away. Even if it’s not your
top priority, if you stay current with activity, your prospects will
notice.
8. Mindshare with Lurkers – There may be days when
you wonder if anyone is paying attention to your social media networks.
But if your efforts are consistent, I guarantee that more people are
paying attention than you realize. Give it time and you’ll start to
understand what’s happening behind the anonymity of the internet. You
will eventually hear from people who say, “I’ve been following you on
Twitter for ages. I love your posts!”
9. Competitive Advantage – The reality is that most
of your competitors aren’t likely doing a very good job with social
media (most companies aren’t), which gives you the chance to stand out.
Also consider the flip side. If you avoid social media, you leave a big
opening that allows your competitors to capture your audience.
10. Big Wins – While many businesses large and small
are trying to justify the cost and time investment for managing social
media marketing, an important benefit often gets overlooked: Big Wins.
For example, if someone from LinkedIn connects you with a significant
government contract, then that would certainly qualify as a Big Win. If a
major media outlet finds you on Twitter and interviews you for a
national article, then that is also a Big Win—one that you can’t measure
based on revenues directly generated.
Big Wins don’t happen often, but when they do, they make it all
worthwhile. It’s easy to forget results like these six months down the
road you’re trying to assess whether your social media efforts are
paying off. But that one contract you landed could cover your social
media marketing costs for years. And that major media interview could
lead to subsequent interviews and a line item on your resume that
impresses a corporate sponsor three years from now. Never forget to
factor in the Big Wins in social media.
This ad for the London Marathon by Reflex Spray has a shoe with a miniature re-creation of London on its sole. The shoe has literally run all over the city.
Monopoly is a board game that has had numerous print advertisements throughout the years since its initial release in 1923. This print advertising campaign is designed for those who already know the board game fairly well and for those who do, this campaign works extremely well. The design plays on the game's construction, with the red hotels opening up the readers imagination. It was incredibly important to ensure that the same colour was used throughout the entire page so that the clothes of those in the picture could highlight the intensity of the red.
The best method of gaining more traffic and keeping visitors on your
site longer is to hire a great copywriter. Your website may be the
first impression people have of you or your business; if your site’s
copy isn’t great it might be their last impression. Having your content
written by a professional copywriter is a smart long term investment for
your website, both in terms of SEO and visitor retention.
What are the biggest pitfalls of not having good SEO copy written?
Pitfalls
Spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors are unfortunately more
common than you might think, even on the websites of large and well
known companies. A simple way to improve your website’s image is to keep
it clean grammar-wise. How can anyone expect a quality product or
service from a website with content that looks like a mess?
Another big mistake that some organizations make is spending too much
time or money on website design and not enough on good copy. If the
reader doesn’t find the information he’s looking for, he will move on to
another competitor’s website. If that happens it will be harder to grab
his attention again and he may forget your website ever existed.
With the vastness of the internet, you have an incredibly small
window of opportunity to capture someone’s attention because of all the
other things they could be looking at online. You have to get your point
across in a few sentences and grab their attention, while not
overwhelming them with info. That is the essence of writing persuasive
copy.
How to Write Good Copy
A lot of people who like to read online like to scan, so the best
type of online copy is usually straight to the point and easy to
comprehend.
Good copy goes beyond ad-speak however. People often visit websites
when trying to make a purchasing decision. The copy must tell them how
to buy and how easy it is.
Good copy requires friendly engage-able content for readers that
prompt sharing, as well as written for SEO (search engine optimization).
Without SEO optimized copy your site is less likely to the see the
amount of traffic that it otherwise could.
SEO
Good copy written by a good copywriter can increase conversions if
visitors manage to find your site, but it does not guarantee a good SEO
ranking. Guaranteeing a ranking of page one on Google can get tricky,
and a lot of it depends on keywords (the terms people would be searching
for). One thing that is certain however is that poorly written content
which isn’t SEO friendly will limit the amount of traffic your site
gets.
SEO companies use keywords to improve the SEO for their associated
products or services. These keywords must be strategically placed
throughout the website’s copy. It’s pointless to stuff keywords if the
finished copy doesn’t motivate visitors to want to learn more about your
product or service.
Effectively using keywords isn’t always easy to do since it has to be
done in a way that doesn’t clash with the intended message.
Writing great SEO optimized content requires a certain finesse that takes time and practice to master.
The many ways of reaching people online are unlimited. Don’t allow poor web copy to limit your potential.
