Learn to Copywrite

Archive for May, 2009

Online copywriting is surely the ‘in-thing’ nowadays. That is because with the rapid popularity of the Internet as a medium, people are almost always getting online for many of their traditional transactions.

Yes, the Internet is different from other media in a way that it facilitates the convergence of all types of media portals, be it the television, the radio and the newspaper.

Banking transactions can now be coursed through the Internet, as well as shopping purchases, education, books and basic services. Everything that is sold through the conventional stores can now be sold through the online medium.

Online businesses are making use of the talents and skills of seasoned copywriters, who are hired to provide the Internet site with convincing content that basically aim to sell.

Thus, demand for online copywriting has been accelerated through the years. Many writers see this development as an added opportunity that could be translated into further revenues.

But one problem is arising. It is estimated that only 2% of all online businesses worldwide are actually succeeding to sell products and services online. What happens to the other 98%?

Well, they are left in the cold, probably because the content posted through their sites are not as good and as convincing as those posted by the successful 2%.

What could be the problem? Well, experts have identified copywriting. Is it the fault of the copywriter, or the business owner? The answer is neither. Read on and find out who is the real culprit behind those failures.

online copywriting

Online copywriting is no different from traditional copywriting. Both make sure that the outputs are creating interests among readers and significantly generating sales.

But the problem is there is information overload over the Internet. And there are millions of online businesses, making the competition more intense.

Thus, the ordinary copywriter must strive harder to be more effective that the competitors. And there are thousands of copywriters abounding online that are equally, if not more, seasoned and well-accomplished.

The treatment of online copywriting is no different in a sense that focus is particularly given to the readers. The styles are also the same—persuasion. So why do others beat the rest of the pool of online copywriters?

Effective Online Copywriting

There are a few measures that would help an online copywriter be as effective as he can be. The following are some of the recommended ways on how you can be an effective online copywriter:
·Write for your intended readers, not the online business owners. Many copywriters fall to the trap that they must write to impress, so they use complicated words that the readers must check on to the dictionary to comprehend what he is saying.

·Persuade. Make sure the words you use strong adjectives and verbs that could almost directly command readers to move and make the purchase abruptly.

·Arouse interest among readers. This is where a simple research on the readers’ demographics would set in. If you know their common interest, then you can use that when crafting lead statements.

·Be engaging. Write as if you are personally talking to the intended online users of the content. Do not be overly boring nor too extravagant and vulgar just to catch attention.

·As much as possible, reflect sincerity in your outputs. Sometimes, you have to make some lies to be effective. For example, if you yourself are not believing on the product you are selling, you could do some white lie. But make sure you still sound genuinely sincere.

·Pay particular attention to the content rather than to grammatical correctness. It would be advisable of you remain grammatically flawless, but sometimes, writers find it hard to maintain focus while being overly attentive to the requirements of grammar and usage. Your editor will proofread the material, anyways.

·Be straight-to-the-point. Be concise, but accurate.

Overall, effective online copywriters are motivated to come put with their quality outputs. To establish that much needed motivation, you could bear in mind that in the copywriting world, you are as good as your last output.

Thus, if your copies are good and effective, more projects and clients will come your way. You could generate more income, and enjoy the perks of generating more money to spend on your simple luxuries.

Still not enough to kick your online writing juices?

Mario Churchill
http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/ways-to-effective-online-copywriting-95891.html

You can find that there are numerous freelance copywriting jobs out there. Within this article today, we’ll look at a couple of the different websites and how you can make sure to set yourself apart from all of the other freelancers out there.

Our first task is to identify the different marketplaces where you should have a subscription. The website that will be profiled first is www.elance.com. This particular marketplace has a very strong following as more than 100,000 potential customers come by the website each week. You are able to sign up to sell your services and the system allows you to upload your best work to sell yourself to potential clients. There is also a search agents in place so that you can have jobs that meet your criteria e-mailed to you on a daily basis. Cost for a subscription to this particular website can range from eight dollars per month up to one hundred twenty dollars per month.

The second website which you should look to register for it is www.guru.com. This is actually the largest online freelance marketplace on the Internet to look for online jobs including freelance copywriting jobs. The capabilities of this website are similar to the ones that were posted in the paragraph above for that particular website. It has a service provider base of over 481,000 people. If you live in Europe, you can use both of these websites as well as a European challenge to these two, which is found at www.getafreelancer.com. There are many other websites that also offer a freelance online marketplace and one of these is www.directfreelance.com.

This should get you started in being able to find different websites and which you can bid on projects. When you are bidding on projects, companies that are looking at the bids will not be looking just at price but also at how their work will be done. To do this you will want to set yourself apart. The way that you can set yourself apart in creating a bid is to include copies of your best work but also make sure that you include testimonials along with a sales letter on why you will be the best party bidding on this particular project. By doing this, you will be tailoring your message to the particular party and you will be showing them examples of your past work along with happy clients. This will help improve your credibility and firmly anchor you as a potential candidate who can get the job done. Many copywriters do not have a website today so if you take the opportunity to create a website, you will find that you could have a competitive advantage in the freelance copywriting jobs market.

Hopefully this article on freelance copywriting jobs has helped you. It is important to know which websites you should use in finding work but it is also important to find ways to set yourself apart. By creating a website as well as creating an advertising package that shows off your best side, you are setting yourself up to stand apart from other freelancers. You are selling yourself when you create this package so keep that in mind.

Ronald Piper
http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/freelance-copywriting-jobs-119579.html

by Karon Thackston © 2005 http://www.thewriterslife.com/bb/mwd6/

I have to tell you, I was very skeptical in the beginning.
Nervous even. I had one finger on the “buy now” button, and one
finger poised, ready to request a refund. I guess, when I bought
Michael Masterson’s course, I was anxious that this would be one
of those screaming, ranting, raving sales letter courses that
tells you that you HAVE to write all copy the same way with a
tone that sounds like a used car salesman on steroids. I just
wasn’t going to do that.

Let me explain. I’m not a newbie. I’ve been in copywriting (for
various mediums) for over 20 years. I even published my own
copywriting course (http://www.copywritingcourse.com) that deals
primarily with website and search engine copywriting. The one
thing I’ve never gotten involved with, however, was writing
sales letters.

I guess I always had too much else going on to learn how. I did
know enough to understand that writing sales letters is a
specialized art that required a lot of training. I also knew
there was a TON of research conducted over the past few decades
to determine what really worked and what didn’t. Lastly, I knew
successful sales letter writing - the kind that pulled in
million-dollar responses - was not something you could just jump
into.

I finally decided this was something I wanted to do. I wanted to
learn to write sales letters, and I wanted to do it the right
way. And what the heck, it was $39 a month, and I could cancel
at any time. Plus, if it was really bad, I could ask for a
refund anytime within the first 30 days.

I did it! I clicked the “buy now” button and started the process.

What I Didn’t Like About This Sales Letter Course

Let me clarify something before I tell you what I didn’t like.
This is a correspondence course. The lessons are mailed to you
(along with a nice binder to keep them in). You complete the
lessons and return them via mail or email. It is a self-paced
course, but it is also instructor led to a certain extent.

Really, there was only one thing I didn’t like about this sales
letter writing course, and it is a sheer matter of personal
choice. My only concern was that you get little feedback about
your assignments throughout the course.

What happens is this. You complete the first section of the
course and the initial assignment. Your assignment is thoroughly
reviewed and mailed back to you. I was really impressed with the
amount of time my instructor spent reviewing my assignment and
the comments he gave. The instructors move quickly, so you get
feedback within a couple weeks.

Then you complete the rest of the course on your own. You don’t
mail in any of your other assignments to have them reviewed
until the end of the course. In the process of completing the
other assignments, you’re actually writing your sales letter in
different sections. Then, when you’re finished, you mail (or
email) the final assignment in to be reviewed.

Now, I do need to clarify that there is a student services
department and a forum where you can ask general questions and
what not. But they do not give feedback on your sales letter
writing assignments.

What I Did Like About the Course

What I did like FAR outweighs what I didn’t like. I’ve always
said the best way to learn is through a combination of examples
and practice. The course is professionally written and gives you
lots of both… examples and practice elements.

It was easy to follow and laid out in an organized manner. The
sections weren’t very long and could be completed in a fairly
short amount of time. (Important to me because I have a
copywriting agency to run!)

The course is set up for newbies, but - even though I’ve been
writing copy for two decades - it was still interesting to me.
While I may have known a lot of the information in the course, I
needed to study how that information applied specifically to
sales letter writing.

I was truly impressed at the quality of information (including
many insider secrets you usually only get from having years of
experience in the business). Every lesson had something that
made me think, and all the lessons flowed logically as I went
through the entire course.

Michael Masterson’s course is published by AWAI (the American
Writers & Artists Institute). In addition to the course, they
offer a wide range of “job placement” opportunities in the way
of forums, databases and conferences. So, in addition to
learning to write sales letters, you also get help finding
assignments once you’ve graduated. That’s a BIG plus for those
just starting out or those who are new to direct mail.

Lastly, as I mentioned before, when you do get feedback from
your instructor, it is helpful, thorough, detailed and
insightful. Your assignments are not just skimmed and topped
with a short “great job!” and returned to you. The ideas and
suggestions the instructors make truly are helpful.

Do I recommend it? Oh yes… definitely! But only if you’re
serious about becoming a copywriter or enhancing your skills as
a copywriter. This is not recommended for people who aren’t
dedicated to becoming the best. It will take some work to
complete.

I’ve enjoyed taking the course and learning how to apply
different skills and talents to writing sales letters. Most of
all, though, it’s been profitable because it will lead to a
whole new world of copywriting projects!

Karon Thackston
http://www.articlesbase.com/copywriting-articles/review-michael-mastersons-accelerated-program-for-sixfigure-copywriting-768.html

You need something written to sell your product or service. You turn to the Internet, tap the word ‘copywriter’ into Google and search. Bingo!

Thousands of results, plus a swag of Google Ads to boot. So who do you choose? Is the best copywriter the one who’s at the top of the search pile?

Not necessarily. What they are good at – or someone who’s affiliated with them is good at – is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). They know the techniques and tricks to get their website to the top of the search engine rankings. These copywriters are called, quite naturally, SEO copywriters.

Do you need a SEO Copywriter?

If you have a website and need it to climb the search engine rankings, you should consider the services of a SEO copywriter.

The SEO copywriter writes your web page text so that it includes specific search terms, known as keywords. He or she will aim for a keyword density of 3-5 per cent. So for every 100 words, your keyword should appear at least 3 times. The art of SEO copywriting is to make it all read smoothly and, more importantly, persuade the reader that your site is worth staying at until they do whatever it is you want them to do.

In addition to writing the text, a good SEO copywriter ensures that other page elements are optimised for search engines. This includes the Title, Description and Keyword tags, as well as alt text and headings.

All this will help your website climb the ranks. But it’s only part of the solution. A major factor in search engine rankings is the number of links around the Internet that lead to your site. There are several strategies to help you achieve this – but that’s another story.

What about a Direct Mail Copywriter?

A Direct Mail Copywriter is more accurately described as a Direct Response Copywriter. This copywriter can produce not only mailings, but also copy for most mediums, whether it be print, TV or radio. Everything he or she writes should be crafted to get a response from the reader, viewer or listener.

Take a look at any successful direct response advertising and you’ll find the copywriter has followed a formula, often referred to as AIDA, which stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Adding Conviction after Desire can make the advertising work harder.

Building your brand is not the prime focus of the Direct Response Copywriter. But an element of branding can and should be put into all direct response communications, even if it’s only your tag line.

Or do you need a specialist Brand Copywriter?

If you have a recognised brand or intend to build one, the Brand Copywriter can create the kind of ideas and copy that strikes an emotional appeal in the consumer’s mind.

Most global and national brands are built with the help of full service advertising agencies. An agency gives the kind of total approach – planning, strategy, research, media, creative, production – needed to build a brand.

However, hiring a freelance Brand Copywriter can be far more cost-effective. Before the Brand Copywriter starts work, he needs to know exactly what you want your brand to convey. That’s not a problem if your brand already exists, but if you want to create one you’ll need to have done your research.

In addition – and this goes for all advertising – you need to know your proposition for the job your hired copywriter is going to work on. Your proposition is a short statement that gives the single most compelling reason as to why someone should buy your product or service. Failure to produce a well-conceived proposition is the major reason much advertising fails to produce the desired results.

Don’t forget Technical Copywriters

If your product or service is of a highly technical nature then you’ll need a Technical Copywriter to convey its benefits to your target audience. That could mean communicating to other technically literate people, or else turning the techno-language into everyday speak for a wider audience.

When you know what type of copywriter you want, you then need to find one that’s good in his or her particular field. Check copywriting samples first. Any copywriter of merit will have at least a couple of well-known brand names in their portfolio. Does the copy read well? Does it persuade? If so, ring them up and talk to them. If you feel a rapport developing, that’s a good sign you’ve got the right copywriter.

Tony Brecher
http://www.articlesbase.com/direct-mail-articles/what-type-of-copywriter-should-you-hire-54084.html