Learn to Copywrite

Archive for the ‘online copywriting’ Category

Hey guys I have some sub-questions along with this too, ANY help appreciated! Thanks:

Quick and honest background: I am in my final year of University, studying English & American Literature with no work experience in this field, expecting a 2:1.

After literally YEARS of panicking, stressing, researching, questioning and generally getting nowhere in my quest to find a career path when I finish University, I accidentally stumbled upon a few videos online about the life of a copywriter and what they do as a career. The working environment and ability to work with words has really attracted me to this career as I think it will have what I count as the most important element of any career in abundance - fun! Along with the potential to earn some good money.

Is copywriting considered a career? I see that there is a lot of advice for prospective copywrighters to work with graphic design students/people and create a portfolio together - surely one would be more valuable if you provided the graphics yourself? I have no graphic skills, won’t this be a hindrance when searching for jobs or is a knowledge and ability when it comes to graphics not a requirement?

Many other responses have recommended books by successful copywrighters to get started - are these not simply personal marketing ploys to gain extra money? Are they worth the investment?

I have a perfectionist approach to anything I do, so I am pursuing information on this career path with the automatic assumption that I need to be and should be creating immediately selling and first-class ideas just sitting here in my room, with no practice or guidance whatsoever - is this an unfair thing to do? Will it take time to develop these skills and gradually expand my creative abilities? I am sure, or I hope the answer, is ‘yes this is unfair’! However, aren’t there people who can already do this naturally? How would I get chosen for a job over them?

Many questions, I appreciate replies to any or all! They would be very much appreciated. Thanks guys!
EDIT: Also, what could I be doing in my SPARE TIME during this last year of my studies to give me the best start in this field? Thanks

Hey
It’s a nice idea you want to be a copywriter. i, my self, as an intermediate internet marketer — though i am 18 — have some experience on copy writing and if your dream is to be top copywriter like Michel Fortin and Bob Bly in the IM realm, you need experience besides your knowledge.

And yes. copywriting is a career — a great one. And in my opinion, what you’ve to do is start now, start to do anything that comes ahead.

furthermore, you can get me at mic_kym4@yahoo.com if you want a little chit chat about this and other related stuffs. and that’s coz i enjoy meeting like-minded people. who knows if something great is going to happen

and don’t forget to make the subject line "the copywriter from yahoo" or something alike so that i know who is the sender.

thanks
mick

I am an artist, I’m still in college, and I want to gather my portfolio of artwork to show potential employers and also to sell pieces of art.

How do I know my art is protected? Can’t they just steal my 2d digital art when I send it to them as a portfolio and use it however they want if it isn’t copywrited? Also, if I freelance online, and have a portfolio- couldn’t other freelancers save my art to their computer and use it in their own portfolios or sell it pretending its theirs?

As you know, art isn’t usually a high-paying field. I have many pieces of art to put in my portfolio & sell, & even if I used LegalZoom to copywrite, I’d still have to pay thousands of dollars that I can’t afford just to get my work copywrited.

Is their a way to protect my rights to my artwork without copywriting?

The moment you create a work of art, whether it’s signed or not, the copyright is yours; you own it and even selling the piece does NOT transfer the copyright. When you sign a work and put the copyright mark (a c inside a circle) on it that is considered legal public notification that you have created the work and you own it and the right to reproduce it. You can register the work with the government but it’s not that terribly expensive (you can go online for the forms). If you’re going to put work on the internet for display put a watermark on it either by using watermark software or adding your name over the piece using photoshop. It is true that some unscrulpulous people feel the internet is a free-for-all smorsgasbord to help yourself to artwork; stuff like this has been happening in the art world even before the internet was around. The risk is yours to take but these are the best measures at present to cover yourself. Especially difficult is persuing infringements in countries where the governments don’t enforce the laws or look the other way or don’t care.

Diane Cochrane, "This Business of Art" explores the legal details of copyrights.

I’m a Graphic Designer. I need to decide my next move:
- Get an Art degree and specialize in 3D animation
- Start my own Graphic Design online ordering website
- Study copywriting and/or Advertising/Marketing
- Study Webdesign….

I’m keeping this short. I just don’t have a clue which of the above is gonna be most logical; and beneficial. I do need to choose one as I need to increase my income.
Thanks Ketty - just want to add - I do have a diploma in Multimedia already - so I am qualified enough to do the online thing. I still think a degree is better…

Get an Art degree and specialize in 3D animation, because second will follow you, you can start own Graphic Design online ordering website. Or also after completion of you degree you can get orders from online projects and jobs websites and you can earn money from your home. You can do online jobs or work at home to earn money.
http://www.workathomenoscams.com

I recently started a small online business as a writer/editor, and I have a client overseas who wants me to take over his company’s copywriting duties. I’ve done one project for him and was paid through PayPal, but before we proceed I want to make sure that I’m doing everything legally. What considerations should I keep in mind when doing business with people overseas? Thanks in advance for any advice.

Just keep accurate business records of all of your revenues and expenses, including receipts for all expenses. Use those records to prepare your tax returns.

This is self-employment income and is documented on Form 1040, Schedule C. If the net profit is greater than $400, you’ll attach Schedule SE to calculate the self-employment tax.

About the only difference when dealing with overseas clientele is that you won’t receive a Form 1099-MISC documenting the income. The law requires you to use your business records to prepare your tax returns anyway, so not having those in hand does not change anything.

The opt-in page is a critical leverage point in online lead generation. Here are 10 tips for increasing its conversion rate…

Technical & Design Considerations:

1. An opt-in page, or “squeeze page”, has but one goal: to collect contact information. That said, there should be no other option but to fill out the form. No menu bar… no external links… nothing to distract your visitor from taking the desired action. This is proven to increase response.

2. As a general rule, the more information you ask for, the lower your response will be. For first contact, settle for the name and email address. Asking for the phone number will kill your response. It’s too soon to ask for it. Once you’ve built the relationship, you can always step up the involvement by offering another enticement for more of their contact information.

3. Be sure the opt-in form is “above the fold” so visitors don’t have to scroll down to see it. This is proven to increase conversions. If the copy is long, include another form at the bottom of the page.

4. Your opt-in page should be on its own domain such as www.AutomatedLeadsOnline.com. This makes it much easier to market and promote your opt-in page using offline methods.

copywriting Considerations:

5. Here’s a quick headline test: Your headline should speak to your target prospect, communicate a unique benefit, contain a certain amount of curiosity, use specific (non vague) language, and make an emotional appeal.

6. People are increasingly reluctant to give up their contact information. That means your copy needs to work extra hard to “sell” your free enticement. In fact, opt-in page copy is actually sales copy. Your prospect should desire your information so strongly, he is willing to give up his closely-guarded email address to get his hands on it.

7. Use bullet points to create intrigue and tease curiosity. They should point out what your prospect will discover on the “other side.” Make them as interesting as possible. They should be specific… unique… relevant… and intriguing.

8. Provide a “reason why” you’re offering this information for free. People need a reason for everything. A plausible “reason why” is powerful and persuasive.

9. Include a call to action that tells the reader exactly what you want them to do. Leave nothing to chance. Take advantage of the fact that people respond to direct commands. For example, “To get your hands on this valuable Special Report, simply fill in your name and the best email address to reach you.”

10. Use audio or video to add an extra dimension. This engages your visitors on another level, and gives you more chances to “sell” your prospect on opting-in.

Use these 10 tips as a general guide for creating effective lead-generating opt-in pages. But take don’t take them as gospel. Always test your opt-in page elements to determine the best-performing combination.

Joshua Aaron Stanley
http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-articles/secrets-of-online-lead-generation-10-ways-to-boost-optin-page-conversions-725153.html

I believe most of us came here to look for ways to make easy money online at home. So here I am, revealing ways to make easy money online at home!

Make easy money online at home with Google Adsense:

Google AdSense is the only way to make easy money online at home. Google AdSense, commonly just AdSense, is a powerful ad serving program run by Google. Website owners can enroll in this program to enable text, image and video advertisements on their websites. All you have to do is places some code on your website and ads will be displayed that are relevant to the content on your webpage. These ads are administered by Google and generate revenue on either a per-click or per-thousand-impressions basis.

Make easy money online at home with Internet Based Affiliate Marketing:

Internet Based Affiliate Marketing is one of the best ways to make easy money online at home. An Internet based affiliate program on the internet is simply where a website is selling a product and they will pay you a commission on every sale you generate from the traffic you send them. So all you have to do is send your visitors to another web page. Popular websites like ClickBank and CJ serve the purpose to help you do internet based affiliate marketing by finding the right product. There are a lot of techniques needed to do internet based affiliate marketing so a lot of ebooks are available online.

Make easy money online at home with Google Adwords:

Google Adwords is another pay-per-click advertising company run by Google. In Google Adwords, you can put advertisements at their search engine and get quality traffic. But the conversation depends on well is your landing page. Imagine you pay $0.10 for each quality visit and you got one sales of $30 in every 100 visits. You are making a profit of $20.

Make easy money online at home with Online Auctions:

Make easy money online at home with online auctions is one of the 20th and 21st century’s most reliable, true and tested,legitimate home based businesses. Simply buy low, sell high and take the difference to supplement your income. Millions of people sell on eBay or other online auctions websites as a full time job and make well over 6 figures.

Make easy money online at home with Paid Surveys:

While not one of the most profitable of legitimate home based businesses, Paid Surveys are simple and easy to do and Yes, you can make easy money online at home with them. You can make four or five dollars a pop, which can add up especially if you do a few paid surveys each day in your spare time.

Make easy money online at home Freelancing:

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Neither is there an easy way to make money online, especially at home. To make yourself employable, you need to ensure that you have the required skill sets as well as good marketing and interpersonal skills. A sound portfolio (for aspiring writers, editors, photographers, designers, etc.) is a must.

Today several private companies and MNCs are employing people who prefer working out of their homes. A host of opportunities exist for home employment in areas as diverse as telemarketing, selling insurance, data entry, typing, data conversion, copywriting, accounting , writing (academic and journalistic writing), editing and proof reading, web design, content development, Internet-based research for companies, graphic design and desktop publishing, programming, audio and video editing, translation work and etc is available.

With a fair bit of technology skills (typing and word processing skills, being PC literate), entrepreneurs can use the worldwide web to start companies and work at the convenience of their homes.

Before you get into the home employment groove, make sure you have the requisite qualifications, hardware, and time management skills to convince potential employers that you are the right person for the job.

There are a lot of ways to make easy money online at home, so you do not need to limit yourself with just one way. Explore more ways that you can to make easy money online at home.

Alexander Gorbachev
http://www.articlesbase.com/home-business-articles/make-easy-money-online-at-home-the-fundamentals-on-how-to-start-making-easy-money-online-at-home-728564.html

I’ve been a professional copywriter for more than 10 years. I’ve been with my current company for four, and I’m consulted on almost every aspect of our online business strategy. I’ve managed projects from a marketing manager’s standpoint as well as a copywriter’s, so I understand the difference between major wording issues and minor nuances. But, for some reason, this company — unlike others I’ve worked for — insists that final copywriting decisions, such as minor word-choice quibbles among the group, be made by the committee of stakeholders instead of the writer.

How do I:

1) establish and foster an environment that looks to copywriters as final — or at least tie-breaking — authorities on the subject versus the view that they’re little more than the people who can string a few good sentences together?, and

2) specifically address this issue with my boss(es) in order to remedy the inefficiency, ambiguity and frustration created by their micro-managing, non-copywriter impulses? [I'd word this better, of course. :-)]

I’d appreciate sincere answers for both questions, especially from bosses who understand the importance of trusting your copywriters. Thanks!

It seems like both questions are intertwined, so my answer will address both issues:

Compile a list of the projects you managed, choose the top three, and bullet-point how you performed the job efficiently, as both writer and manager. This will demonstrate how you performed as a leader and wordsmith. Also find substantiating data, such as client feedback, or results of a successful project, to bolster that you and other copywriters are authorities on the tone and "shape" of the final product.

Also document instances where the micro-managing non-copywriters led to an inefficient end process, and, thus, essentially weaker products. To bolster your case, you might also want to think about incorporating a Quality Assurance check from another senior copywriter (or a senior editor) as a vetter of quality into your proposal (unless it’s already a part of your culture).

You might want to also see if there are detail-oriented senior managers or executives at your company; these individuals may share your view that someone with years of experience in a field should be the final say in the project/product’s outcome. Such an individual would be an effective counselor before you make your final proposal.

Good luck! I hope this helps!