The quality of the content on your Website matters.

If you walked into a brick-and-mortar business office and noticed that the roof was leaking, the carpet was stained, and the furniture was out of date, would that affect your opinion of effectiveness and quality of the business? Of course it would! Environment matters, and in the world of online business, your Website design and content are your environment.

(That’s why it pays to hire a professional content copywriter or content editor to manage your Website’s content production.)

The excerpt below is from an article that discusses how costly content errors can be for online businesses. Click the link at the bottom to read the full original article.

“When communicating online, almost every message you make is done by written word. This is the main reason that it is essential that your website content be original and error-free.   Quality content can create an inherent trust in site visitors that leads to more conversions and profit. In order to stand out from the competition, you need to appear like an established authority on your subject matter. This is why the quality of your website content should not be ignored or dismissed as trivial.   When improper spelling on a website is fixed, it has been shown to increase sales as much as 100%. A single spelling or grammar mistake in your text can lead people to be wary of some sort of scam, sending potential customers running.”
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If you’re new to integrating SEO into your blog or Website, this article (see link below) provides basic beginner-level tips to get started. While we believe that it’s important to integrate SEO into your content, we also are not die-hard SEO supporters to the extreme. First and foremost, you should write your content for living, breathing human beings who will be visiting your Website- not for the Google bots.

However, just like it’s a good idea for a car manufacturer to pay attention to optimal gas mileage, where to place the cup holders, and what size tires and rims are popular when building a new car, it’s important for online businesses to consider SEO and keywords before, during and after the content creation phase of developing a Website.

SEO is a tool- it is not the core of your Website. Your content is the meat and potatoes of your online business.

“If the content is the King, we can say SEO is the Queen.”

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From Copyblogger’s Sonia Simone, here are the 7 essential elements of effective social media marketing.

1. Get your home base together

2. Who’s the face of your business?

3. Who else has your customers?

4. Pick a primary platform

5. Manage your time

6. Content first, conversation second

7. Don’t forget SEO

As an SEO copywriter, I especially like number seven. And while Darren Rowse had a guest poster a while back who knocked SEO copywriting pretty hard, I think taking a common sense approach to SEO copywriting is essential. You don’t have to fill your Website with senseless keyword-laden, awkward copy just to perform well on a SERP. Common sense should tell you to writer for your audience first, but pitch to the Search Engines as well. Quality SEO Copywriters know how to strike the perfect balance and still get the job done.

Here’s the opening from the original post. Click through the link to read for the full article.

“So in the past few weeks, we’ve told you it’s a bad idea to be a digital sharecropper, building your business entirely on someone else’s land (like Facebook, Tumblr, or any other third party you don’t control)”

 
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This is a Copywriter’s Manifesto written by Sandra Slavec that caught my eye. While some of her points are strongly worded, she mostly nails it. Copywriting can be a demanding trade, and it can be especially frustrating when a client comes to the table with expectations that don’t match with the copywriter’s own view of his or her trade.

Here’s what Sandra had to say. What do you think?

“A couple of months (ago) I scored a regular copywriting gig, and while I put a lot of time, energy and creativity into crafting great articles, I soon discovered that the client I was writing for didn’t share my views.

In fact the client simply didn’t value copywriting beyond anything more than a means to boost their website ranking on Google.

It was clear that we both had very different ideas about the value of copywriting and it was our differing views and expectations that put an end to our rather unhappy working partnership.

So on the basis of that ill-fated situation, I decided to write a copywriting manifesto to clarify and explain the real value of copywriting.

Copywriting is a conversation

There’s no need for heavy jargon and empty corporate speak in your copy.  No one is impressed or will even bother to read complicated and hollow monologues.  It only serves to create a barrier between your business and your customers, and they will simply go where the conversation speaks their language.

Copywriting solely for SEO purposes

SEO has its place, but to obsess about page ranking and visitor traffic to the exclusion of actually engaging with customers in a real and honest way is a waste of everybody’s time.  Technology and search engines won’t ‘convert’ visitors into paying customers, copy that is genuine, inviting and sounds human will win over the trust and confidence of your customers and make the sale.

Copywriting helps build relationships

Words attract attention, words create interest, words add personality to your message, words connect with customers, words convey feeling, and words provide the framework that carries your message, building a bridge between a business and their customers.

Copywriting is a creative process

It takes time to write great copy, to understand the audience you’re writing for and to create a ‘conversation’ that speaks their language.  It takes time to research the client’s business to fully grasp what they do, what they’re about, what makes them different and to be able to write from a knowledgeable point of view. Copywriting is a balancing act, meeting the client’s needs as well as their audience.

Great copywriting requires a great brief

The brief is the copywriter’s template it provides vital information about the client’s objectives, and provides the foundation on which to create purposeful content.  A poor brief or worse no brief won’t get you great results.  Copywriters are not mind readers, the more information we have the better your copy will be.

Copywriting helps create communities

Communities are based on open dialogue; it’s where likeminded people gather to talk with one another, share information and ideas.  Copywriting can help businesses create a community that encourages dialogue with its customers, shares their concerns and shows genuine interest in their customers.  Creating a community makes your business more accessible, more human, more than just about the sale.

Good copywriting is truthful

At the heart of all good copywriting is truthfulness.  Gaining trust and loyalty from customers can only come from writing honestly.  No scams, lies or embellishments – just straightforward information that is sincere will get you much better results every time.  Copy that is truthful is easier to write, it’s concise and focused.  Besides people can see right through the bullshit – so you’re not fooling anyone by fudging the truth.

Copywriting – it’s all about the words

There is power in the written word, without words you don’t have websites, blogs, emails or online communities, without words there is no SEO, webinars or e-books.  The online world is very much about words, conversations and interaction.  Trust the copywriter to know the right words to infuse your copy with so that it rings true, is lively, interesting and attracts attention for all the right reasons – people who want what you have, to be a part of your community.

Copywriting is a highly skilled craft in salesmanship.  Respect the copywriter – they’re your sales person, it’s their skill with words that make your business look good and appealing and bring you more sales!

And in the words of Brian Clark from Copyblogger fame “The Writer Runs This Show”“

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“The rules are stacked against web content being creative or entertaining, which is why you need to give your content writers special permission to break those rules.”

The 20% rule is a belief that employees should be free to pursue their own projects 20% of each workday. This principal may be especially important to creative professionals like graphic artists, graphic designers, Website designers, SEO copywriters, and bloggers. Nick Usborne claims that creative types, including content writers, should be expected to craft a project according to 80% client-defined specifications, and 20% creative freedom. What do you think? If this a good formula for success in Website development and SEO copywriting?
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“The distinction between SEO copywriters and SEO writers is a fine one, but it can make a distinct difference to your sales.”

Hiring an SEO copywriter versus an SEO writer means that you are getting the added benefit of a certain skill set that will help you increase your ROI. SEO copywriters know how to gently persuade an audience through word selection. A good SEO copywriter understands the subtle nuances of the English language, and employs those subtleties to work in your favor.

An SEO copywriter also understand SEO principals that affect writing styles and formatting such as character count for titles and slugs, and where to place vital targeted keywords. A skilled SEO copywriter also understands marketing and generates copy that is social-media friendly and formatted for Web readers. Marketing also extends to details such as where to place a call to action and keeping the target audience in mind during the writing process.

It pays to hire an SEO copywriter
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Is there a magic copywriting formula? If you are producing content purely for SEO purposes, shouldn’t you hire a overseas writer to produce high word count copy at low cost? Read this article to find out if your beliefs on SEO copywriting measure up, and shy it pays to hire quality SEO copywriters.
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Hiring a freelance SEO Copywriter has many benefits, which have nothing to do with increasing my salary. Attention to detail, mastery of the nuances of the English language, incorporated sales and marketing tactics proven to work, and engaging your target audience are a few that come to mind. What benefits of outsourcing to an SEO copywriter have you found?

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SEO copywriting is a fine art, and like ditch diggers, SEO copywriters are a dime a dozen, but good ones are hard to find. Find out what to look for in a good SEO Copywriter.

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Do you the truth about SEO copywriting? How much content do you really need? And what about keywords; do they have to be an exact match to land on a SERPs? Find out which popular beliefs in SEO copywriting are actually myths.

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Are you feeling the summertime writing blues? Can’t seem to get your head out of the clouds and sunshine and into your work? If the pull of warm temps, sunny skies, and far away beaches is proving too hard to ignore, you may be ready to engage your brain by participating in a writing retreat.

If you’re an in-house SEO copywriter or staff writer, you may not have the freedom to indulge in a writing retreat, but if you work as a freelance writer or own a company, a few days devoted solely to writing may be one of the best things to kick-start your inner muse and get back on track with your writing schedule. A writing retreat can be a relaxing, skill-building time to nurture your creative flow, or it can serve as a writing boot camp that hones your writing skills to a fine point and arms you for battling your competition- the choice is yours.

Creating Your Own Writing Retreat

If you’re wondering how to go about creating a writing retreat, getting advice from seasoned writers is one of the best ways to garner information. Writer Midge Raymond offers solid advice on how to create your own writing retreat.

“Sadly, lately my writing has taken a backseat to everything else. So last week, I decided that I would use the long holiday weekend for an unofficial writing retreat. “Unofficial” essentially means that I didn’t need to apply, travel, or formally do anything other than pledge to write — perfect for such a last-minute decision.” Read more from How to Create Your Own Writer’s Retreat…

photo credit: thanker212

I admit it, I have a love hate relationship with social media.

I know all the experts say it’s important, but I also know it can be a real time sucker. One of my goals for this year is to streamline my social media time.

Social Media Goals

Does this mean I’ll still goof off on facebook sometimes?- you bet. Will I still click that irrelevant yet funny link on Twitter?- of course. I don’t want to suck the life out of my work after all. Even people with office jobs chat with co-workers or eat doughnuts in the break room from time to time.

So, inspired by my social media goals, I found a post by Jay Baer to be most interesting and helpful. It’s titled 11 Mind-Blowing reasons Your Business Needs Facebook (link below). And from a practical standpoint, this post is very insightful.

Disqus and facebook Connect

I recently tried out a new Disqus plugin for comments on Blue Duck- partially because I wanted something better than the standard WP version, and partly because it came up in my research about facebook Connect. Disqus gives readers the option of signing in using a facebook account. It also makes it easy for readers to invite facebook friends to view a post or update a facebook status with a link to the website and the post they are reading.  I’m liking the Disqus plugin very much, and I am also liking what I am reading about facebook Connect.

Jay lists facebook Connect as one of the biggest potentials to come from the facebook craze, and I tend to agree. I was also intrigued to read the statistics he gives about facebook usage and growth trends. I also noticed that I spend WAY more time on facebook each day than the average user. Time to curb those status checking impulses a little better. Thanks, Jay, for calling it to my attention.

11 Mind-Blowing reasons Your Business Needs Facebook (Jay has a very neat website, too. Check it out!  )

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photo credit: ana young