question anyone?

February 22nd, 2008

I just realized that my last 3 blog entry titles were questions. Not a huge surprise because my job as a copywriter is to both ask and answer questions all day - it’s what I do. Here are the top 3 questions that I ask my clients at the beginning of any project.

1. What do you want to accomplish with your website, brochure, blog, direct mail, etc.? Sometimes this answer changes as we explore options.

2. Who is your audience for this particular project? You must know your market before you begin ‘talking’ to them.

3. Have you considered…? I so enjoy looking at what a client currently has going on, listening to their goals and, then, coming up with a new angle or idea.

And, while the questions are important, the listening is paramount. When these questions are answered, I glean personality, tone, critical words and phrases, concepts and data/information.

How can I drive traffic to my website?

February 7th, 2008

1. Blogs. Static websites don’t drive much traffic. Search engines are ranking sites by relevancy - they want to know if you know what you’re talking about, and if anyone cares what you’re talking about. If your site is about dogs, write about everything dogs (dog food, dog health, dog toys, dog breeds, etc.) and talk about what is happening in the dog world now. Blogs offer a productive solution - you are constantly adding content to your site (sending the search engines to visit you again and again) and you can add realtime content to your site.

2. Joint Venture Partnerships. Look around. Who else is selling to your market? One of my clients that I blog for owns a very hip mommy-gear store selling cool highchairs, crib blankets, slings and the like. When we start to look around we see that there is a world of store sites selling to our customers, but not selling our products! Natural baby toys, designer nursing clothes, organic baby food…these sites are all tangent to my client’s site. The beauty of the JVP is that you create a relationship with these other stores; then, you tell your list about your JVP’s store site. You offer your list value and you’ve just been permission marketed to the hilt by your JVP.

3. Keyworded Copy. Some of you have heard this story before. My research showed that in one month, 248 people searched for ‘copywriting for direct mail’ and 10.755 people searched for ‘direct mail copywriting’. Why wouldn’t you use this research to drive these people to your site? I know it is a bit creepy, digging into the minds of internet users everywhere, but it is useful - you are creating a resource based on what your customers are actually looking for. Really, it’s plain old marketing research - just a la SEO. Just make sure that the keyword research comes from a reliable source and that the keywords are strategically placed throughout your site and not dumped in like hay in a stable. Your site must also have VEO (optimization for the visitor) which means that it must be readable - to people. And, yes, using the keywords skillfully in your copy is… a skill! But success is possible at beginner, intermediate and professional levels.

Filed under How To | Tags: blogs, joint venture partnerships, keywords, search engines, SEO, web copy, web traffic | Comment (0)

Which makes you run faster?

February 6th, 2008

Nike Swoosh

Just Do It.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that brand imagery isn’t important…my design friends are cringing. My point is actually that the two platforms (writing and design) are equally important – and to some degree they serve different purposes.

The swoosh is Nike, right? You see it and you know, no question.

But, those words, those words! They are so compelling, so inspirational, so ‘get off your ass, put your shoes on and go for a run!’

When people ask why strong writing is important, I say because while the swoosh is Nike’s ID, their tagline is their call to action…and sales. Are you going to have a logo that is universally recognized like Nike? Probably not, so you better have an incredible message…that tells your customers exactly what to do.

Filed under Critical Copywriting | Tags: copywriting, corporate id, design, logos, taglines | Comment (1)