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Archive for the 'How to' category

How to write successful website copy. A beginner’s guide

17th
Mar
by Sarah Turner

You’ve decided you need a website. You’ve briefed a whizz-bang designer and you’ve found yourself agreeing to write the copy. It can’t be that difficult right? Wrong!

Writing successful website copy can be tough. But here are a few tips to get you started. 

Who’s calling?
Have a clear idea of who will be visiting your website. Will they already know about your product or service? What are they looking for? Are they going to order from your site? Know your visitor – and write punchy copy that will appeal to them.

Look at me!
Headlines and sub headings should grab your visitor’s attention. Once you’ve got ‘em hooked – keeping them on your site should be easy.

Size matters
Visitors will scan a page rather than read every word. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short and snappy.
• And use
• bullet points
• where you can.

What’s in it for me?
The history of your company may be of interest to you but your visitor just wants to know the benefits. Remember to tell them on the first page.

And………action!
Get your visitor involved by including Calls to Action: ‘download free information’, ‘call us now’ and ‘click here for more details’.

Eeeek! Be spider friendly
Use relevant keywords or phrases to ensure the search engine spiders know exactly what you site is all about. Don’t forget spiders also love clear, relevant copy so don’t drown your copy in search terms.

That’s so last year
Keep your website copy fresh and current by updating it regularly. Have a news page with company news, employee achievements or new product information. If you don’t care about your site – why will your visitor?

Don’t want to try this yourself? Call Turner Ink


Tags: web writing
Posted in How to, Website & SEO copywriting | comments icon No comments yet »

How to write effective sales emails

22nd
Jan
by Sarah Turner

What’s your point?
Ask yourself ‘why am I doing this?’ And no, ‘because the boss told me to’ is not a good enough reason. Seriously. What do you want from this? What are you hoping to achieve? In marketing lingo, what are you objectives?  

Have an awesome subject line. Or at least a rather good one.
Your subject line needs to be truthful. Yeah, that means don’t lie. And it needs to promise something of real value and interest for your reader: Learn something. Get something. Be entertained. Don’t miss out. There should be a promise in there. And it should be about ten words long. 

Get to the bloody point
People are busy. So get the offer on the table. And fast. Say you understand their problem. (There’s always a problem.) And how you have the solution. Don’t waffle on with pleasant introductions and anecdotes.  

Benefits, not features
Show how your product or service can help; not just what it does. Say it will help your reader do something in half the time. Or reach their target weight even quicker. Or make them feel better within 3 weeks (or their money back). Or increase productivity by 53%. Be as precise as you can.   

One message, one love
Don’t be tempted to get all your offers in one email. Most of your readers have the ability to digest one sales message at a time and that’s it. You can always send another email next week with another offer.

Give stuff away
Everyone loves a freebie. It doesn’t really matter what it is. So tell your reader to go to your website right now and download a free e-book. Or fill in a simple form to claim a free pen. Or order in the next 24 hours and get 10% off of your order. Just give, give, give.

Give instructions
Tell your reader what you want them to do: Download this pdf. Call us now. Visit the website to buy. Email now for a free sample. And make sure a member of your team is available to take that call; make sure the product is actually available on the website; make sure all your links are working. Your reader has shown interest. Now don’t screw up. 

Make it personal
Target your sales emails properly. A superbly written email is of no interest whatsoever if it goes to the wrong person. And get a name. Write ‘dear John’ rather than ‘dear subscriber’. Make someone feel special.

Opt in (or opt out)  
This is really important. You need to make it really easy for your reader to opt out or unsubscribe. It’s that law. Make an unsubscribe link is at the bottom of your email.


Tags: sales emails
Posted in How to | comments icon No comments yet »

How to write a press release that gets published

21st
Dec
by Sarah Turner

Back in the olden days, newspaper and magazine editors would make paper planes from badly written press releases. Now they have the power of the delete button. It’s a tough world out there.

Here are a few tips for getting your press releases published. 

Who’s reading this?
Think about who is going to read your news and use the language of the publication. Write different releases for different publications if necessary. What’s great for the local newspaper won’t get a look in at Vogue.

Be a neutral observer
You may be tempted to shout from the rooftops that your product or service is simply the most fabulous thing ever to happen to the universe. Like…ever. Well don’t. Press releases must have a neutral voice and deal with the facts only. It’s up to your customers to decide if your product or service is totally fab.

Newsworthy, timely, unique
Make sure your news release is…well, news. The information on a release should be current, interesting and different. And bear in mind the lead times of some publications – especially monthlies. Sending details of your ‘World Cup offer’, long after the players have packed their fake tan and headed home, won’t win you any brownie points with the editors.

Headline
The headline needs to be catchy, not more than ten words and a summary of the entire story.

First Paragraph
The first paragraph should be roughly 30 words long, contain the hook of the story and answer the questions, what? why? when? how? where? and who? Say what the news is first – and then who said it.

Editor’s edit from the bottom of a press release upwards so use the inverted pyramid technique i.e. get all the juicy stuff in the first paragraph.  

Body Copy  

Fluff is what you find down the back of the sofa. Don’t use it in your press release. Remember – you’re a neutral observer so don’t use superlatives and stick to the facts.

This is where you fill in the details – colours; sizes; area of the world covered; where the product is available and who’s going to use it.

Any quotes need to be interesting, and sound like real speech – not like a sales pitch. A quote from your MD saying, “We are pleased to sign this million dollar deal” is dull and obvious. A more useable quote would be, “this new deal means we can open another factory in the North East and create 200 new jobs”. 

Contact
At the end of the release have the contact name of the person issuing the release, plus a phone number, fax number, email address and website address. Make it as easy as possible for a journalist to get hold of you.

Editor’s notes
The Editor’s notes at the bottom of the page are an opportunity to give additional background information on the company: How long has your company been in business; what the company does; who is the parent company. Don’t clog this section up with information already in the release.


Tags: press releases
Posted in How to | comments icon No comments yet »

How to write killer sales letter copy and get more business

22nd
Nov
by Sarah Turner

The good old fashioned sales letter is often the first contact a prospective customer has with your company. Get it right and it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Get it wrong and your letter will be filed under B for bin.

1. Woo-hoo I’m here!
You must grab the attention of the letter opener within about 4-8 seconds, so you’ll need a catchy headline or snazzy opening sentence.   

Get straight to the point and don’t waffle: ‘I am writing this letter to you because I would like to take the opportunity to introduce our company blah blah blah’ will have your letter heading for the trash quicker than you can say ‘boring’. 

2. What’s in it for me, me, me?
Tell your prospective customer about the benefits of your product or service – not the features. And try and stick to one quality benefit so the message remains clear.

So don’t say, ‘the new Quicko vacuum cleaner has a turbo capacity that is twice that of the most cleaners’. Instead say, ‘Quicko cleaners: clean your floors in half the time’. 

3. We’re good. No, really we are.
Once you’ve outlined the benefits, let your customer see they are in good company by telling them who else bought your product: ’50% of all homeowners now own a Quicko cleaner’. 

5. What next?
Let the reader know what you want them to do next. So at the end of your letter have: Call a number; fill in a form; visit the website; order before next Wednesday and receive a FREE brush. <

6. P.S
After the sign-off include a PS. Research has shown that readers often read the headlines and the P.S before they decide whether they want to read the whole letter. So have something like: Visit our website at www.quickocleaners.co.uk before Wednesday 29th to receive your FREE brush.


Tags: sales letters
Posted in How to | comments icon No comments yet »

How to hire a copywriter who’s right for you and your business

22nd
Oct
by Sarah Turner

Ok, you’ve decided you need a copywriter. And that’s a good thing. Because now you can get on with doing your proper work and leave all the word stuff to a professional.

But how do you hire a copywriter? Where do you start?

The good news is there are lots of good copywriters around. The bad news. Yep, you guessed it. There are some pretty awful ones as well.
So here are a few tips on how to hire a copywriter that’s right for you and your business.

  • Ask around. If you’re already working with a web designer, graphic designer or marketing agency chances are they know a local, experienced copywriter. And speak to other businesses you know. Who wrote your suppliers’ sales letters? Or your customers’ websites?
  • Google it. Ahhh the modern day mantra. There are zillions of copywriters on the Web. So be specific. Search for ‘website copywriter’ , ‘sales letter copywriting’ or ‘Copywriter Manchester’ and see who comes up.
  • Found a copywriter? Now have a good look at their website. Is it well-written? Up to date? Error free? A copywriter who doesn’t care about their own website probably won’t care about yours.
  • What experience have they got? A good copywriter can write about anything and in any tone. So don’t be put off if your copywriter has never written about rust resistant plastic covered clothes pegs before.
  • More importantly, make sure your copywriter has experience in the medium you need. SEO website copywriting, press releases and direct mail require different copywriting skills. Make sure your copywriter has them.
  • Give them a buzz. Copywriters are on the whole a pretty friendly bunch and more than happy to chat about what they do. Chances are your project will take a while. So the copywriter you hire will have to be somebody you get on with and who shares your marketing vision. Or at least gets your sense of humour.
  • Ask lots of questions. How busy are they? Do they work full-time? Can they attend 9.00am meetings? Can they liaise with your web designer? If you’re not feeling it – move on.
  • How much will it cost? The $64,000 question. Or it could be less than that! An experienced copywriter will be able to give you a ballpark figure over the phone.
  • Once you’ve had an initial meeting or a longer phone call, your copywriter will be able to send you a detailed estimate. Check to see how many drafts are included; what’s the timescale; and whether a deposit is needed.

Happy with everything? Sign the estimate and see How to brief a copywriter.


Tags: copywriter hire, Copywriting
Posted in How to | comments icon No comments yet »

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