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Hard working words: An interview with Andy Maslen, copywriter, speaker, coach and author. Part 2

4th
Mar
by Sarah Turner

This is the second part of my interview with Andy Maslen. (Read part one here where Andy reveals the inspiration for his latest book, what he really thinks about content mills and why he proofreads his tweets.)

TI: So tell us a bit more about your background Andy. How did you get into this copywriting malarkey?
AM: I was booted out of my job as a marketing director and needed to replace my income. Since I was always sneaking off to write copy, this seemed like a good direction to go in. Copywriting was always my favourite part of the job, from when I joined that company as a marketing assistant.

TI: You’ve now been a copywriter for over 24 years. What’s been your best project in that time?
AM: Easy! The renewal series I wrote a couple of years ago for BBC Top Gear Magazine. Nothing has ever come close to writing a sales letter from Jeremy Clarkson.

TI: My best projects are where clients give me free stuff! Ok, so what’s been your most successful project?
AM: I’ve written a few control-beating DM packs over the years. Just recently, an integrated campaign we created for a b2b magazine went 30% over target. That was satisfying.

TI: So would you consider yourself a specialist or a generalist?
AM: I’m a specialist. In direct marketing copy for publishers and membership organisations. And in b2b copy. But I’ll write about virtually anything as long as it’s legal and doesn’t make my hair stand on end.

TI: Do you prefer writing direct copy over web copy then? Or do you enjoy writing any type of copy?
AM: I love it all, but if it was my last day in harness and I could choose anything to write, give me a direct mail letter for a consumer magazine.

TI: And do you have a particular time of the day you prefer to write?
AM: Yes. 8.30 am – 11.00 am and 3.00pm – 6.00pm.

TI: What’s your favourite part of the copywriting process? Do you enjoy research? Immersing yourself in someone else’s business? Or getting down to the writing?
AM: If you categorise copywriters as researchers, planners or writers, then I’m a writer. Nothing beats the pleasure of getting a sentence just right – so that any other words or structure wouldn’t be as good. But, truthfully, you can’t do that unless you’ve also figured out how to achieve the client’s objectives. I love selling too – that feeling when you’ve just closed a deal is pretty sweet.

TI: What’s the single best investment you’ve made in your copywriting career?
AM: A copy of How to Write Sales Letters That Sell by Drayton Bird. And my chair, a Haag. (Whoops, that’s two.)

TI: We’ll allow that! Any copywriting horror stories you want to share?
AM: At 38, being told to do something less than sensible in a briefing meeting by a client who justified it by saying, “I think I know what I’m talking about – I do have two years’ experience of marketing”. Me sitting there biting my tongue and reflecting that I was writing copy professionally when she was learning about verbs and nouns.

TI: Aaah yes. I was once told by a client that she didn’t think she needed a copywriter because she had an English O’ Level and could do it herself.
AM: [Laughing] Others include arguing with a client, while jetlagged, thinking, “I can win this”. Oh, and when I was still in a corporate job, I printed 30,000 copies of a catalogue with a typo – “cosnumer” instead of “consumer” – on a thumb tab. (Not that it rankles, oh no!)

TI: Is there a company you haven’t written for that you’d like to?
AM: Maybe The New Yorker (a brand of Condé Nast rather than a company). I find that the most rewarding relationships are with individuals not companies. I have certainly pursued companies only to find that the glamour of the brand name didn’t translate into, for example, prompt payment.

TI: So what’s up next? What other projects have you got in the pipeline?
AM: My next book is at the first draft stage. It’s about how to run a successful freelance copywriting business. You know about that one as you generously agreed to let me interview you for it! I’m really excited about it – I think it’s going to help a lot of people avoid the mistakes I made, save themselves a lot of time/energy and make some decent money.

I’m thinking about maybe creating some sort of copywriting inner circle where people join for an annual membership fee and get one-to-one advice, teleseminars and stuff (hmm, that doesn’t sound too businesslike does it?). Watch this space.

TI: Sounds great Andy. Lastly, how can people get in touch with you?
AM: Via our websites www.sunfish.co.uk and www.andymaslen.com. And my blog. Or email me at andy.maslen@sunfish.co.uk. You can also follow me on Twitter @andymaslen.

TI: Andy, thanks so much for your time today.
AM: My pleasure.

 

 

Andy-Maslen-copywriterAndy Maslen is an independent copywriter specialising in corporate publicity, direct marketing and subscriptions.

He has written copy for online and offline marketing campaigns for, among others, The Economist Group, Emap, the DTI, BBC Worldwide, Hamleys, The London Stock Exchange, The British Standards Institution, The Landscape Design Trust, Euromoney, Informa, Time Out, The New York Times Company and TSL Education.

Andy is a lifetime Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing and author of Write to Sell: the Ultimate Guide to Great Copywriting; 100 Great Copywriting Ideas: from Leading Companies Around the World; and The Copywriting Sourcebook: How to Write Better Copy, Faster – For Everything from Ads to Websites, all published by Marshall Cavendish.

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Tags: 100 great copywriting ideas, andy maslen, copywriting sourcebook, direct mail, sales letters, write to sell
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Hard working words: An interview with Andy Maslen, copywriter, speaker, coach and author. Part 1

3rd
Mar
by Sarah Turner

I’m a little giddy about this month’s interview. I’m delighted to be joined by copywriting expert/god/guru Andy Maslen, who’s also a well-known speaker, coach and author. During our conversation we discussed everything from Andy’s latest book and the future of copywriting to content mills and Andy’s goal-setting paperclip system!

We talked for a while. So part two of this interview is tomorrow.

Turner Ink: Hey Andy. Thanks for taking the time out to chat. I’ve just finished reading 100 Great Copywriting Ideas, which I found extremely useful. Your latest book, The Copywriting Sourcebook, has just hit the shelves. Tell us a bit about it.
Andy Maslen: Hey Sarah! Good to hear from you. The Copywriting Sourcebook came from a couple of places. One was me thinking back to my early days as a corporate marketing assistant. I had to write for loads of different formats – as I still do – from press releases and exhibition materials to direct mail letters and press ads. I guess I was lucky we didn’t have to write for the web back then – it would only have added to the stress!

Nobody could really tell me much so I spent a lot of time struggling to understand the requirements of the format itself before I could even attempt to write copy. I wanted to create a reference book that would give people lots of shortcuts – on structure, what to include, tone of voice and so on – for 12 formats from web pages to case studies. In an early attempt at coming up with a title with the publishers, we tossed around the idea of Copywriting SatNav. You plug in your destination and the book takes you there by the quickest route.

TI: So it differs quite a bit from your first book Write to Sell?
AM: Yes. In Write to Sell, I wrote a lot about the techniques and principles of good copywriting, but didn’t really give many real-world examples. Both 100 Great Copywriting Ideas and The Copywriting Sourcebook provide examples of actual working copy.

TI: So who’s the Sourcebook aimed at Andy? Other copywriters? Or those people that get dumped with ‘writing words’ as part of their jobs?
AM: It’s aimed at anyone who writes copy, from ‘dumpees’ to pros, but there are three main audiences. In-house copywriters and marketers. Freelancers who maybe want to get someone else’s take on the jobs they write every day. And entrepreneurs who have started a business and need to write copy for their website and offline marketing materials.

TI: I know you’re a busy copywriter, coach and speaker. So how do you find the time to write books as well?
AM: I’m lucky in that I can write fast when I’ve got something to say. When I’ve got a book on the go I set a daily word target, which is the agreed word count for the final book divided by the number of working days till the manuscript submission deadline. Then I put five paper clips on my monitor every Monday morning and put one back in the box for each day I hit my target.

TI: In Write to Sell, you have a useful toolkit for stimulating creative juices (which is stuck to my wall, by the way!). Do you still have times when the words don’t flow? What do you do to get going? Do you use your own toolkit?
AM: I do have moments when it all feels like a grind, but thankfully, the older I get the fewer those times are. I think that’s a product of having a deeper well of past projects and ideas to draw from. I do use my own toolkit – it’s a real list! (And I’m really flattered you have it pinned to your wall!) What works best for me is walking in the garden, and exercise.

TI: Lately we’ve seen the rise of certain sites where you can buy web content for as little as £6 a page. Where does that leave professional copywriters like us Andy?
AM: It leaves us exactly where we were before, writing intelligent, responsive copy for our clients. It’s not in competition. It’s there to a do a different job, which as far as I can see is some very mechanistic SEO ratings improvement. I don’t even believe it will last, as Google is smart enough not be gamed by these tactics.

TI: But do clients recognise quality writing any more?
AM: I think some clients recognise quality writing … and some don’t. You just have to choose who you’re going to work for! I have clients who would give you the bum’s rush if you quoted £20 for a 500-word piece of copy. Others, I know, are dropping their regular writers in favour of the content mills. You can’t argue with that reasoning, you just have to move on and find other clients.

TI: So what’s the future of copywriting? And copywriters?
AM: How long have you got! Here are a couple of predictions. One, it’s not going to go away. Every new technology gives rise to more written communication, not less. Just look at all the white papers, blogs and special reports about social media.

Two, the distinction between web copywriting and print copywriting will gradually disappear. Either because eventually all print media will disappear (unlikely) or because the technology will become so seamless that the focus will shift back to selling/influencing skills rather than PageRanks. Copywriters have a golden opportunity to raise their game – and their income. As more and more people start businesses, the market for copy will increase. But copywriters need to learn or polish some fundamental business skills, like price-setting, negotiating and selling.

TI: Yes, that an interesting point. Great writing skills are essential to being a good copywriter. But you need great business skills to run a successful copywriting business.
AM: That’s right.

TI: You and I chat on Twitter, Andy. What other social media channels do you use, if any?
AM: I use LinkedIn occasionally and now it’s linked to Twitter I like the cross-flow of ideas and readers between the two. I have a blog, which I have recently started posting to much more regularly, again powered by the Twitter effect of being able to tweet about longer and more involved blog posts. I’m on Facebook but very half-heartedly. Jo Kelly, our other copywriter is our Queen of Facebook!

TI: But with the onset of blogging, Twitter, Facebook, etc. do you think writing standards are slipping? Is it now more acceptable to have apostrophes in the wrong place and to write their instead of there?
AM: Writing standards are moving in every direction, all at once. Some people are getting better and better, some not. But what Twitter does is make bad writers more visible. I think the ease and speed of Twitter and the rest, particularly if you’re sending your tweets via your mobile, mean you’re less careful to proofread your stuff. I mean, who proofreads tweets anyway!? (I do – sad.)

TI: I do as well! I also punctuate my text messages.
AM: [Laughing] Well for me, it’s not acceptable to punctuate wrongly or break basic rules of composition, but clearly others feel differently! It does make me smile (ruefully) when I see tweets from professional writers that say “your” instead of “you’re”. Not much of an ad for your abilities, is it?

See part 2 of this interview tomorrow where Andy discusses his next book, his best project of all time (it involves Jeremy Clarkson!), and which company he’d really like to work for.

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Tags: 100 great copywriting ideas, andy maslen, copywriting sourcebook, write to sell
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It’s a Wide World out there: An interview with Miles Jepson of WideWorldMag

20th
Jan
by Sarah Turner

What do you get when you put four outdoor-loving sports-mad mates together? WideWorldMag.co.uk that’s what. A site dedicated to outdoor pursuits and adventures, and tipped by The Independent as ‘one to watch’ in 2010.

It does help that the four guys involved consist of two experienced journos; a marketing whiz; and a creative web designer. And it’s the designer behind WideWorld’s look, Miles Jepson, who I’m pleased to be talking with today.

Turner Ink: Hey Miles. Thanks for stopping by. How long has WideWorld been up and running now?
Miles Jepson: We went live with the first version of the site in May 2009. We’ve just launched the second version.

TI: So how did it come about and why?
MJ: I’ve known Alex Hannaford and Rob McNicoll for ages and I met Ed Chipperfield through Alex. We’re all keen outdoorsy types. So we finally decided to combine our skills and create a site for people like us, basically!

We thought about it for a year before we launched the site. And of course there were very little in the way of start-up costs as we’re working for free for the first year.

TI: Who’s the site aimed at?
MJ: Well anyone from 16-60 really. Or older. The site is not so much aimed at those obsessive weekly triathlon types. It’s for people who want something new or exciting to do at the weekends. So we cover running, hiking, sailing, skiing, travel, Nordic walking, pot holing, abseiling and outdoor adventures – to name just a few.

We want people to search for activities in their area. And they can do this by just tapping in their postcode. Some recent London trips included a ‘London Canal Safari’ and ‘Sewers of London’ trip.

TI: What are the features of the site then? What do you get if you join?
MJ: Registration is absolutely free. And then you have access to the WideWorld directory which is the biggest of its kind on the Web and includes 100s of activities. There are product reviews and competitions, which you’re automatically entered into. And you also have access to the archive of articles including the popular How to… series.

TI: Oh yes. I’ve read the How to run a marathon and How to survive in a jungle…just in case!
MJ: Those guides have been very popular. Plans for this year include producing the How to…guides as ebooks.

TI: So who’s in the WideWorld team?
MJ: Ed has written for Loaded, The Sunday Times and Men’s Health. Alex has written for The Guardian, The Independent and The Big Issue. Rob McNicoll is an online marketing consultant and then there’s me of course. I’ve worked on design projects for Sony, Microsoft and Reebok.

TI: So where are your contributors based?
MJ: All over the world. We have about 40 journalists and writers who regularly contribute. They review gear, interview sports stars, research travel features and get sent to cover various events. We sent someone to the Barbados Sailing Regatta last year. And we regularly feature explorers on adventures round the globe. Anyone can contribute, in fact. Just send an article to Alex or Ed in the first instance.

TI: The site got very popular very quickly. How did you market it?
MJ: Rob set up a Facebook fan page. And we use Twitter a lot, as well as email marketing. A lot of the site’s growth has been by word of mouth.

TI: So what are the plans for year 2?
MJ: Year 1 was a soft launch really. It was about making sure the site was working really well, and building up our subscribers. We now have 5000 unique visitors a month and 25,000 page views.

In Year 2 we’re pushing the marketing up a notch. We’re going to create customised blogs; we’ve got a couple of contributors who will be on expeditions this year, so you’ll be able to follow their highs and lows via their blog. We’re creating a series of ebooks as I previously mentioned. And we’re just in the process of creating an iPhone app.

Miles JepsonTI: So how about the design? What was the thinking behind that?
MJ: I wanted to move away from that loud trashy skater boy look. I wanted a design that was clean and white and appealed to as wide an audience as possible. It’s similar to an online newspaper format and it’s very easy to navigate.

TI: And finally. When free stuff comes into the office, for you guys to review, who gets it? (Hint hint!)
MJ: Hardly ever me! I’ve managed to grab the odd pair of trainers. Oh and I got a pair of goggles once!

TI: Thanks Miles. Visit the WideWorldMag website. And follow them on Twitter.

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Online PR: what’s it all about? An interview with Jonny Stark of immediate future

19th
Nov
by Sarah Turner

For this month’s interview I’ve managed to pin down the ridiculously busy Jonny Stark, an Account Director from online PR agency immediate future, to talk about online PR, using Social Media and, of course, Twitter.
 

Turner Ink: Hey Jonny, thanks for stopping by. Ok, tell us a bit about online PR. How does it differ from traditional PR?

Jonny Stark: People get hung up about the differences between online PR and traditional PR. But at their core they’re very much the same: it’s all about relationships. In the old world those relationships are with journalists and analysts. In the new world those relationships are with Facebook users, Tweeps, and bloggers – those with influence.

TI: So how do online press releases differ from offline press releases?
JS: The important thing with any press release is that it tells an interesting story. And that goes across the board, whether it’s online or offline.

The main difference is the issue of search engine optimisation (SEO). A press release for online use will be optimised for keywords or keyphrases appropriate for the campaign. We want anybody searching online for our clients’ products or services to be able to find relevant, positive articles as easily as possible. And you can embed video and images too, which bring the story to life.

TI: So that’s what’s often referred to as SEO PR?
JS: It’s one part of SEO PR: any news releases, blog content, or articles will be optimised with keywords. The other is the proactive influencer relations that go along with it!

TI: So is the aim to drive more traffic to a client’s website?
JS: The aim is to have the first few pages of Google full of positive, relevant articles, reviews or comments about our clients’ products of services. These include not only the press releases and official articles, but also features and posts written by third party influencers because they are interested in what we have to share or say. That can result in increased traffic, but it’s really about building a brand’s reputation…

TI: And how measurable is online PR?
JS: Well, there’s a lot of talk about this. It is measurable of course. There are tools like Google Analytics which measure the increased traffic to your site and the source of the traffic. But that’s only useful if increasing traffic was the aim of the campaign. If it’s about improving brand perception then it becomes a question of sentiment. There are various bits of software that claim to measure sentiment. But the best way is still to use real people! So we take a snapshot of a client’s online reputation at the beginning of a campaign and then we monitor it throughout. There is a ream of data available. The trick is knowing what data to choose and how to analyse it properly.

TI: How is Social Media used in online PR?
JS: Social Media is all about networks. Multiple communication channels which are all interlinked. And we simply use whatever’s the right medium for getting our message across to the right people. So it may mean focusing on blogs, YouTube videos, Twitter or Flickr. But the great thing is, as they are all networked, your campaigns spread out and kickstart conversations all over the place! Interaction is crucial. It’s what makes Social Media so powerful.

TI: Ok, talking of Twitter. How are your clients using it?
JS: BMI Baby, Sony and Total Jobs Group are just some of our clients that are using Twitter. And they’re using it in different ways which are right for their brands. For instance, BMI Baby uses it to let their customers know about the latest deals. While Sony uses it for targeting key media and technology influencers in Europe.

TI: So how involved are you with the tweets? Do you write them?
JS: No we don’t. We encourage our clients to write their own tweets. But we will advise them on relevant trending topics. And we monitor mentions and retweets using tools like TweetBeep.

TI: So why do you encourage clients to write their own tweets?
JS: Well, the whole point about Social Media is that it’s a way to be authentic and transparent with your customers. So whether that’s a Facebook page, Twitter, or blogging, it’s a way of adding a human element to the brand. For me, it’s about enabling a company to reveal itself and build a rapport with its customers. If a PR company writes tweets and blog posts then you lose that authenticity.

TI: How are brands getting onboard with Twitter?
JS: Some are using Twitter very well. Others are not as successful. There are numerous examples where a Twitter account has been set up but there have been no tweets for 6 months. This is actually brand damaging. You’re better off with nothing at all. I think a lot of companies underestimate the time that’s needed to manage their Social Media activity.

With Twitter no one size fits all. It’s really important a company has a clear idea of who they’re trying to reach – whether that’s industry people or customers – before they start using Social Media, and not the other way round. You can read more about brands using Twitter in immediate future’s white paper.

TI: What sort of clients does immediate future work with?
JS: When we started out, we were a traditional B2B PR agency. But in the last few years we’ve become well known for our online PR work for big brands such as Sony Europe, Bailey’s, BMI Baby, Hotel Chocolat and the BBC.

TI: So do you work alongside traditional PR companies? Or instead of?
JS: Some of our clients only run online PR campaigns. But most will do both. So we’ll often work alongside a traditional PR agency or we’ll do the offline PR as well.

TI: How will online PR develop in the next few years?
JS: I think that the digital discipline as a whole will change. Digital teams from CRM, marcomms and PR are beginning to converge already; in my opinion the future will see a full merger.

TI: And how do you see Social Media changing or developing in the next few years?
JS: Well, with regards to Social Media, it’s all about upcoming technological advances – semantic web; faster access including anytime, anywhere access; increased web personalisation etc. and the impact that they will have on our behaviour.

TI: And finally, how did you get into online PR Jonny? Do you come from a traditional PR background?
JS: Well I started out at the London School of Journalism, before getting in to freelance publishing and working for a number of traditional PR agencies. But with online PR the core skills are the same – being able to spot a story, building relationships… I think the best online PRs come from a traditional PR background, although I would say that!

TI: Thanks Jonny for your time. 

 

Jonny Starck, immediate futureJonny Stark, Account Director at immediate future, has worked across a number of on (and off) line campaigns for a wide variety of immediate future’s clients. From conversations about Hotel Chocolat’s luxurious chocolate treats, to talking about the new must-have TV from Sony, he has gained valuable experience as a digital implementer, not just a digital theorist.

As a result, he has seen firsthand what works and, perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t.

 

 

 

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Tags: facebook, press releases, public relations, seo writing, twitter, youtube
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Putting the ‘oh’ into SEO: An interview with Rob Dobson of SEM London

9th
Oct
by Sarah Turner

This month’s interview is with colleague and SEO consultant Rob Dobson of SEM London. Over a pot of hummus and some carrot sticks (true!) we chatted about a number of things including, why blogging is so great for SEO, the future of SEO, and why Rob still hasn’t got any content on his website!

Turner Ink: Ok Rob. Tell us a bit about what you do. You do more than keyword research don’t you?
SEM London: Well what I do is market a company on the internet. I increase a company’s internet presence. So that includes detailed keyword research, website optimisation and inbound linking. And then of course there’s PPC campaigns, integrating blogs into websites, and helping clients set up their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages. So yes. It’s a bit more than keyword research.

TI: How has your work changed from a couple of years ago?
SEM: Well, I guess the use of social media has been the biggest change. Potential customers now expect companies to engage with them on different levels whether that’s blogging, Facebook, Twitter or other social media opportunities.

TI: What’s involved in the SEO process? Where do we start?
SEM: Of course keyword research starts the whole process off and is the most important thing to get right. Keyword research not only tells you what key phrases to target in your content but it can even dictate what web address you choose for your site.

TI: I wrote a post a while back about dodgy SEO ‘experts’. How do you differentiate yourself?
SEM: Well, when I’ve been approached by clients that have worked with other SEOs, the thing they have in common is the lack of proper keyword research. Without detailed keyword research it’s just a bunch of guesswork.

And I don’t bamboozle clients with loads and loads of reports that they won’t read. I’d much rather show clients how to use Google Analytics and analyse other metrics, so they can get a real feel for their visitors, customers and potential customers.

To be honest, I just don’t know how some of these SEO ‘experts’ justify £500 a month and then just chuck a fat monthly report at their clients. So many clients come to me having spent a few thousand pounds – and they’re not really sure what on! If a monthly fee is how you wish to charge then it should be clear exactly what you’re getting for that fee each month.

TI: There still seems to be a lot of smoke and mirrors around SEO. Why is that?
SEM: Well there shouldn’t be. It’s true that search engines like Google keep the algorithms – the criteria they use to rank your site – a secret, and, of course, they often change this.

But SEOs should be transparent. You should say what you’re going to do, how you’re going to do it and the sort of results you’d expect to see.

TI: Is blogging important for SEO?
SEM: Definitely. If a search engine doesn’t see your site evolving with fresh content or increased backlinks then, rightly so, it decides your site should be given less weight over time. That’s why SEO and website content is an ongoing thing. A blog is a brilliant way to get new content quickly and easily on to your site. A website should never be ‘finished’!

TI: Do you make any promises about getting a client on to page 1 of Google?
SEM: No never. Because you can’t promise something that isn’t entirely under your control. Organic search results cannot be bought. But with proven techniques your chances are greatly enhanced. So when a company starts an SEO campaign they should realise that it needs its own annual spend and it’s an ongoing process. For large organisations this may even require a new role to be created. Website, Search and Social Media Liaison Manager would be a good title!

TI: Tell us a bit more about link campaigns. Why are incoming links so important for the Search Engines?
SEM: An inbound link is a vote of confidence. A vote from Site A to Site B is saying that Site B is worth checking out. But the quality of links is essential. A hundred links from non related or irrelevant sites is less valuable than five from well renowned and trusted sites.

So a link campaign consists of researching linking opportunities. On a basic level this can be links on free business directories or something like Best of the Web Blogs as well as paid-for directories. On a higher level there are things like article marketing.

TI: What’s around the corner for SEO?
SEM: SEO is still very much in its infancy. So I expect demand to increase and the job of SEO to become harder. Much of the real change will depend on the direction the search engines take. Improvements in localised search and possible changes within paid search will provide new opportunities.

TI: What does an SEO project cost?
SEM: Basic keyword research and website optimisation can start in the region of £1.5k.This will get you started on the road of an SEO strategy. Unfortunately marketing yourself online is an ongoing process and an annual budget should be allocated to it. A beneficial initial strategy may cost up to £5k.

TI: So tell us a bit about your background Rob. What did you do before you became an SEO bod?
SEM: In 1995 I was running a small company’s computer network and maintaining their website. I taught myself HTML and how websites should be built. I even did a few myself although I was never much of designer! I got into SEO back in 2003 as I felt the content and the ‘findability’ of the site was more important than all the design bells and whistles that were going on at the time.

The internet taught me about the internet. And I am constantly learning about this evolving industry.

TI: So what’s happening with your website Rob? When are you actually going to get some content on there?
SEM: I know, I know! I first need to find myself a good SEO copywriter. Ha ha! Time constraints and my clients’ success have meant I’ve been unable to practise what I preach. I guess in a way I’m lucky that I haven’t had time to get my own site – SEM London – sorted. But I will do soon. I promise.

TI: And finally, how can people get hold of you Rob?
SEM: Well I have managed to complete a LinkedIn page!

Rob Dobson, SEM LondonRob Dobson is a freelance SEO Consultant. He works with clients directly or via design and development agencies. He has worked for South West Trains, PayPoint, MTV, SITA, and Sanderson as well as many SMEs.

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Tags: facebook, linkedin, seo company, seo writing, Social media, twitter
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