7 Easy Steps to Getting Your Copywriting or Design Samples Up on a Website
April 30th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.com
To all the copywriters who send me emails asking for work, let me throw you a bone. The best way to attract interest in your talent is to get a website up. Not just because you should care what I think, but because you should care what anyone who entertains the possibility of hiring you to write their copy thinks. This goes for designers too, although I’ve never met one who was hard up for projects; most have their work cut out for them.
Step 1. Gather those copywriting or design samples.
Ideally, this should be anything that’s been published on behalf of a client - marketing brochures, magazine articles, website copy, flyers, whatever you have. If you’ve got actual clips of the designed pieces, scan and turn them into PDF files or .jpgs. Make sure the files are small enough that they won’t take ten minutes to load or make people’s computers blow up when they click on them.
Popularity: 39% [?]
Posted in Business Management, Copywriting Samples, Small Business Marketing | No Comments »The Have-To Rant
April 29th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.com
I’m going to permit myself the “have-to” rant today. This has been in the back of my mind for a long time, but I’m finally going to let it come bubbling up to the surface. This is going to feel GREAT.
The phrase that I just stumbled across was this one:
“For clients with limited budgets who ‘have’ to have guaranteed results…”
Aggghhh! I despise it when people say “have to” in place of “must.” It’s such a weak and mealy-mouthed substitute for a small but mighty word. And a double whammy offense when you say “have to have.” Eeeyew. (spitting)
(And yet I’d be lying if I said I didn’t occasionally say “have to” in my clients’ copy if the phrase fits their manner of speaking. BUT STILL…)
You can say this so many other ways.
“For clients with limited budgets who ‘must’ have guaranteed results…”
“For clients with limited budgets who ‘insist’ on guaranteed results…”
Do people cock their heads to the side, slacken their jaws and roll their eyes about before telling someone that they “have to” do something?
Why not just spell it “hafta?”
And while we’re being total dorks here, we may as well just add an “OMG.”
“OMG… you HAFTA take a look at what this amazing search engine optimization program offers. It’s like, soooo good.”
Ahh, I feel much better now that I got that one of my chest. Thanks for listening. You didn’t… hafta.
Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing
Popularity: 36% [?]
Posted in Copy Wrong, Grammar Issues, Proofreader, Punctuation Peeves, Writing Voice | No Comments »When Exceptional Copywriting Meets Awe-Inspiring Design…
April 28th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comAs a copywriter, I write marketing communications and brainstorm creative advertising campaigns for a living. I get to work for and with lots of creative and talented people, which is pretty darned cool I have to say.
One of the biggest frustrations a copywriter can experience is when the client decides to go low-budget and hires a cheap designer whose finished product looks like crap in a box.
Thankfully, Jill Balkus-Anderson of Jill Lynn Design is NOT one of those sub-par designers!
Take a look at what Jill did with the copy that I sent her for our mutual client, EP Engineering.
Now that’s a copywriting sample I can truly be proud of.
If you’re looking for clean, professional graphic design, Jill Lynn Design comes with my highest recommendation.
- Dina at Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing
Popularity: 32% [?]
Posted in Brochure Copywriting, Copywriting Samples, Graphic Design, Postcard Campaign | No Comments »Email Subjectlines Redux
April 25th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comI recently published an article on how to make subjectlines work to get your emails opened. That article was based on popular opinion - what the experts say. You can research email marketing and find a laundry list of tips that dictate “what you’re supposed to do.”
If the “experts” say it works, then it must, right?
I have to confess something here. I was never a big fan of “conventional wisdom.” People need to start thinking for themselves more. Learn to trust your own judgment.
That said, I’m going to be a rebel. For my own marketing, I’m not do anything that I suggested as a means of getting emails opened. However, if my clients want to follow popular opinion instead of *my* opinion, I’m amenable to that, which is why I published the article for them.
So here’s the thing. My email inbox is highly active. I subscribe to many online publications. Some are from my clients (to help me get insight into their marketing). Others are from experts like the ones I mentioned. Still others are topics of interest to me, like The Dog Whisperer’s newsletter and Cool Running.
Let me give you a sample of things my email inbox has said to me this month…
Popularity: 27% [?]
Posted in Email Marketing, Email Newsletters and Ezines, Marketing Communications | 4 Comments »A Stern Lecture for Those Considering Having Their Ebooks Edited
April 22nd, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comEvery so often, people come to me wanting their ebooks edited.
I’m never really sure what this means to them, but I know what it means to me.
When I go into Editing Mode, I look at the work through the many different lenses of my Writer’s Eye. You might say that I become an expensive Japanese camera, the kind that nobody carries anymore except for maybe art students.
So, first I grab the “telephoto lens” of my writer’s eye and I zoom out. I view things from the perspective of the skimmer - that person who’s perusing from a distance, not really committing to the read, but getting an overall impression of the book.
Popularity: 22% [?]
Posted in Business Writing, Copyediting, Ebook Creation | 2 Comments »Genre Copywriting - How to Determine The Proper Voice for Your Site
April 21st, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comGenre is a word that gets thrown around mostly in fiction circles. Popular genres include horror, sci-fi, romance, western, mystery and fantasy. People who keep reading specific genres do so because they know what to expect. It’s that familiarity with the material that keeps them turning the pages. Horror fans know that the pretty girl who goes into the dark room by herself will get killed. Romance readers know that the main character will find love in the end.
Your blog, or website, needs to have a genre too in order to create the comfortable familiarity that readers come to expect.
There are three main types of genres you can apply to your blog’s copy. The main focus of your site, and your readers, will determine what’s working and what isn’t. But, once you settle on a particular voice, it’s vital that you stick with it because your readers will demand it every time they visit.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Posted in Blogging Tips, Copywriting for the Web, Target Audience, Wordfeeder Copywriting, Writing Voice | No Comments »How to Get Your Email Messages Read and Not Deleted
April 20th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comAs a copywriter, sometimes I’m asked to write email messages for my clients. You know the ones I’m talking about; those mailings that you hate to love or love to hate.
You get on someone’s list because you ordered a free report or signed up for their ezine. You figured you’d get one ezine a month, not 2-3 emails per week.
I know they seem like a pain, but successful Internet marketers swear by these messages that they program through an auto responder to go out in a series. And if all the successful marketers send them, they must work.
Ah, but there are some tricks to getting your email messages read and we can learn from these marketers. So here are some tips and tricks I’ve compiled that will have your list looking forward to and reading your emails before they jump on the delete key!
Popularity: 37% [?]
Posted in Ebook Creation, Email Marketing, Email Newsletters and Ezines, Information Products, Marketing Communications, Small Business Marketing | 1 Comment »When you work for yourself…
April 14th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comYou end up with a much bigger appreciation for gifts that arrive by mail.
(I’ll let you know what kind of great business insights I get from Peter Bowerman in a few months!)
Popularity: 21% [?]
Posted in Business Writing, Copywriting Course, Resource Room | 2 Comments »Should Your Copywriting Clients Track Changes?
April 10th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comIf you’re a copywriter, or someone who writes marketing communication (same thing, but we all have our preference for what we like to be called), do you invite your clients to Track Changes when reviewing the work?
(For those who are new to the lingo, Track Changes is an editing feature in MS Word. It changes the color of text that’s been added inserted, and adds a strikethrough to whatever you delete.)
Me, I’m pretty flexible and usually adapt to whatever way the client feels most comfortable working.
But I have to say that Track Changes, while convenient, comes with a downside.
Popularity: 22% [?]
Posted in Copyediting, Marketing Communications, Wordfeeder Copywriting | 2 Comments »Editing - The Overlooked Aspect to Good Copywriting
April 10th, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.com“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon.” - Robert Cromier
Editing your copy is like crafting a sword: You have to sharpen it so it can kill.
For many writers working today - especially on the web - editing means a quick spell check before sending the copy out the door.
That’s all well and good if you’re just looking to toss up a quick website that nobody gives a second glance. But if you want your copywriting to be effective, you must hone it to a fine point.
This is where good editing skills come in to play.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Posted in Marketing Communications | 2 Comments » « Previous Entries