| |
| |
|
Copywriting Information |
|
|
|
The Formulas Freelance Copywriters Employ When Creating Web Content
What is it exactly that copywriters DO when they produce new text for a site makeover? You often see the advertisements; a designer is looking for a freelance web writer who is going to create content around a number of keywords. There's not a lot more information about the process. What are the tricks of the trade and how do you get value for money when hiring a freelance writer? When you discuss a site makeover with a copywriter, be prepared to answer a lot of questions. Any writer needs to know the answers to at least these questions before he can meaningfully go to town on your content; What is the site's line of business? Who is targeted? How does the client want their web content to reflect their goals? What is the number of pages of the site? What is the site's current conversion ratio? What have site owners done in the past to change this? What are the conversion ratio targets? Is the corporate identity still in tact? What is the identity now and what are the reasons for the change? Most copywriters have their own style in creating creative text. But note that not every copywriter is necessarily a website copy writer. Everybody goes about content some way or another, but generally people tend to focus on a number of aspects that are wider than merely writing some text and mentioning a number of keywords. I have developed this strategy for writing successful content for my clients; I will sit down and spell out what I call the 'vital communication factors' of a website. The main points of sale of a business website. Or the general idea behind a general interest website. Or the philosophy, reason for being of an entity other than a business, general interest. It is around these vital factors, that I will begin to create the skeleton of links and click throughs, or the navigational path. Weaving the text into the navigation is the next stage. I tend to assign some weightings to all the internal hyperlinks, which mirror their importance to the website's vital points before I write the text. The hyperlinks of any website can be roughly divided in four categories with no real distinctions but which you need to employ using a rule of thumb: a) Clix generating click throughs (brand awareness)* b) Clix generating repeat visits by internal referral (e.g. bookmarks, newsletter signups, brochures); c) Clix generating traffic (agreements for inbound links, online marketing for third parties); d) Clix generating sales *Do not confuse our use of the term "click throughs" with click throughs as in the pay per click concept. Pay per click is all about inbound traffic into a site. Here, I am discussing the internal navigational path. Once I have the idea of a website's structure along these lines, I start floating into the writing stage and as I go along, I tend to keep a continuous check that the profile of the content and links actually match up with the vital points. Each website is unique of course and to categorise the links into four categories very rigidly does not make sense. For instance, a link to an article that has also been published elsewhere on the web creates both inbound traffic and repeat visit value and possibly also a click through. It makes sense to assess each link and construct content around it on using common sense. In this process, I tend to take into account a number of factors, including the navigational path, design possibilities and optimal content size. Although most sites differ, the links making up the navigational path are generally quite similar in their relation to the vital points; click throughs are generally way less closely related to a site's vital points than for instance sales clicks. Or at least when you build up your sales idea right, the ultimate click will be entirely logically connected with your business concept. As for the middle two categories, they generally are somewhere in the middle in relation to vital points too. There is not a lot else to writing good website content, apart from gloating over the results with your clients a few months later! Angelique van Engelen is a writer at http://www.contentClix.com. She works freelance and often collaborates with designers on content makeovers. You may also read her blog http://www.clixyPlays.blogspot.com which gives you a good insight into how the copywriter community at contentClix.com works.
MORE RESOURCES:
Copywriting - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Super Verbs Really Move Your Copy Run or hustle? Eat or devour? Move or scurry? You can boost the power of your copy by boosting the quality of verbs you use. Verbs show action, and the way you describe that action can have a dramatic bearing on your readers. Freelance Writing As A Career Most people would love to make a living from freelance writing. If you tell people that you are a freelance writer, chances are that they will respond by telling you about their own desire to be a freelance writer. Sowing the Seeds of Opportunity: How to Multiply Your Freelance (Writing) Work You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 to carry out an entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients to invest in campaigns, instead of individual assignments. Campaigns achieve better results and cost less in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. 11 Reasons Not to Hire a Freelance Copywriter (and Why Theyre All Poor Excuses) Think you can take the Copywriting Challenge on your own? Allow me to convince you otherwise! Here are eleven reasons why business owners typically choose not to hire a writer, and my argument for each.Excuse 1. Kick-Starting Body Copy Several correspondents to our newsletter, AdBriefing, say that they are having trouble writing body copy for ads. Their problem seems to be the age-old one of how to kick things off - how to make a start. Cleaning Up Your Copy When you are beginning to write, you gather as much data as you can. You continually add allied thoughts. Can You Become a Freelance Copywriter in Los Angeles? Is it out there? The chance to be a freelance copywriter in Los Angeles? For those looking to become a copy writer, finding employment in various cities can be difficult. In fact, most freelance writers around the world struggle to find employment or jobs that are within their own cities and home towns. Top 10 Ways For Copywriters To Overcome Writers Block We all know that words have the power to persuade, compel and most importantly, sell.However, many have likened the process to getting the 'right words' to trying to get blood from a stone. 10 Tips for Tech-Writers Tech-writing is a tricky business. It's not a very high profile industry, so there's not much support around. Killer Ad Copy Not everyone is a writer. Good copy writing is a science and can be learned over time. Power Words And Phrases I like to use power phrases when writing sales material. These power phrases add punch to a line or a paragraph and I usually use them to start off a sentence. Grammatical Mistakes DONT Sell When you receive a sales letter with typos or grammar mistakes in it, do you take it seriously? Probably not. As soon as I see a few eighth-grade English blunders in any marketing effort, I quickly decide the author's product or service is not deserving of my time. Beyond Once Upon a Time: Fairy Tales arent the Only Thing Needing Catchy Openings Once a upon a recent time in a galaxy not so far away, I received an e-newsletter that provided valuable dos and don'ts for email newsletter publication. Ah, something about this newsletter didn't pull me in to read its tales nor did I take out the sword to slash my name from the e-newsletter distribution list. 10 Eye Popping, Jaw Dropping Ad Copy Secrets 1. Use a hand written letter on your ad copy instead of text. When Panic Attacks Writers If you write for a living, you deal with deadlines. Sometimes you will have several jobs on your plate at the same time. Copywriting: Engage Prospects By Involving Their Senses Imagine a bland, colorless existence. Where food had no taste, silence surrounded you and everything smelled the same. Internet Marketing 102: Copy What Works Internet Marketing- Forget the experts, latest software program or even that book that someone is selling to get on the "best seller list" and the 200 free ebooks they are offering you. Here is what REALLY works, and it's something that you learned in kindergarden. Hooks, Lines & Sinkers Hands up if the title to this article made you think that you'd strayed into a fishing feature?Perhaps you didn't quite go that far, but hopefully you were puzzled or curious enough to wonder what on earth those three angling associated words have to do with writing. The answer of course is nothing at all if you are thinking of metal barbs, yards of tangled nylon and blobs of lead weights. Is Your Content Provider Selling You Ripped Content? Ripped content: well the term itself is self explanatory. Content that has been copied from some other site, without any official authority to do so. Copyright, Copyrighting, and Online Copyright Abuse - Save Yourself the Headache by Reading This! Lets start with copyright infringement.It is easily explained as copying someone else's work without gaining permission first.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
