6/28/2007
Want your web copy to crash and burn?
| If you answered yes, be sure to follow these five tips: 1. Senseless navigation. Your website navigation should immediately let you know: Where you are, Where you have been, Where you can go next and Where the home page is. Navigation, in fact, must be so easy that visitors to your site should not even have to think about it. Some mistakes include dissimilar types of navigation on the same site, poorly worded links so your visitor has no clue about where he or she will end up and confusing links or no links back to the home page. 2. Confusing your website with your marketing strategy. Your website is part of your marketing strategy; it is not your entire marketing strategy. The right balance is in defining exactly how your website fits into your overall marketing program, then sticking with the whole program, making your site an integral and complementary part of it. 3. Believing people care about your website. In the final analysis, nobody truly cares about your site (sorry). What visitors do care about is getting their problems solved. People visit websites to: Get information, Buy (or in some cases sell) something or Be entertained. 4. Putting existing print on your website. PLEASE do not take your brochure, product catalog, employee manual, whatever and simply put it on-line. Printed materials do not work online; these are two totally different species. Knowledgeable web content writers create text that helps users find key words and concepts quickly. They: Write shorter sentences and fewer lines, paragraphs and pages. Use heads and subheads instead of introductory paragraphs. Use white space to keep the page looking open and inviting. Use hypertext links to give added information to readers who want more. 5. Acting like you own the company, even if you do. Website readers have come to expect copy that is personal and upbeat, so copy that smacks of bureaucracy tends to stand out like a sore thumb. Whether you are writing your own copy or having someone do it for you, formal language and turn the tone down a notch. Also make sure to avoid technical terms and, by all means, make your verbs active and less boring, removed and passive. Labels: copywriting, web content, web copy, writing for the web |
6/26/2007
Big-Time Marketing On A Small-Time Budget
| We're often asked how to market big on a small budget. If for whatever reason, from an iffy economy or less-than-stellar results in the past , your every dollar needs to work harder, not to worry. There are creative ways to stretch your marketing budget to reach a wider audience at lower cost, and they are right at your fingertips.
Labels: brochures, low-budget marketing, marketing, referrals, small business |
6/25/2007
Get It In Writing 's Allison Nazarian quoted in Writer's Digest
| Click here to download the pdf of Get It In Writing President Allison Nazarian's comments in the August 2007 issue of Writer's Digest on the topic of bidding sites and practices in the business of writing. (Basically, they're not a good thing for the "biddees.") Labels: copywriting, freelance writing, small business |
6/22/2007
Please think twice before calling yourself a freelance writer
| There is at least one term you will not find in our vocabulary: freelance writer. The term, in my (Allison's) opinion is disparaging, inaccurate and even unprofessional when it comes to business. In fact, I think it really takes away the business aspect of what we do. Would you call a doctor or attorney who works as a sole practitioner a freelance doctor or freelance attorney? What do I prefer? It depends on the core of the business. For Get It In Writing, I like to say copywriter or marketing consultant or entrepreneur. Please do not take this offensively, but to me a freelance writer is someone all alone at home in sweatpants writing the Great American novel, some lines of poetry and the occasional paid article. That is fine if that person writes for the sake of writing. It is not, however, business to business or business to anything, is it? Labels: copywriting, freelance writer, small business |
6/21/2007
Words that make me cringe - annoying idioms, cliches, and other English language abuses
"have a good one" One what? "I seen it" "Quote Unquote" "at the end of the day..." "aks" instead of "ask" "everythink" "Fo Shizzle" and any related "izzle" "So I was like..." "no can do" "Please and thank you" "FYI" "Now more than ever" "notsomuch" "Let's DO lunch. Let's DO a burger....etc" "Touch base with me..." "ciao," "peace out," "lata," or other annoying "hip" ways to say goodbye "Guesstimate" "conversate" "you go, girl" "don't go there" "with all due respect" "fantabulous" "Get your ____ on", e.g., "Get your freak on," "Get your war on" The term 'ice-cold' to describe a chilled drink "Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout" "convo" as a verb that means "have a conversation with" (e.g. "We need to convo with Gabe about the changes.") People who refer to popular vacation spot Cabo San Lucas as "Cabo" "back in the day" "I'd be more than happy to..." "You're more than welcome." "folks" "You have yourself a good day now" He is/She is/I am ..."so street," "so art," "so book" "Sick man.." "Just chillin'" "fair enough" "Let's agree to disagree." "busted" instead of "broken" "alrighty" "It's all good" "My bad" "Good to go" "No biggie" "I'd hit that" "money" used as an adjective: "he's so money", "that game is money " "'X' is the new 'Y'" "24/7", "24/7/365" the more digits, the more annoying I would love to hear from more people on this topic. Are there any annoying idioms, clichés or phrases that make your blood boil? oh yeah, blood boil, thats annoying too. *update: |
6/14/2007
Does clever actually sell?
| We've seen many business people become far too clever for their -- or anyone else's -- own good. Creativity is great and will go a long way in getting your words read and your message understood. But don't go for the clever line at the expense of your real strengths - your message, the solution you are offering and your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). When writing to sell, focus on why you are offering and promising what you are offering and promising and less on being the cleverest wordsmith around. Labels: ad copy, copywriting, writing ads |
What does the world of Web 2.0 mean for your business?
| You may have heard the phrase 'Web 2.0,' the so-called second-generation phase of the Internet. This is the phase where most of us now know the Internet exists, most of us have access to it and most of us have mastered the basics (e.g., browsing, searching, seeking information). When it comes to business and marketing in terms of Web 2.0, now it's time for a more sophisticated, targeted approach to what we do and why. In the world of the online, everyone is asking about setting up, maintaining and looking for everyone else's blogs, e-newsletters, web copy and "e" everything else from My Space pages to articles to press kits. Through Get It In Writing, I am often asked my take on what's important in these areas as far as copywriting and the larger world of marketing. My recommendation is simple but true: make sure your foundation is in place before you start to build. You may have a great blog or a really fun, memorable My Space presence, but without a website as a "home base," you're not maximizing your cyber-potential. If someone reads about you in an article or your blog or anywhere online for that matter, chances are they may actually be interested in doing business with your company and/or buying your product/service. What then? It's like those sign companies that say "a business with no sign is a sign of no business." No website? No online home? You're toast, the equivalent of a store in the mall being boarded up and locked in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. The good news is no matter what stage you are at, there is much you can do easily and efficiently. Start small, make sure you have at least a good starter site in place and you can build from there. As far as basic pages, your home, services, about us and contact pages are a good start. Then you can start getting fancy, with wikis, blogs, podcasts and whatever else strikes your fancy. Labels: Internet Marketing, small business, Web 2.0 |