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How To Get Great Copy Without Hiring A Copywriter?
posted by Web_University @ 8:00 AM
Saturday, December 3, 2011
How To Get Great Copy Without Hiring A Copywriter?
Most business owners now understand the importance of strong copy. What many business owners don’t realize is there are other alternatives to paying a fortune for great copy.
Most of these do require a nominal investment. But nothing compared to the huge fees for copywriting. A big part of the value a copywriter brings to the table (aside from marketing knowledge and being a wordsmith) is a fresh perspective. It’s that second set of eyes from a new perspective that can catch mistakes and provide more successful approaches.
Unfortunately, copywriting is deceptively simple. Almost anyone that can write to any degree thinks they can write great copy. Creating a piece of copy that causes the reader to take the action of spending money simply from reading words on a page is no easy task.
1) How A Simple Copy Critique Can Improve Your Copy
Perhaps the simplest way to improve your copy is getting a copy critique. In the direct marketing industry this is a common term. Professional copywriters use copy critiques to sharpen each other’s skills and copy. You can either hire someone to do this for a few hundred dollars typically, or you might be able to find someone to do it for free. Just be careful that you are getting someone who knows what they are talking about.
The biggest value here is having things pointed out to you that you missed. It could be a headline that’s unclear. Or a part of the copy that causes the reader to stop or bail out. Even your entire approach may be all wrong. These are all things you can find out with a simple copy critique.
If professional copywriters can improve from a copy critique, imagine what it can do for someone who’s not a copywriter.
2) How A Simple Rewrite Of Your Copy Can Help
The next step up from a copy critique would be a copy makeover. Not all copywriters offer this, because sometimes if the copy is way off track, it’s more work to rewrite it than just starting from scratch. The key to this is you are doing most of the legwork. Not recommended for rank beginners at copywriting. However, if you’ve got a sense of good copy and you can get something together in rough form, sometimes a simple rewrite of your rough draft can produce some great copy. And again, because it takes a lot less time than writing from scratch, you’ll save a bundle on copywriting fees.
Be careful because not everyone has the same definition or scope of what a rewrite entails. Some just fix the worst parts. Others do a complete rewrite and edit of what you’ve written. So read the fine print and find out exactly what you are getting before you commit.
A rewrite is more expensive, but still a fraction of hiring a freelance copywriter to create your copy from scratch.
3) Get A Free Consult From A Marketing Consultant Or A Professional Copywriter
Most copywriters and marketing consultants offer a free consult upfront. There’s nothing wrong with calling a few of them to get some contrasting opinions. In the process you’ll most likely pick up some great ideas that you can apply to your copy. Just having a short conversation with someone who knows marketing can give you some great insights.
You can generally tell pretty quickly whether you are dealing with an experienced copywriter verses a rookie. Be careful in putting too much stock in anything they say.
Test it out for yourself first. Make sure that it’s a direct response copywriter/marketing consultant. They are the only one’s who use methods proven to sell, as opposed to just creating general awareness of your business.
If you are speaking with a marketing consultant focus the conversation on the sales strategy and positioning of your product. If you are speaking with a copywriter focus more on the specific aspects of your copy. The most important parts of your copy are the headline/opening and your offer.
4) Model Your Copy After Proven Marketing Promotions
If you have to do the copywriting yourself without any help, be sure to have a successful model available. Avoid generic templates. Model your copy after an example that’s already proven to work. Only then will you be sure to at least have the structure in place that follows proven sales formulas.
What you want to do is copy the structure, not the content. Try to stay close to the structure because the further away you get from the original the less likely you’ll end up with a winner. For example, when modeling this classic headline, “They laughed when I set down at the piano, but when I played…” I’ve seen some people leave off the second half of the sentence. That destroys the curiosity building power of the headline.
Also changing it from “laughed” to some other emotion like cried can be risky. So be careful. Try to make a fill in the blank template out of it.
Here’s a simple example. “They laughed when I _______, but when I _____.” Do this with every sentence in the copy, not just the headline.
This is probably the single best way to write your copy if you aren’t a professional.
5) Record Your Best Sales Pitch And Then Have The Recording Transcribed And Edited
The other simple way to write copy yourself is to do this. You need someone that knows how to sell. If you aren’t good at sales then have someone else in your company or else have a friend help you.
The key to this working is to have a good sales person, record their best “pitch” live and uncensored. Then have it transcribed and edit it to take out the um, ah, etc. Do NOT edit into something that takes away the conversational tone. Be careful to maintain the essence of what they said.
That’s why you really don’t need to write copy. You can record it being spoken by a sales person. You end up with the same end result. Just make sure you have a good sales person and they know your product well so they can make the best pitch possible.
These are the five best ways I know to improve existing copy or create it from scratch. The power is in getting an outside perspective, using proven principles of selling, and using the time saving of rewriting rather than starting from scratch.
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The Android Phone
Google and T-Mobile have teamed up to create a new breed of cell phone. The T-Mobile G1 is the world’s first Android Phone. An “android” is traditionally defined as a robot with human qualities. Perhaps the name was chosen because of the capabilities of this new phone.
It’s known as the T-Mobile G1 Android, the Android Phone, the G1 Phone, or (more informally) the Google Phone.
The G1 Phone integrates fully with your Google accounts. Here are a few of the features and capabilities of this new cell phone:
* An Android phone allows you to browse the Internet just as you would on a normal computer.
* It allows one to run several applications at the same time, on one phone. You can switch between applications, and you can also be notified when something new occurs on one of those applications.
* It allows you to chat and share photos on applications such as Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, etc.
* It allows you to copy URLs and share them with friends via a chat line, using a simple touch-screen interface.
The following Google applications can be accessed and used directly by the Android Phone:
* Google Maps
* YouTube
* Gmail
* Contacts
* Calendar
* IM (Instant Message)
All of these Google applications will be available to you with a single logon – and they will be automatically synchronized with the web. What that means is that any change you make in one of your google accounts from your phone will also show up the next time you log on from any other computer.
For example, when you are out and about with your phone and you meet a new contact, you might want to save their contact information. All you do is save it into your Google Contacts on your G1 phone. That information will be available to you online, in your Gmail account, and in any other applicable Google account, accessible by any computer in the world.
Any information you save on your phone in this way will appear on your computer as well – and vice-versa.
If you lose or break your phone, your data will still be there waiting for you on your Google account, which you can access from anywhere in the world. And there is no need to worry about your information being stolen, as its password-protected.
Here is another example of the a use of a Google Android phone. Once you have a contact address saved into your Google account, you can easily find that location on a map – using Google Maps, of course. And what’s more, you can access street level events in any area where this is available.
This makes it a breeze to get directions to a new location! Simply find your contact on a a map with a couple of clicks, and use a street-level view to find your way if needed!
Another example of the use of the this phone is the integration of the cell phone with your Google Calendar. Any event you save on your Google Calendar will be available to you on your phone, wherever you are. So you can access your schedule easily, on the go and from anywhere, as long as you have your phone with you.
No more schedule books! And you can probably say goodbye to those tiny notebooks and pads of paper you carry around to save your information.
What’s more, once you save information on your Android phone, there’s no need to transfer it over after you get home. Its all there, safely stored on your Google account, for ready access whenever you need it.
Free Tools For Your Online Business
Internet marketing is simply exploding on the web and along with that explosion is access to many free products that will help you to succeed online. These tools save time, which in the end translates to making more money…and, isn’t that why we’ve entered this online marketing world in the first place? I’ve included a list of valuable tools that I have used to help you with your online marketing and the best thing about it is they are free!
* Google Alerts
You can do so many things with this tool,not he least of which is the ability to “see” who is publishing your material, if anyone is talking about you and which sites have picked up your Ezine articles. If you are targeting certain keywords, you can set it up to show you when something has been posted on a website regarding the keywords you are targeting. Navigate to google.com/alerts and enter the keywords you want to track.
* Google Analytics
Another great tool provided by Google. With this tool, you can track the kind of activity your site is receiving such as…who is visiting, where they are from, how long they stayed on your site and the best part…which keywords they used to find you. It is very easy to install…just follow the prompts and paste the code exactly where they tell you to on your website.
* Google Adwords
Here’s Google again 
If you are not already tracking certain keywords for your blog or website, then you should begin doing so. Great search engine optimization requires finding the best keywords and long tail keywords. There is a lot involved with SEO, but learning how to find the right keywords is a must if you want to experience serious success.
* CamStudio
There is no question about it…the popularity of video on the Internet has exploded. CamStudio gives you the ability to learn and apply your video making skills before you move on to a paid program such as Camtasia. Obviously with Camtasia you are going to get more features, but CamStudio is a great starting place, and a good place to practice your video skills. Eventually, you will probably move up to a paid program, but you can’t beat free for starters!
* FTP
FTP stands for file transport protocol. Simply put, it is what you use to transfer your files from your computer to your host/server. My own personal choice…the that I use is Filezilla. It is open source and free to use, but there are many more available such as Smart FTP. Just do a seach on FTP choices and study your options.
* RSS reader
We all have favorite blogs that we like to return to and read the content, but trying to keep up as to when these blogs are updated can be a daunting task at best. An RSS reader will notify you of any new posts on your favorite blogs. Additionally, it will save you valuable time navigating to these blogs only to find out they have nothing new to offer yet. Google Reader is a good one and its free to use. Having access to RSS on your blog or website is equally important to your readers. You want them to have the ability to receive your blog posts when they are new. This tool will save you time and also save your readers time.
* Traffic Virus 2.0
Traffic Virus 1.0 was one of the web’s first traffic generating pieces of software designed to launch your own viral advertising campaign. The newer 2.0 version is now available and the best part about it is it remains free…even though it has been improved upon with better features. You can’t beat that deal!
This is just a partial list of the free tools that I have taken advantage of to keep my own Internet marketing business running smoothly. As you can see, there is no shortage of free programs and material out there to get your business up and running on the web in no time. It’s up to you to take action.
For more free tools, just Google “free Internet marketing tools”…you might be surprised at what’s out there!
The FTC Needs to Shut Up!
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is one of the most unique
parts of our government. It has a wide range of powers given by
law, which encompass among other things the ability to pass
rules and regulations against unfair and deceptive acts or
practices. The FTC often issues “guidelines which are no more
than notices that they will push for prosecution or civil action
against individuals in violation their guidelines. Although
these guidelines are often up for public debate, they are not
passed by any governing body such as Congress, yet affect us
often more than any newly passed law would. While many people
see that the FTC is a consumer rights entity within the
government, a growing number of people see that the FTC is a
part of a growing, overreaching government that is interfering
with the ability of businesses and often individuals to conduct
business in this market economy.
I’m not claiming that the FTC should NOT prosecute obvious
fraud, where consumers are clearly being scammed – such as not
delivering a product as promised or the mass distribution of
unsafe toys. That being said, the FTC’s guidelines and civil
actions are quickly crossing the border of infringing not only
on our ability to do business, but our First Amendment Rights to
Free Speech. The Right to express one’s self and opinions,
whether it is political or business related is an inherent part
of our society and the foundations of our business community.
The courts have ruled that advertising is a form of free speech,
which cannot be infringed upon anymore than any other opinion,
written or spoken.
Recently the FTC issued guidelines (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/
10/endortest.shtm) (which means, as said, we plan to bring action
against someone) that regulate bloggers. Bloggers are a unique
part of our economy, a throwback to the creation of this Country
when people would often hand out pamphlets to express their
opinion, in order to get attention to their cause. Bloggers are
often people, like myself, who have taken the initiative to put
their feelings down and write, taking the power away from larger
media organizations, and putting it into the hands of the
individual. As one knows, blogs often express anything from
political opinion to diet tips. They are sometimes political,
commercial, religious, or just something someone did in order to
express their frustration at their parents. Whatever the reason
is, they are a wonderful expression of our First Amendment
Rights.
Yet the FTC believes that bloggers are so unique, that they
need to be regulated in a way that has never been proposed to
mainstream media. The FTC recently issued regulations in which
they clearly state how bloggers who engage in commercial
activity, should clearly state how they are related to the
product, and make it obvious they are engaging in business, or
have been paid to endorse the product. This uniquely affects the
interactive advertising community, because it could easily be
interpreted that any link, any mention of a product that would
in turn create a sale (such as an affiliate link) would have to
be clearly mentioned as an advertisement or state the nature of
the relationship.
Additionally, more and more the FTC is engaged in the business
of deciding what is considered an “authentic or substantiated”
claim by an endorser or a product. While they have for the last
decade or so, been more involved in cases in which they believe
unsubstantiated product claims have been made, they are
specifically targeting bloggers – and their opinions. This
growing trend is more and more disturbing, as it gives the
government the right to make assumptions on the quality and
accuracy of claims of businesses – and then in theory, the
accuracy of claims of individuals. It asks businesses and
bloggers to basically “prove” what they are saying is correct,
even if it is an opinion. They must substantiate according to
the FTC, all their claims.
This is unique in nature, because it places an undue hardship
often on small businesses and bloggers, who cannot afford to
hire research teams or a huge law firm to assist them in the
creation of their materials. A sole-proprietor who discovers
that perhaps his home-made fig bars have lead to increased
weight loss and energy, in theory, will have to prove and
substantiate his claims before he could buy advertising on
Google that states that these bars can help in weight loss. It
could prevent a small business owner from selling knitted goods
on Ebay, because the claim that they have kept her warmer than
any other coat she owned, might be subject to scrutiny. They
have to worry that the government, the FTC might intervene at
some point and bring action against them based on perception and
supposition. It gives bureaucrats, non-elected officials an
extreme amount of power over small businesses in this Country.
The right of Free Speech in this Country is quite interesting,
because it allows people to express their opinion, even if they
are wrong. It assumes that no opinion is inherently wrong and
opens up the possibility of debate. It also assumes that most
adults are intelligent enough to make their own decisions
regarding their dislikes, their opinions and the products they
want to buy. The government, acting as “Big Mommy” is more and
more interfering and saying that they want to regulate what we
see and hear – that despite a huge Internet with tons of
information, we can’t do our own research and decide if a
product is what we want. We are giving the government more power
than has ever existed before: the ability to sanitize what we
hear and see before it’s released to the public.
“Government big enough to supply everything you need is big
enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows
us that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” – Thomas
Jefferson
Why success comes from goal-setting and persevering to the end.
posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 1:16 PM
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
More than 5,000 years ago, in the ancient mystery schools of Egypt, the mental and spiritual laws and principles of success were taught to students who dedicated their entire lives to learning the “Esoteric Arts.”
One of these “secrets” was the Law of Attraction, which said that your mind is a magnet and that you invariably attract into your life people and circumstances in harmony with your dominant thoughts, especially those that are emotionalized.
Success comes from EDUCATION, REPETITION AND VARIETY
posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 11:47 AM
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Just about every business on the planet does this. And it’s not bad… until you realize how much money you’re leaving on the table. The fact is, for every deal you close using this common process, there’s another 2 – 3 deals (or more!) you COULD close. Most small businesses market their products and services like this:
24 Ways To Provide Amazing Satisfaction To Online Shoppers Part 1
posted by Luigi_M_Scollo @ 11:37 AM
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Three-quarters of online shoppers surveyed said website content is insufficient to complete research or purchase a product online always, most, or some of the time. Nearly 80 percent rarely or never purchase a product without complete information, and 72 percent will take off to a competitor that does supply that information.
It seems that consumers really want to buy online, but retailers aren’t making it easy for them. Sometimes, it seems like retailers go out of their way to lose customers.
I was inspired by this and wanted to share it with you, an article from the famed sales guru, Brian Tracy…
When Vince Lombardi took over the Green Bay Packers some years ago, he was asked what he was going to change. The players? The plays? The training process? How was he going to turn this team around after a string of failures?
There are no tricks here, just a bit of work and some time. So let’s get started by reading the following list of SEO Techniques!
1. Domain & File Names: Choose your site domain name that contains words from your primary keyword phrase.
2. Keyword Phrases: Use keywords that are being searched for.
Cast aside your fears and take the leap, but don’t take that leap without a safety net. That’s where many people make their first mistake when starting their own business.
They underestimate the time it takes to establish a business and they often run out of money before their business gets to that point, forcing them to close up shop and go back to a job.
They find themselves under constant financial pressure, and they make decisions about managing and marketing their business accordingly, instead of looking at what’s in the best interest of their business.
Before you do anything, create a plan, prepare before you jump. Plan to quit your job and start your business, don’t just leap into the unknown.
Avoid these elements that should never see the light of day on your site. Poor planning and neglect of your Web site can lead to lost business, security concerns, slow traffic and other problems.
When it comes to your company’s Web site, there’s no shortage of advice on what you absolutely have to have there. However, Web site missteps are preventable. Here are nine items to avoid.
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