Blog
July 17, 2012Five things I have learned in five years as a freelance copywriter
I didn’t decide to become a freelance copywriter. I sort of lucked into it, after losing my job as a journalist in the recession five years ago. In five years, I’ve learned a lot — not just about technique, but also about pricing, handling tricky clients, and balancing the books.
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June 27, 2012Are copywriters better off when they specialise?
The specialist is no ordinary gunslinger. He’s a lean, mean S.O.B. and he hits his target every time. He might specialise in one particular field of copywriting, or he might target just one sector, knowing his market inside out. Should all writers aspire to become him?
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June 7, 2012“Why the big face?” On choosing homepage images that resonate with your target market.
This isn’t a post about copywriting. It’s a post about seeing the big picture — the big picture on your homepage, to be precise. Sites that use portrait photography are increasingly important. But to get it right, choose an image that resonates with your audience.
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May 10, 2012If you’re not part of the solution…
If a client is paying you to write for them, you have an obligation to give them the best you’ve got. If that means a line or an angle the client has supplied doesn’t work, you need to tell them why — and be able to suggest better alternatives.
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April 25, 2012Should you compete on price or quality?
There are two types of consumers in the world. There are those who want to minimize their cost no matter what. Then there are those who want to get the best possible service, for the best possible price. That’s where things get tricky.
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April 15, 2012How to make your customers an offer they can’t refuse
If your conversion rate is 2% but an alternate call to action increases it to 4%, don’t you owe it to yourself to test all possible variations? But conversion science isn’t simply about design, flow, and, text. It’s about getting your offer right.
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March 8, 2012What QR codes teach us about advertising
QR codes don’t work because they put a barrier between the customer and the call to action. In short, they’re bad conversion science. That doesn’t mean we can’t learn from them. We just have to find ways to maximise, not minimise, customer response rates.
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February 16, 2012How important is a personal recommendation?
When making a purchasing decision, people value a personal recommendation from a trusted source higher than any other factor – even to the point of trusting that recommendation over trusting their own opinion. How do we make use of that fact?
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January 16, 2012Tone of Voice (or, politeness costs nothing)
A copywriter not only picks an appropriate tone of voice for your brand, he also advises you on customer relations. Sometimes, it’s important to address people by their first name. Other times, it’s sir. Get it wrong and you risk losing the customer.
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November 30, 2011Can you rush creativity?
You can’t hurry love. But as a copywriter, can you rush creativity? Is it possible to have too many ideas? Or is more always more? The answer depends on the client — and on how well you can read them.
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