POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 16 May 2012 - 2 Comments
Last week I covered how the Penguin update will affect SEO copywriting but the update affects more than just copywriters. This week I’ve invited Chris Bates from Octoply to go through the broader implications of Google’s algorithm change.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 25 Apr 2012 - 4 Comments
Sometimes a blank page can be cruel. A flashing cursor staring back at you, mocking you with its readiness to execute your next brilliant idea….
When you work in a creative industry as a copywriter or graphic designer, for example, your ideas are your bread and butter. You have to come up with the goods every day and while some ideas come quickly with a flash of inspiration, many are much harder to produce. This is especially the case when you’ve got a lot of work on.
There comes a time when we all feel the dull edge of creative burnout. That feeling when your brain feels overworked and wrung out. It might be after a day of pretty intense work or in the middle of a particularly big project. You feel like you just can’t go on, but you must.
Prevention is the best cure and I think the best way to overcome creative burnout is avoid it. Easier said than done, I know, but these tips will help you keep your creative juices flowing.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 18 Apr 2012 - 14 Comments
How many blog posts do you read each week? Quite a few?
How many do you leave a comment on? I bet it’s only a small fraction of the posts you read.
Did you realise that commenting on blogs will actually improve the number of readers for your own blog? In fact, I think you’re a fool if you want to grow your blog and you don’t have a blog commenting strategy.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 11 Apr 2012 - 7 Comments
DISQUS (pronounced discuss) is a global blog commenting system. It consolidates the comments you make on other blogs and the comments you get on your own blog into one easy to manage dashboard. It becomes very easy for commenters to chat with each other and you, and that’s a win for your blog.
This post, rather than being a review of DISQUS, will focus on making the most of your DISQUS profile once it’s setup.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 21 Mar 2012 - 10 Comments
Newsletters are a fantastic way to keep your business at the top of the mind of your prospects and customers. Copywrite Matters has a monthly newsletter – Copy & Co. News – and we write a few for clients. With so many businesses publishing blogs and newsletters, how do you make yours stand out?
If your subscriber count has stagnated, you might be making one of these (very fixable) newsletter mistakes.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 14 Mar 2012 - 3 Comments
A few weeks ago I admitted a secret to you. I’m not very good at proofreading. There. I’ve said it again. I was forced to face this fact after a fellow copywriter, Paul Hassing, very kindly pointed out more than a few typos in my weekly blog posts. I was mortified. I’m sure you know what it’s like when you have a regular blogging schedule. They sometimes get left until the 11th hour and a rushed job is a rubbish job. Well, Paul saved me from rather a lot of embarrassment and he was very professional and kind about it, too. Thanks, Paul. Seriously.
Now, in addition to sending my clients’ copywriting to a professional proofreader, I now send my blogs and other marketing material. And I’ve not had a typo reported since!
This small change started something a lot bigger for Copywrite Matters.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 29 Feb 2012 - 10 Comments
How long should my copywriting be? Is long copy better than short copy? Have you seen my glasses? These are questions I’m asked quite often and the truth of the matter is… It depends. Yes and no. And they’re on your head.
The long copy vs short copy debate has been going on since, well, since advertising masters wrote copy about things we never thought we needed. There is a copywriting mantra: “The more you tell, the more you sell.”
I’m putting myself out there when I say that I don’t think this lovely little rhyme applies in every case. Each copywriting style offers pretty compelling benefits and each is useful in different scenarios. So the best one is the one that works.
This post will take you through long copy and short copy and why you might choose one over the other.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 22 Feb 2012 - 6 Comments
10-dollar words are the fancy words that you think make you look smart. You hope that by including a longer version of a rather simple concept you will make people go: “Oooh, sounds like he really knows his stuff!”
In reality, 10-dollar words make your copywriting suck.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 08 Feb 2012 - No Comments
Danny Iny recently published his book ‘Engagement From Scratch!’, a collection of essays from some of the world’s most prominent online experts that answered the question: If you had to start from scratch, how would you build an engaged online audience?
As I read each essay I had at least one light bulb moment that had me scrabbling for my ideas notebook. These ideas will definitely be shaping my business marketing over the year to come and I’ve jotted a few of them down for you.
POSTED BY Belinda (The Copy Detective) - 01 Feb 2012 - 17 Comments
Proofreading is tough! It takes time, patience and (I believe) a specific set of skills but your credibility is compromised every time an error sneaks past you. This week’s blog post is by professional proofreader, editor and copywriter Trish Arnott of Spell-Bound Services.
It’s well worth your while to employ a proofreader; it’s hard to pick up errors in your own work. However, if you choose to proofread your copy yourself, then here is a systematic way to go about it.
