Yeah, I get them all the time. You probably do, too. The infamous email from an alleged digital marketing service: Dear Sir/Madam, Despite having a good design, your website is not showing up on Google for your market's keywords … Or something to that effect. Obviously, they haven't been to my website. They would know in an instant that I'm NOT a madam. Last I checked anyway. And they don't know my target market, either. I know that because I DO show up on Google (page one of the SERPs, in fact) for my target market's keywords… B2B … [Read more...]
Working Remotely – 7 Tips from the Trenches
Some of you are working your job remotely from home, perhaps for the very first time. Welcome to my world! I'm an independent commercial business writer (okay … a freelance B2B copywriter), writing ad copy and marketing content for the industrial manufacturing and safety sectors. For the past decade or so, I've been working remotely. In fact, over the course of that 10+ years, I've only met one client face to face. One client. And I've only worked for two clients down home here in Arkansas, the Natural State. Two … [Read more...]
Outhouse Copywriting – Let’s Talk Price
Okay, I realize "outhouse" might not be the best term. But, hey … I'm from Arkansas. What do you expect? Besides, you're reading this, so … Anyway, there are times when a business or organization needs to hire a writer or writers from outside their group. There could be several reasons: Not enough inhouse staff writers to handle the work load Not enough staff writers that understand the product or service Not enough staff writers that understand how to write the copywriting format needed No staff writers … at all Those … [Read more...]
The Annoying Thing About Computer Solitaire is …
It just won't let me quit sometimes. Many days, after spending hours pounding feverishly on the keyboard, writing stuff for my clients, I'll take a pause to play some computer Solitaire. Got to get away from the words for a while. And just look at the pretty pictures. So I'll play a game or two or three, giving my brain a break. Then … it happens. The game won't let me quit. Not the kind of quit like "I'm eating potato chips and can't set the bag down until all the chips and dips are gone" quit. Oh, no … it's much more … [Read more...]
Ad Copy 911 – Emergency Response
A marketing director called me the other day. His company was in dire need of a copywriting EMT (Effective Marketing Technician). According to him, his staff writers could write good words. But their marketing messages were crashing, not pulling many leads or sales. He lamented that their copy wasn't working and needed "refined," whatever that means. Really, it didn't need refined. It needed to be resuscitated. Here's a copy of newsletter ad he sent me: Although ACME Presses specializes in creating fully customized turnkey … [Read more...]
Make a New LinkedIn Connection? Go Straight for the Juggler… NOT!
Ok, I know. It's the jugular you go after, not juggler. But… you're reading this because you wanted to make sure, right? Maybe you were curious, or just wanted to poke a little fun. That's Ok. If you're reading this... Mission accomplished. At first, this major blunder bugged me to no end. Probably bugs you too. But now, I actually welcome the immediate sales pitch after I accept a connection request on LinkedIn. You know the kind. You accept a connection request and the person INSTANTLY follows up, trying to sell their services. … [Read more...]
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