The Copywriting Blog

Although some might say that interpreting the value of salary surveys is like pinning the tail on a runaway donkey, they do have real value if the survey methodology is accurate and statistically sound.    In other words, salary surveys can provide astonishingly useful data for both in-house HR professionals and consultancies where like-for-like sector comparisons are…

Recruitment consultants will be only too aware that an experienced recruitment copywriter can play a major role in their marketing success.    With a certain amount of experience, you’ll be confident in your ability to write those killer ads that attract high quality applicants. And yet… how confident are you in your ability to cast your net wider…

Website copywriting has changed.  Most people in the industry would recognise that.  Although keywords still count for something in the great Google casino, the SEO emphasis has shifted to off-page link building when it comes to significant ranking criteria.  Keywords remain important for inclusion in headline and title tags (after all, the search engine robots…

In the rush to optimise everything that goes under the heading of online copywriting, so many companies make the mistake of overlooking their offline marketing activities.  What should be happening of course is that all their eggs shouldn’t be in the online basket.  It’s vital to keep a handle on so many of the other…

As a highly experienced website copywriter who’s written hundreds of websites for clients, it may come as a surprise when I say that very few want to follow-on with supporting content to boost their link building and SEO.  “We just want a brochure website,” is a typical cry.  “Our industry is too competitive to bother with SEO…

 When I don my copywriter’s cap, I wonder whether there should be a big letter ‘D’ on the tallest cone in Christendom.    (For those who aren’t familiar with the dunce’s cap, it was beloved by the cartoonists in children’s comics at some indeterminate era before the 1960s!)  What has this got to do with business…

Embracing offline copywriting may seem a little counter-intuitive in these days of online copywriting and digital marketing. And yet: there really is no substitute for ‘getting up close and personal’ if you want to maximise returns on your investment. Increasing numbers of people are realising that we neglect offline marketing at our peril. Since Google…

I’ve been looking at what other travel copywriters have been up to. What struck me most forcibly was the difference in the type of work we do. It’s worth pointing out that there’s a major divide between ‘travel writers’ who go intrepidly into the world, Marco Polo style in search of the true essence of…

This has to be the hypothetical question of the year – and it’s still only January as I write! Can you name even ONE ‘big’ financial copywriter? Even more to the point – most people would struggle to come up with more than a couple of copywriters who are specialists in the financial field. Financial…

When a would-be client calls and says: “We just want the Home page writing,” I always give the kind of introspective nod that would send shivers down the spine of the suicide squad.  Of course, I’m on the phone, so no-one has an inkling.  Visible or not, however, upon hearing those immortal words that will…

 I still have clients contacting me who are expert at putting carts before horses when it comes to SEO copywriting.  As anyone who follows Google’s latest diktats will know, SEO has been turned on its head since Pandas and Penguins got in on the act with their various algorithm updates.  As professional copywriters, web designers…

In the maelstrom of marketing activity with which we’re all bombarded on a daily basis, it’s hard to believe that advertising copywriting was once a lead creative skill in what was the most dominant aspect of marketing.  Clients of a certain age would be forgiven for being confused by the range of techniques that now…

Has your business become over-reliant on Google when it comes to online copywriting and marketing?  Should you be shifting some of your online focus and re-balancing it with more offline activity?  With all the changes that have taken place at the search engine over the last 12 months – we’re talking Penguin and Panda again!…

I’ve just finished writing a 64-page brochure which made me think about the brochure copywriting process.  As with so many other aspects of copywriting, clients aren’t necessarily aware of what goes on ‘behind the scenes’.   That’s why this article may be useful in giving freelance copywriters some tips about:  – Helping your client appreciate the…

Once upon a time, there was Article Marketing.  Get it right and you could improve the SEO performance of your website pages in a matter of weeks. Then, along came Google with its algorithm updates.  Almost overnight, article marketing as we’d come to know it was dead on its feet.   Suddenly, article directories (and millions…

 If the way websites work is totally alien to you – worry not, help is at hand.  And if you know next-to-nothing about website copywriting, this article will provide a good starting point for you to turn things around.  Whilst it’s true that website copywriting may seem like an obscure topic to many people, there…

 It’s hard to be humble when you’re an alien.  With heads as big as yours – and brains to match – you’re probably wondering why humans have made everything so-o-o-o complicated.  Here’s a good example… We’ve made a science out of earning a crust.  We’ve called it a million things: economics, Capitalism, Marxism, marketing, accountancy,…

The issue of whether marketing professionals should work with clients in controversial areas of business is certainly not new.  Alcohol, tobacco, gambling and pornography have fitted the ‘usual suspects’ bill for long enough.  Increasingly, however, in the wake of the recent financial meltdown across Europe, we’re seeing a new contender in the unpopularity stakes.  You’ve…

 Sub-prime money lending in the UK is alive and well.  Demand for Payday Loans, Logbook Loans and Guarantor Loans is soaring.  And with the country’s recessionary phase now into its fourth year, these high-interest short-term loans that were previously only popular with the sub-prime sector are now being taken up by so-called ‘Middle England’.    In…

If you watch daytime TV, you’ll know all about Payday Loans from the deluge of advertisements that target what – it must be assumed – is a vulnerable yet receptive segment of the UK population.  Presumably, the TV researchers in ad agencies have delved into the socio-economic profiles of those who watch The Jeremy Kyle…

We all know that Google has been frantically trying to improve the validity and value of its search results through a sequence of recent ‘Updates’ including Panda and Penguin.  We also know that Google includes elements of semantic search in its algorithms.  What very few people discuss is how the physical practice of making an…

There are probably as many different ways of writing brochures as there are brochure formats. For a brochure copywriter, this could be a little daunting – until you bear in mind that there are several useful copywriting principles that can and should be followed. Let’s start with the front cover. This is arguably the most…

I’ve had massive reaction to recent articles I’ve written about Copywriting Rates. The consensus seems to be that ‘creative rates’ in general – and copywriting rates in particular – are hitting the floor. So how do you make sure you don’t fall victim to this unnerving trend? If you read on, you will discover that…

Every time I’ve written articles and blog posts about Copywriting Rates, the response has been overwhelming. It’s no accident that the page covering this topic on my company’s main website attracts far and away the greatest number of visitors – and easily the highest click-through rates. A recent article of mine entitled ‘Copywriting Rates: Preparing…

 With Google’s ‘Penguin Updates’ all around us, could all you copywriters and journalists introduce a new collective noun or two into your articles and blog posts to make it all a little more interesting?  It’s not as though you’re limited in the number of options available.  Maybe one reason we don’t see phrases like ‘flocks…

  The recent articles and blog posts I’ve written about Copywriting Rates have generated responses bordering on the viral!  Here are some of the key themes to emerge from around the world:   “COPYWRITING AS A COMMODITY” Copywriting is now seen by many clients as a ‘commodity’ and, as such, price is the over-riding factor…

The SEO phenomenon of the moment has to be guest blogging.  It’s a great way to build links with other sites that are relevant to your sector – and there’s also the longer-term networking element where your name gradually assumes a more visible online profile.     Buzzwords has been invited several times recently to be a…

I’ve seen recessions come and go.  I’ve seen good copywriters and designers defeated by economic circumstances.  And I’ve seen other people succeed despite the inevitable shakeouts that recessions create.   How can it be that some people can ride out the storm while others succumb to its devastating forces?  It’s a complicated mix that dictates…

The whole point of this hour-long Google-led video is to show how modern technology can be combined with traditional techniques to create amazing digital advertising by ‘re-imagining’ work from the past. This was achieved using the simple but inspired approach of persuading lionised advertising copywriters and art directors from the Mad Men era to come out of…