Keyword Research is Essential

When writing web copy, understanding the words your target audience is searching for is essential to the copywriting process. Depending on the market you’re writing for, your target audience will use different terminology during the search process. Therefore, it is essential to have an understanding of what words or phrases your audience is searching for before beginning the writing process. This can seem like a daunting task. Fortunately, there are a number of keyword tools that will help you determine which phrases to target while writing.

Here are some of my favorite free keyword tools:

• Google_Adwords: A great free tool. Enter one or several keywords or phrases into the search box and the AdWords Keyword Tool will bring back a plethora of possible alternatives along with much appreciated information, including monthly and average search volume and how competitive the phrase is.


• Word Tracker Free Keyword Tool: Another great free tool Word Tracker’s Free Keyword Tool will offer the top 100 free alternate keyword suggestions as well as the daily search volume.


• SEOMoz Term Extractor: Find out what keywords other companies are targeting. Enter your targeted URL into the box and this tool will extract the terms that are targeted for the search engines.


• Keyword Discovery: One of my favorite tools, Keyword Discovery is far superior to other because of the ease of use and the amount of keywords returned. For example, typing in patio furniture brought me over 2000 key phrases. While this may seem like a lot, it can be very helpful when writing copy as you often need to target more long tail terms.

You can do it

Advertising Copywriting

Advertising is...

Simplicity Check

Padding Check

Verb Check

Editing

Writing Action

Aim Before You Fire!

Before ever starting or expanding your business, target markets need to be identified. If your business is in full swing, you can re-adjust your direction and become even more successful by discovering new target markets in your area of business influence. Read the whole article: "Aim Before You Fire"

Desire Check

Patience Check

Length Check

Good News

Are you a Sniper or Sprayer?

Cliche Check

Just Say it Already!

Get to the point when writing copy.

You are not wriritng fiction.

Use short, succinct sentences and deliver the goods early on.

Write using as few words as possible.

Your readers will appreciate it.

Ask the Right Questions

Before beginning a copywriting assignment you need to pull as much information as possible from your clients. Depending on the business they are in chances are no one knows it any better then they do, they only hired you because they either don't have the time or the writing skills to get it done. Ask questions during the interview, while researching and even during the writing process. Any client that truly wants the highest quality work available will be more than happy to answer any relevan tquestion you throw at them.

Learn the Lingo

When you get a prospective client read everything you can on their business. Read their existing website if they have one. Read business journals related to their product or service. Most imortantly, pay special attention to foums, blogs and other forms of social media relating to the client. On Twitter do a search for a keyword in the field and see what people are saying. Just remember to read.

The Importance of Keyword Density

Keyword Density...it's a term that gets tossed around a lot in the world of copywriting. But what is it and how much importance does it have when writing? As copywriters working with web content we need to think about our readers first and the search engines second. There are many schools of thought on what the keyword density in your articles should actually be - ranging from 2% to 10% (that's some hard to read copy) - but if you right for your readers with the keyword in mind your keyword density should naturally fall within a good number without much effort.

Do Not Steer Clear of Negative Headlines

Most of the time people in the marketing world will tell you to steer clear of negative headlines for your marketing pages. Tuth be told, negativity could be one of the best weapons in your writing arsenal. This is not true all the time, of course, but which of these headlines would you find more appealing?

1. 5 Things Everyone Should Know About Health Insurance


2. 5 Things Your Health Insurance company Doesn't Want You To Know

I know I'm not alone in saying that I would love to find out why my insurance company has been screwing me for the past 13 years. Just make sure when you use a negative headline for your article that the content delivers the goods or you will end up with some very unhappy readers.

Use Bullet Points

Whether you are writing copy for the web or print you need to remember that your audience is far too busy to to read long paragraphs of text. One of the best ways to break up your articles and draw attention to key ideas is to use bullet points. Some of the benefits of using bullet points include:

• Gives authority to bulleted ideas


• Breaks up long blocks of text, making your article easier to read


• Highlights areas you want people to remember

See how that works. it is imortant not to overuse bullet points, however.

But when is enough enough?

That is something that comes with experience and after a while will come very naturally.

Learn Basic HTML

Web content is like food...it’s all about the presentation. If you want to get a step up on the competition the best thing you can do is learn some basic HTML. With HTML you can add images place text and add the links to your web pages that will give your text that extra umph. You can learn more about HTML from the WS Schools (http://www.w3schools.com/htmL/) and HTML Dog (http://htmldog.com/) and other sources.

Check Your Work

As a copywriter one of the worst things that can happen during your career is to be labeled a plagiarizer. Fortunately, there are a number of great content checkers to help you avoid this. Here are some of the best article checkers available on the web:

• Copyscape – One of the best content checking services available, Copyscape allows a free check for copies of your web page as well as a premium service to ensure your content is original. http://www.copyscape.com/


• Article Checker – Another great service, Article Checker allows you to check published and unpublished work against pages indexed in both Yahoo! and Google absolutely free. http://www.articlechecker.com/

Review, Review & Review Again

No one wants to see poorly written copy. Not you, not your clients and especially not your readers. Before sending any written materials to your clients make sure you read it. Then read it again. Then read it again. In fact, if you have a trusted friend or relative, have them look over your completed work. This will save you the heartache and the embarrassment of having to make edits or, even worse, a complete rewrite.

Give Them What They Want

Copywriting is "Selling Writing" and if you want to sell you have to give as much information as possible as succinctly as possible for your readers. Lose the fluff and give your readers the facts they need to decide if what you’re selling is right for them. This does not mean you cannot be entertaining; just understand that you need to save the fiction for Stephen King.

Write What You Know

Whether you are a seasoned Copywriter or are new to the field having a specialty will make it easier to land new jobs and get your feet wet in the field. Have you just left a career in Real Estate, Law or even Truck Driving? Use the skills you have gained from previous employment to your advantage. It will help establish you as an expert in a field when you are just starting out and will give you the added umph to put you ahead of the competition when the job market is slow.