Let Them Clearly Know Your Needs

It’s important that you have a thorough understanding of what you want to accomplish with your project. The more information you can give to a freelance copywriter, the better prepared that writer will be to give you a good estimate on the job. If you are vague in your early talks with a freelance copywriter, it will be very hard for the writer to know exactly what your job entails. Make life easier for both sides by doing your homework before you approach a copywriter to get involved.

Find a Specialist for the Job

There are different areas of specialty for copywriters. While most copywriters are good at a few different forms of writing, nearly all copywriters have one or two types of writing that they specialize in. If you are producing a brochure, try to find a freelance copywriter who specializes in this type of commercial writing. If you can zero in and find the most suitable specialist for your project, you have a much greater chance of producing the best quality written content possible. Every business has specialists. Be sure to choose the right freelance copywriting specialist for your project.

Get Samples and References

If you ask to see a copywriter’s samples, you might be surprised at how delighted the writer will be to show them to you. Copywriters take great pride in their successful writing projects and regularly keep a few on hand to give to prospective customers. Many copywriters even keep samples online, linked to their websites. You want to know if the copywriter you are talking with is the right person for the job; getting samples is a good way to find out. You should also get some references. Ask the freelancer about companies that they have done work for in the past. You will probably find that the copywriter keeps references on hand too. References and samples are very common requests that copywriters receive leading up to a job.

Being prepared to go through these steps with a freelance copywriter will ensure that you are going to be comfortable with the process. You will also find that it makes finding the right person for the job much easier to accomplish.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5451382
 

There’s a bit more to it than that, but this isn’t the place to go into the mechanics. The essential art comes in picking the right keywords and putting them in the right places, while still making the copy read well to prospective customers.

It’s been part of what I do as a freelance copywriter for a long time now. And it amazes me how much ignorance there still is about how effective it can be at getting a website to the top end of the search engine rankings. Especially when it costs relatively little when compared with other search engine optimization methods.

Yet so many web design companies still, essentially, ignore it. So many small or medium sized businesses haven’t even heard of it when they’re commissioning a new website. Under-used, under-funded, under-appreciated, it’s the “Cinderella service” of search engine optimization.

What can SEO copywriting achieve?

Correctly done, it will provide an enormous boost to your search engine rankings. It’s often possible to get a site on the first page of the major search engines for a variety of keyword searches.

In fact I’ve written optimized copy for sites that two years later are still on the first page of Google for popular keywords – and without the need for expensive link building or marketing campaigns.

(That said, beware anyone who actually guarantees you a top ranking – or who only succeeds in getting a high ranking by optimizing a phrase that virtually no-one would put in a search box.)

What does SEO copywriting cost?

If you know what keywords you want to use and the copywriter is writing the site from scratch, there’s no reason why SEO copywriting should cost any more than regular copywriting. However, half the skill is in choosing the best keywords. You must be sure that you’re using keywords that people search with, but which aren’t being optimized by too many of your competitors. Researching the keywords does take a certain amount of expertise – and time.

Get it right, and the benefits are incredible. You can not only compete with companies much bigger than yours, you can get higher rankings than them.

Some companies pay thousands and thousands to optimization companies to generate link building campaigns. Others shell out small fortunes to Google AdWords or MSN adCenter, paying for sponsored links. With SEO copywriting, you simply make a one-off payment for a couple of days or so of the copywriter’s time.

Then why is SEO copywriting so underrated?

There’s a variety of reasons why SEO copywriting isn’t more widely used. One is that web design companies tend to focus on the look of a website. Their creative people are designers and they rely on clients to supply copy – ‘the ‘grey bits’ that fit in between their expensive images and beautiful designs. The effectiveness of a website tends to be of very much secondary importance to them. Even now it’s generally only the bigger, more progressive design agencies that actually employ copywriters.

Another factor is that for a long time, good copywriting wasn’t really necessary as far as the search engines were concerned. You could get away with spamming them – for instance by simply repeating keywords over and over again in tiny or nearly invisible text. Not any more. Today, proper, well-written content truly is king for the search engines.

A further reason is that there are a lot of web marketing companies out there which depend on making regular money from optimizing in other ways. From their point of view, expensive and ongoing link building and search marketing campaigns make a lot more sense than a comparatively small one-off copywriting fee.

So is SEO copywriting the be all and end all?

To be fair, there are times where SEO copywriting alone isn’t enough. If you’re in a highly competitive business like travel or insurance, you have to fight tooth and nail to scale the rankings. With instances like these, search marketing and link building campaigns can make sense, although they’re usually costly.

Whatever your business, it also helps regularly to update and add content to your site, even if that copy isn’t optimized. Search engines like websites which are frequently updated.

It’s also still important to design and code your site in a search-engine friendly way, though much less so than it used to be. The site design won’t have much of a positive effect in itself, but it could have a negative one if you’re not careful – certain types of software or page designs make it hard for the search engine spiders to read the page. So you need web designers who know what they’re doing.

Of course, if you’re not interested in getting a large number of visitors to your website, you could just decide not to bother with any kind of optimization. For instance, if you’re a big multinational, people will generally come to you.

But if you’re a small or medium sized business, you cannot afford to ignore the power of SEO copywriting. Without it, your site will likely be seen by few people. Whereas for a comparatively small sum, you can compete long-term with anyone, gain higher rankings – and pick up many new customers. SEO copywriting may be a Cinderella service, but it offers a fairytale ending.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/753680

When the applications started rolling in, I was dumbfounded. All of my best intentions and systems notwithstanding, the applicants seemed intent on ruling themselves out of contention by sending sub-standard application emails. They were so bad that, at times, I felt like I was shortlisting based on the quality of the application, rather than the quality of the applicant.

This article is for any writer – experienced or not – who plans to apply for a copywriting job. It presents 12 tips (in order of importance) on how to apply in such a way that you stand a chance of making the shortlist.

1) Follow Instructions

If the job ad contains instructions, follow them. If it contains instructions which are labelled “IMPORTANT”, and which are formatted bold and red, you can assume they’re somewhat important and that there’s a reason for them. Follow them! Read and re-read the ad to make sure you’ve followed every instruction. If the ad says apply via email, apply via email! If it says to use “Copywriter Application” as the subject line, use “Copywriter Application” as the subject line! If it says to visit a website, provide a quote, supply three copy samples, and include your resume, DO ALL OF THOSE THINGS! If you don’t follow the simple, obvious instructions in a job ad, the employer will have no faith that you’ll be able to adhere to a complex copywriting brief!

2) Less is More

Don’t waste the employer’s time. Remember, they’re hiring a freelance copywriter because they need someone to take on a bit of their workload. They’re ‘time poor’. Keep your application short ‘n’ sweet. This is your chance to show what you’re capable of, so don’t fall into the trap of using big words and complex sentences. Less is more.

3) Show How You’ll Help Their Business

Try to see things from the employer’s perspective. Most employers who advertise for freelancer copywriters are looking for people who can help them streamline their business. Employers – particularly copywriting studios, advertising agencies and web design agencies – who want freelance copywriters are trying to ‘productize’ copywriting. They want to be able to ‘turn the handle’: they want an affordable freelance copywriter who can be relied upon to deliver client-ready first draft copy, with minimal supervision. They’re trying to build a copywriter factory line. Remember this when you apply, and try to show how you’ll help them achieve this goal.

4) Make Your Application Scannable

Once again, remember that the employer doesn’t have a lot of time. So make your copywriter application easy to scan. Don’t just write one long block of text. Use short paragraphs, headings and bullets, and bold the important bits.

5) Address the Requirements

If the copywriter ad lists the requirements of the job, make sure you address them, individually. (But remember, keep it short ‘n’ sweet.)

6) Be Open and Honest

Don’t oversell yourself; if the story told by your samples and resume doesn’t match your sales spiel, you’ll be discounted. If you don’t have the experience or expertise to satisfy one or more of the requirements, say so. And don’t lie about your experience or include samples you didn’t actually write. This may get you one job, but you may not get paid for it, and you’ll certainly never get another. And remember, the copywriting world is very small; everyone knows everyone, and warnings about deceptive freelancers travel very fast along the grapevine.

7) Provide Relevant Samples

If the job ad asks you to supply samples of your copy, do everything in your power to find and supply samples that are relevant. The ad may specify the kind of samples you need to supply, but if not, take a look at the employer’s website, and send samples that are relevant to their main service offering. If they do mostly web copy, send web copy samples. If they do short copy, send short copy samples. And if you don’t have any relevant samples, try to identify the core qualities required by the employer, and send samples that show you possess those qualities. (e.g. If the employer does mostly online brochure-type web copy, you’ll need to supply samples which show your ability to simultaneously capture a product and an audience, and maybe even educate the audience.)

8) Don’t Expect Immediate Feedback

Because most job ads attract hundreds of applications, and because the employer is still trying to run their business, you can’t expect immediate feedback on your application. Don’t send a reminder email after a day or two days. If you’re going to send a reminder, do it after a week or two weeks. And, unless the ad says to call, don’t call! Phone calls take up a lot of time, and this can be very frustrating to a busy employer who, most likely, has no feedback to give yet, anyway.

9) Don’t Use Broken English

If you’re applying for a job as an English-language copywriter, you have to have a solid mastery of English. If your application is written in broken English, you WILL NOT get the role; you’re simply wasting your time and the employer’s time.

10) Proof-Read Your Application

Nothing undermines a copywriter more than mistakes in spelling, punctuation, grammar and syntax (he says as he nervously scans his article!). Pay close attention to detail. You may be applying for quite a few roles, but don’t hurry through your application; always take the time to proof-read and spell-check. TIP: Although it’s not a show-stopper, try to spell the employer’s correctly!

11) Don’t Ask for Work Experience

Unless the ad specifically states that unpaid work experience is a possibility, don’t ask for it. While it certainly indicates great enthusiasm, most employers simply don’t have the time to mentor a junior copywriter, even if they’re not paying the writer anything.

12) Don’t Ask for a Critique of Your Writing

If your application is unsuccessful, feel free to ask why not, but don’t ask the employer to critique your writing. Explaining why your writing is inadequate is a very time consuming task, and it’s not the responsibility of a prospective employer. If you ever had a chance at a call-back somewhere down the line, this is the surest way to lose it.

Conclusion

You’d be surprised how many freelance copywriter applicants DON’T observe the above guidelines. These applicants make the employer’s job extremely frustrating and time consuming, and they all but rule themselves out of contention. Follow all of the above tips when applying for your next freelance copywriter position, and you’ll be a very big step ahead of your competition.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/191317

There are a huge number of excuses that you can invent to avoid having to hire a freelance copywriter – you can do it yourself; nobody else will be able to understand your business; you already have a working marketing campaign – they’re all familiar excuses. And crucially, they’re all rubbish. The truth is that bringing in a copywriter to polish up your text and advertising campaigns is one of the most important things you can do to increase the success of a business.

There are hundreds of good reasons to hire a freelance copywriter to turn your business around, here are just a few:

1. A copywriter has perspective – you can sometimes be too close to your business. As an outsider, a copywriter is able to see your business as your clients do, and can make sure that your copy says exactly what it needs to say to have maximum impact on your target audience.
2. Copywriters are experienced – you may know your own business better than anyone, but by the same rationale, a copywriter knows his. It’s the copywriter’s job to connect with people and bring them round to his point of view, and those are techniques that work no matter what the product is.
3. A copywriter can keep you up-to-date – what worked last season may not necessarily work now. It’s part of the copywriter’s job to keep up with the latest trends and shifts in consumer demand. Hiring a copywriter gives you not only great writing, but access to this invaluable bank of knowledge.
4. Copywriters can save you money – how often do you have to pay your staff to work overtime so they can work on your advertising? Hiring a professional copywriter will cut costs and, as staff are free to go back to their own jobs, it will raise productivity as well!

Many firms splash out thousands on flashy designs for their websites and brochures, but seem strangely reluctant to spend almost anything on the content that fills them. And yet this is the most important part!

Your writing is the message you send out to your clients. Design is important, but it is the writing that determines how your prospective clients will view you, and you cannot afford to skimp on that. .

How to Hire a copywriter

Hiring a freelance copywriter can seem a daunting prospect if it’s your first time, but you should keep in mind that it is no different from hiring any other professional service. A good copywriter will be able to tell you in advance how much you will need to pay, and what information he needs in order to complete the job. Many writers charge a rate per hour, or per day, although some prefer to agree a set price for the entire job.

However your copywriter chooses to work, the cost of the job should be clear from the outset, and you are unlikely to be hit with any hidden charges. Just in case, however, have your copywriter sign a terms of service document for your project, which you can refer back to in case of a dispute.

Here are a few other things to bear in mind when looking to hire a freelance copywriter:

1. Plan ahead – a good copywriter will tell you what information he needs to complete a job, but you can save time and money by thinking ahead and having everything ready when the copywriter starts the job. A little preparation can go a long way.
2. Check out the writer beforehand – no matter how good a particular copywriter is, if you don’t like his writing style there’s no point hiring him. So don’t just take on the first copywriter you find, take the time to shop around a little bit – get recommendations from friends who have hired freelancers in the past. When you have a list of potentials, compare them. Get them to send you writing samples and pitches, and narrow the list down until you have found the perfect writer for your project.
3. Don’t worry if he has never written for your industry before – one of the most important parts of a copywriting job is research, and most of the copywriter’s skills can be applied just as well to any industry. The copywriter’s skill is in connecting with people, and persuading them to take a specific course of action, whatever that may be.
4. Make sure there is enough time to complete the job – don’t bring in a copywriter at the final stages of a project and expect them to come up with a masterpiece. A writer needs to let the project gestate for a while before he can bring it all together and produce his best work. While most copywriters will agree to work to a tighter deadline, if you want top quality writing, it’s a good idea to give yours a little more time to get it spot on.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

While the initial outlay for hiring a freelance copywriter may seem steep, it repay itself many times over. It’s impossible to overstress the value that clear, well-written copy can bring to a business – not to mention the marketing expertise that will be bringing in customers long after the copywriter has gone. And that’s possibly the best reason of all to bite the bullet and get yourself a copywriter!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/284933

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