Most people have grand plans for the new year: lose weight, get to the gym, read The Classics. No matter what your plans are, here's a resolution your business should take to heart:

Review Your Marketing Copy.

Of course I'm going to say that, but really, look carefully at what you're using to promote your business. Your website may be full of content from several years ago, before your business evolved, or you may not have the content you need for the resuls you want. Review it, and ask yourself a few questions:

• Is it up to date?
  
• Is it accurate?
• Is it well-written?
• Is it grammatically correct?
• Is it getting me the results I want?

If the answer to any of these is "no," reconsider how you write your copy. Consider outsourcing to a professional if you can't seem to find the right words. Also consider a content plan - what you want to have as your marketing content. Maybe you're moving toward blogs and special reports, or maybe you've found that, in a vastly electronic age, you want to give prospects tangible takeaways like brochures.


No matter what you want to do, I'm here in 2012 to help you get your copy into shape. Yes, your copy can go to the gym, too, and I'll be its personal trainer.

Happy New Year!

I always enjoy finding interesting ways to describe my clients’ services, particularly when I’m not familiar with the types of services my client offers.  Earlier this year, Jared Haworth of Alloy Code contacted me to write the copy for his website, which was being relaunched.  Alloy Code is a Ruby on Rails development firm, and at the time Jared contacted me, I only knew that Ruby on Rails was a programming language used to create web applications.  I didn’t know anything about the language itself, how to program in Ruby on Rails, or what iterative meant.  But I’m very well-versed in research, which makes it easy to get up to speed enough to provide cohesive copy.

I went through several steps before I started writing the copy, which was to be descriptive and use industry-standard terminology.  My first step was to be honest with my client before he sent me a deposit.  I told Jared exactly what I did know and what I didn’t know, and I advised him that I would have questions as I went along.  I then did a lot of research on Ruby on Rails: what methodologies are used, what kind of programming comes from it, and what terms are commonly used when describing finished products.  I visited a few websites that use Ruby on Rails on the back end as well.  Then, I asked my client a few things that needed clarification regarding the programming language.  This technical knowledge allowed me to better describe the services, using industry-standard terminology.

In the meantime, we discussed how he came up with the name Alloy Code.  At the suggestion of his good friend and long-time collaborator Keith Medlin, Jared came up with Alloy Code because alloys fuse metals to create even stronger materials, and Alloy Code fuses different technologies to develop strong applications.  I looked at other areas where I could use an alloy metaphor and wove it into the “About” and “People” pages, since Alloy Code consists of two very strong programmers.  We also used it as a tagline that appears at the top of every page.

I also wanted to play a bit with the name of the language itself, Ruby on Rails, without going overboard and being obvious.  For one of the services, I was able to use a subtle play on words to emphasize how a backup service prevents the application from being “derailed.”  Again, obvious metaphors seem lazy to me, so I kept it to a minimum and instead described the problem each service solved while only using the play on words once in the copy.

Finally, the client wanted a little bit of a tongue-in-cheek feel to the “People” page, which allowed me to show some of the personality of the Alloy Code developers.  I teased out some information from Jared and his partner on their hobbies and used creative ways to describe how they spend their time when they’re not coding.  I also listened to their suggestions – on my first pass with one of the bios, I used terminology that wasn’t familiar to the subject.  We figured that if he hadn’t heard of it, the ideal client wouldn’t, either, so I reworked the bio to remove the terminology but preserve the tongue-in-cheek feel.

Jared tells me that he gets inquiries through the website and has all the work he can handle currently (but is always looking forward!)  I’m proud to have been a part of this key component of Alloy Code’s marketing, and at the end, it was about more than just creating great website copy. We forged our own strong marketing piece through communication, blending a talented Ruby on Rails engineer with a hard-working copywriter for an even stronger website.*

*Lucid Designs was the website’s designer.

Most companies, especially small businesses, commission a web designer to create or update their website, but they forget about the copywriting aspect.  When the designer comes back to the contact person and asks for copy, someone will throw together a quick paragraph or two for each page, but it won’t generate the results that the business had expected.

It’s tempting for small businesses to save money by doing the web copywriting themselves, but here’s why it doesn’t work:

• The writer is too close to the business.  There’s something to be said about knowing the business, but if the writer is too close and entrenched in it, he doesn’t see the benefits of his services or products as easily.  A copywriter is distanced enough where she can extract the benefits from the features.
• The writer isn’t skilled at marketing copy.  A good copywriter is and can write in a way that will engage potential customers and encourage them to act.
• The writing just isn't up to par.  This is the biggest problem for most small business websites.  The business owner is great at what she does: personal training, healthcare consulting, IT consulting, interior design, etc.  But she’s not a skilled writer, and she can’t find the right words.  If she tries to write her website copy herself, it comes out stilted and doesn’t convey what she wants.  A copywriter can extract the information and present it in a coherent way to prospective clients.
• The writing isn’t grammatically correct.  A good copywriter is a trained writer who knows the mechanics of writing.  She is committed to the written word and produces well-written, grammatically correct copy that increases the business’s credibility.  When a business is looking to hire a copywriter, it’s always a good idea to ask if she uses any particular style guides or reference manuals (AP, Chicago, Strunk & White, even Yahoo!).
• The keywords aren't placed correctly.  Most websites should be SEO-optimized, and a good copywriter can seamlessly weave the keywords into the copy.  It goes back to "The writing just isn't up to par" - as good as the keywords are, they should seem to be organically ingrained into the website copy, not stuffed in strictly for SEO purposes.

The investment in good website copy pays for itself in a few clients.  Instead of trying to write copy themselves for the bulk of the website, businesses can benefit from engaging the services of a professional copywriter.  Read what my satisfied clients have to say about the copywriting I’ve provided, or contact me for a complimentary consultation to learn what I can do for your business website.

(And to save time, I have all four style guides and reference manuals at my fingertips!)

If you've never worked with a freelance copywriter before, you'll find that working with me is a pleasant, enjoyable experience. I listen to my clients and try to understand what they're really trying to say so that their marketing materials reflect their intentions.  Here's what the process is like:

1. You'll contact me, either through my Contact page or via email. Email is always the best way to reach me, and I respond within 24 hours to all emails and inquiries. You'll tell me a little bit about what you're looking for (a brochure, copy for your website, SEO optimization of existing content, press releases, case studies, copyediting, etc.).
2. I'll email or call YOU to set up a convenient time to talk about your project. We'll discuss the scope and content, and I'll quote you a fair market rate for my work and explain payment and delivery, which varies by project. For example, a press release could take 2-3 days, while an entire website package could take up to 30 days. If you like what you hear, I'll forward you my contract via email, along with a client questionnaire if necessary.
   
3. I receive your acceptance of the contract and deposit (50 percent of the final cost), and we further discuss your project, again by phone or email. This time, we'll go into detail about what you're looking for and the style and tone of your materials. I'll ask for any other promotional materials you've done as well so that I can see what you like and don't like.
4. You'll get a first draft via email. (My contract typically includes two rewrites after that first draft.) I use Microsoft Word, but I can save copy in a format compatible with your computer system. You'll then have a chance to review the copy, and we can set up another time to discuss, or you can email me changes using Microsoft Word's "Track Changes" feature.
5. I'll make changes, continuously keeping you in the loop. By the time you receive your first rewrite, usually a few days after we've discussed changes, I'll have nailed down your message. If a second rewrite is necessary, I will provide that quickly as well.
6. The end result: you'll have great copy that you'll be proud to publish in a brochure, on your website, or use in any of your marketing collateral.

I've noticed that on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media, writing style and grammar tends to fall by the wayside, which can detract from a business's message. Businesses should embrace social media and engage customers, but communicating in short, 140-character bursts or through quick Facebook updates can be tricky.

This Saturday, February 5 at PodCamp Western Massachusetts at Westfield State University, I'm going to lead a session on writing for social media. I'm going to cover ways to write concisely, get the message across, and preserve writing style and grammar, even in the "quick hit" social media world. I'll also briefly touch on blogs, if attendees express interest.

Attendee participation is greatly encouraged! I'm hoping for a fluid discussion on best practices, questions on grammar, and maybe even touching on the Yahoo! Style Guide as it compares to Associated Press style or the Chicago Manual of Style. I can pretty much guarantee that I'll reference Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, my favorite book on writing concisely.

Are you coming to PodCamp Western Massachusetts? Do you have a burning question about social media writing style? Email me so that I can include an answer in my notes!

In journalism school, my professors trained me to trim the excess from my sentences.  Adverbs would get cut first, much to my chagrin.  I could barely describe something without an adverb when I took my journalism classes. 

“That’s not how it happened,” Jane said quickly.

She frequently lectures on a variety of topics.

My J-school sentences were much less exciting without adverbs to modify the verbs.

“I really had no say in the matter,” Mike said.

He speaks at area colleges.

Many adverbs are subjective, and therefore, they have no place in a news story.  Copywriting is a different ballgame.  In my promotional copy, I haul them out of their dusty bin and pepper my work with adverbs, which emphasize how my clients’ products or services benefit potential customers.

This attorney returns calls swiftly.

Adverbs, in addition to modifying verbs, can also help combine related sentences to eliminate unnecessary words.  (My J-school professors might even be proud.)  Consider this:

This attorney works with the court.

She stays abreast of the latest legal trends.

She knows how to get results.

Rewritten with adverbs, the sentence reads:

By attentively staying abreast of the latest legal trends, Attorney Smith works closely with the court to get results in your matter.

Using adverbs (quickly, frequently, swiftly, attentively, closely) creates exciting, engaging copy, which leads to more clients, more money, and a better bottom line for your business.