Business Writing & Copywriting Blog

Things I want to accomplish this year

Jan 01, 2009 No Comments »

I’m never very good at making New Year resolutions because frankly, I don’t believe in making New Year resolutions simply because I think whenever you want to do something, you want to bring about some change, you should simply do it and shouldn’t wait for a new year to come by.  But anyway, I think the beginning of a new year is a good time to move on and make some plans — planning always helps.

There are many things I wanted to accomplish last year and they remained neglected due to lack of time (okay, you can say, commitment).

• Develop a system to keep in touch with existing clients: Recently I was going through my old folders.  In the past 4 years I have worked/interacted with more than 500 clients. Among these, I think there have been just 20-30 clients who gave me repeat work. They remembered me, they tracked me down on their own when they required my content writing services.  There must be many more clients who may often need my services but hire other content writers simply because they have forgotten about my services or they can’t recall  whom they hired last time. This is a big waste especially if they liked my services.  I have already signed up for a mailing service and I’m definitely going to use it regularly to keep in touch with my clients.
• Increase my traffic: The traffic on my website is appallingly low.  It is only a miracle I get enough work and I know miracles just can’t keep on happening all the time.  Sooner or later I will run out of work due to lack of traffic. The traffic on my website is so low that I need to increase it to more than 500% in order to ensure continuous supply of work.  I have been neglecting this aspect simply because the current amount of traffic keeps me financially comfortable.
• Expand my network: Very few people know me on the Internet despite the fact that I have been active here since 1999. People came a year ago and became celebrities.  No, I’m not crazy about becoming an Internet celebrity (I would rather become a singing sensation) but knowing more people is not only rewarding intellectually it also helps you generate more work.
• Set up a dependable team of writers: Although I love writing and till now I have had practically no problem delivering assignments to my clients I won’t be able to grow much if I keep on writing on my own.  I will have to take up bigger assignments in order to grow my business and this can only happen if I work with multiple writers and outsource work to them.
• Start singing professionally: My singing teacher thinks I’m ready to perform but I am going to wait and practice more for the next 5-6 months because I think I need a more powerful and expressive voice.  So far I’m quite happy with the progress.

There are many things on the personal level that I would like to achieve/change by the time 2009 ends but professionally I think these are the fundamental things I need to achieve in order to solidify my financial stability.

Focusing on your readers when writing

Dec 15, 2008 No Comments »

There is an avalanche of articles and blog posts teaching you how to write well. Even “reputed” and “revered” bloggers and content publishers cannot resist publishing these clichéd blog posts and articles that are perpetually regurgitating the stuff that has already been told to you at least 133 million times. They almost, always begin with: put the reader first. What exactly does that mean? Does it mean always trying to please your readers and write about things that only cater to their whims and fancies or does it mean actually writing something that benefits them? Most writers who teach you how to write seem to be focusing on the former. It should be the latter.

Whenever you are starting to write a new blog post, an article, or even a business webpage for one of your clients or for yourself think about why the reader should read what you are writing. Are you merely trying to please your visitors so that they visit your blog or website again and again or do you really intend to communicate your actual feelings?

To be honest I too have tried my hand at a couple of blog posts that were merely written to generate traffic because I felt people wanted to read such blog posts. But this is a myth promoted by web writers and bloggers who don’t want you to try something new and want to keep the territory safe for them. Don’t write for your readers to please them, write for them to really share something genuine with them otherwise it begins to sound stale and inconsequential eventually. Have you noticed the deluge of how-to lists and resource lists that tell you 50 ways of doing this and 100 ways of doing that? Do you ever follow those 50 or 100 methods? I am sure you save them (as I often do) thinking that someday you will definitely use them. These people publish these lists simply because they know that such lists draw lots of traffic and encourage people to bookmark them. They rarely go beyond that. So how can you really benefit your readers?

Share with them instead of presenting to them chunks of information and lists of methods and tips. Be one of them. For example have a look at Steve Pavlina’s blog; I think life improvement blogs will come, make a mark, create some ripples and instant celebrities, and go, but Steve’s blog is going to sustain. This is because he doesn’t present lists of things that can help you become a super achiever. He simply shares with you his experiences. He doesn’t sound like an expert or an authority figure. He automatically becomes an authority by sharing whatever he experiences and learns.

This is how you focus on your readers when you write; you become one of them. Don’t preach them, don’t tell them to do this and that in order to attain Nirvana. Simply, share your growth with them, share your experiences, and encourage them to share theirs.

Taking up assignments that are not in my field

Dec 12, 2008 1 Comment »

Of late – for the past 5 odd months – I have been taking assignments that I haven’t mentioned on this website, for instance designing and developing websites and setting up content management systems such as Joomla and PHPNuke. These assignments are so not content writing. But they earn me some good money, some quick money. The amount of money that I make writing content for say, 5 projects, I can make the same amount with just one project of designing a website. You might wonder then why the hell do I write content instead of making websites?

I used to make websites a few years ago and in fact only those people approach me for web designing and development work who somehow know that I used to make websites. I wrapped up my web design and development business because my soul was not into it; I wanted to write. That is why I started providing content writing services to various clients. Back then I needed to heavily advertise using AdWords because very few people were looking for content writers and online copywriters. I don’t know why I never stopped learning the new web design and development techniques. So when people started creating CSS based layouts I also learned how to do that and when people started incorporating Ajax functionalities into their applications I also used them while working for one of my permanent clients. Maybe that is the reason; I have always been in touch with web design and development and I never work on a project half-heartedly even though my primary business is content writing.

There is another reason why I often get this work. When new clients approach me many times they are just starting a new website. So they ask me by any chance do I know a good web designer. I often reply that I don’t know any web designer but there are a few websites that I have designed and if they like those designs and if they are ready to pay what I am asking for maybe I can give it a try. This is how everything begins.

Especially these days I try to do as much work as I can because one is never sure of the prevalent economic conditions. Although I don’t prefer designing websites if they get me some good money in little time and I have to do something that I already know it becomes difficult for me to refuse. Does this mean I am ignoring my core business? I don’t know, maybe. On second thought, I think earning money and creating a backup is also essential for my content writing business. With enough money I don’t have to take up “desperate projects” and I can be choosy. I am still thinking about it.

Where do you draw the line regarding being polite to your clients?

Dec 11, 2008 1 Comment »

Being polite is good in general. One should always be polite. Politeness can be an invaluable asset to you if you work as a freelancer. But where do you draw the line? There is a big difference between being polite and being obsequious.

Just refunded a client’s advance because he wouldn’t listen to reason. I had sent him a document yesterday; today he replied that he could have done a better job himself. He said the writing was mediocre, it didn’t make sense and it was needlessly complicated. This happens when you don’t have anything to say and you just want to write the 300 words you have promised. I quickly went through the document to check what he was talking about.

Let us assume that I have crossed the threshold of writing faulty language. Assuming there are no errors in grammar or otherwise here is how you would say that a document communicates what it needs to communicate:

• The headline that captures the attention of the visitor by offering exactly what he or she is looking for.
• Quickly explaining in the first paragraph how your service can make a big difference and help your client tremendously improve his or her business (or whatever you intend to improve).
• In the second paragraph you briefly talk about your team, the individual experiences and qualifications of your team members and their levels of motivation and commitment.
• In the third paragraph maybe you explain the tools that you have to carry out the service and your total command over those tools.
• In the fourth paragraph you normally talk about the work you have done so far.

This is the basic information you give when writing about a service. You can write it boringly, you can write it interestingly, or you can do the simple plain talk. I kept the language simple (I usually avoid clichés and jargons), to-the-point, and focused to the need of the client’s prospective clients. My main concern was to keep the message simple and captivating for the layman.

Anyway, upon receiving the client’s response I quickly wrote to him and offered as many re-writes as required to make the content acceptable to him. After a couple of minutes, he said he had no time to explain and he needed me to refund. I immediately refunded without further explanation.

Should I have tried to reason out? After all we started on a good note and he wanted my services on an ongoing basis. My experience says I shouldn’t have tried to explain further because such clients are normally quite impatient, they don’t respect your time and effort, they are quite unpredictable, and they have no clue what exactly they want and I think this is the basic problem with them. Besides, whether they are happy or not, they never provide you regular work simply because they themselves never get regular work due to the way they treat their work and their own clients.

If you want me to work for you the least you can do is clearly define your requirement. You must know what you want to convey and who are your target audience?

Now, you may argue that what is the use of me being a copywriter if I cannot make out how you want to convey your message and I will totally agree with your argument. If you think that I am a capable copywriter then you should leave it up to me how your message should be conveyed and if somewhere we disagree then there should be enough scope for alterations and further discussions. You hired me because somewhere you felt I can provide you what you are looking for. In case I don’t then there must be some communication gap, either from my side or from your side. All I can suggest to you is, let us fill the gap and see the completion of the project.

If a client is not satisfied I don’t offer excuses; I simply offer a rewrite and if I cannot figure out why the client doesn’t like the work I try to get more information. I try to do it as politely as possible even when the client is not polite. But even after that if the client shows a negative attitude I have no choice but to fire that client.

Writing website copy for a web design and marketing company

Dec 10, 2008 2 Comments »

From now onwards I will be regularly discussing the online copywriting and content writing projects I am currently working on. No, I’m not going to divulge the details of the client unless he or she desires to do so. So if you are my present client or my prospective client you need not worry. I will simply share with you the things that I am experiencing and learning while writing.

I have written for many web design and marketing companies so it is becoming kind of a repetitive job. There is a great temptation to open pre-existing documents and simply rehash the material, but that won’t be ethical and it also won’t be good for my self-esteem as a writer. Even if I have written 20 times for the same sort of business I start from scratch whenever am writing for a new client. Of course the things are the same and they are offering the same service. So how do you differentiate?

That is a challenge as a writer. Writing for a web design and marketing company mainly involves writing on three themes:

• Web designing
• Web development
• Internet marketing/SEO

To describe and sell these services one uses almost the same language and the same pitch. In order to come up with unique content I try to imagine myself being a part of the team. Every team is unique, that much I really understand and agree to. Every business team has a unique message to convey. There is something that motivates us. I try to catch that feeling. Now you may wonder why get involved so much if a company is paying you just $90 to do three pages? Well, it is not about those three pages and those $90, it is about getting involved with your work. Anyway, I am digressing.

This is something that always works: I forget about all the work I have done so far for similar clients. For instance, while working on this present content writing project I’m not thinking about the other similar projects I have worked upon (besides, there is always an interval of 2-3 months so there is also the possibility of forgetting what you have previously written). I consider it my first most assignment for a web design and online marketing client. Of course I utilize the experience, but that’s it.

Recognizing my market and reaching out to unrecognized markets

Dec 07, 2008 1 Comment »

These days I am constantly thinking about increasing my business. My conversion rate is quite high, fortunately. You won’t believe I receive 60 odd visitors per day and still on an average I get one business query everyday and at least three projects every week. If somehow I can manage 240 visitors every day maybe my work will be multiplied by the same proportion. Although, I make a comfortable living I have some financial goals for the coming years and for that I definitely need to increase the number of assignments I get every month. Besides I would like to focus more on marketing and promotion and get the writing done (of course, while maintaining the current standard and even improving it) from other writers from India as well as in other countries. If I want to do this I must get lots of assignments so that the margin is big enough for me.

Along with constantly working at increasing my traffic (relevant traffic, not just any traffic) I’m also thinking about recognizing and approaching newer markets. I was just reading this blog post by Rohit Bhargava who talks about exploring unrecognized markets while referring to a new social networking website called Savvy Aunties; this website targets women who have money but no kids and who would like to spend money on their nephews, nieces and any other kids they would like to shower their affections upon. Now this is a completely unexplored market because people are mostly targeting moms and dads, grand moms and grand dads, and brothers and sisters. With more and more successful women deciding to remain single or not have kids I think this is a great market to target with a very vertical niche.

Most of my clients come from the USA and Europe. Even in Europe, it’s mostly the UK from where the clients contact me. There are still many countries that remain out of reach and I must try to reach those countries and markets. In the coming days I am going to study how I can do that. Whatever I learn I will be sharing on this blog. I will be honored to receive suggestions from you.

Are SEO and content related?

Dec 05, 2008 No Comments »

SEO and content are definitely related because the search engines rank your website or individual pages according to the content they contain. Your website is known to the search engines, and also to the human visitors, by the worth of its content.

Does merely having content help you in SEO?

It depends on your competition. It’s not just any content that helps you in SEO. Having hundreds of pages and blog posts on kite flying is not going to help you appear higher for model planes related searches.  The content on your website must be relevant to the primary theme of your website. What message are you trying to convey through your website and does that message address the query being used by the search engine user? You have to convince the search engine crawlers that you have got the information their users are looking for.

How can one improve SEO through content?

Generate content that is relevant, useful, and exactly talks about the topic under discussion. Take for instance, the title of this webpage; it asks “Are SEO and content related?” If somebody searches for this question and if the search engine algorithms think that this blog post contains the most appropriate answer to this question they are going to rank this blog post higher compared to other pages and blog posts. How do we do that?

Obviously the question must appear on this page at least once, prominently, in this case it appears in the title of the blog post. It is also repeated, contextually, within the blog post, this means this particular expression appears on this blog post. It doesn’t have to be repeated needlessly; use it exactly where it needs to be used.

You can also use the expression within the bold typeface (preferably just once, don’t repeated wherever your expression appears), as anchor text, in bullets, and in headings and subheadings. The basic idea is to highlight the expression and convince the search engine algorithms that this particular expression is central to what you are trying to discuss on the page.

Another way how your content can help you in SEO is creating dedicated pages for individual expressions. Again, take the question in the title of this blog post. The title asks the question and the body elaborates upon it. I’m not sure whether it is going to happen or not (with the search engines you can never be too sure) but this blog post stands a great chance of appearing higher on various search engines.

Sharing your knowledge and increasing your business

Nov 27, 2008 No Comments »

I don’t know where I read this – and I have read it numerous times – that we live in a knowledge economy. Knowledge economy means you acquire knowledge and you share it with your audience, no matter what is the medium.

Bloggers, one way or another, have always done that. Based on their knowledge and communication skill they first build an audience and then with the help of that audience that build businesses. 37 signals is one company that has given its knowledge for free and earned a few million dollars consequently.

Does sharing your knowledge freely always earn you money? It depends on what you are trying to share and it also depends on your audience. For example, the 37 signals audience would be freelance web designers, software professionals, and all those professionals who work from multiple locations on multiple projects. They target small businesses and freelancers who don’t have big budgets for managing their projects and promotional activities.

I was thinking how to apply the same logic (of course not the exact copy, because every business is unique) to my own business – content writing and copywriting service. I have always been sharing knowledge on my website in the form of articles and blog posts on how to improve your writing and how to make an impact through your writing. This fetches me lots of relevant traffic. This also increases my relevancy – my traffic is miniscule but I make a comfortable living. But it doesn’t mean I’m satisfied. I want to increase my business so much that I mostly managing projects instead of working on them.

For that I need to build traffic, and more than the traffic and need to build an audience, and you can build an audience when you share your knowledge honestly, without holding anything back, and on a regular basis. For me here, the key word is “regularity” because this is something I am not able to follow consistently.

Anyway, I found this immensely insightful video featuring Jason Fried from 37 signals in which he explains how it makes sense to share your knowledge and business secrets openly and increase your business in the process.

My thoughts on SEO Content Writing

Oct 18, 2008 No Comments »

Recently a client approached me with a requirement of hundred articles for his various products and he needed me to write a small sample to help him make up his mind. Generally I don’t send samples because there are enough samples on my website but sometimes the requirement is unique enough to warrant a sample and in such cases I don’t mind providing it. He liked the sample a lot and then asked me whether I could provide him SEO content. I told him that the sample article that I had sent him was in fact an optimized article and he should get some good traffic for the chosen keyword. He was quite amused and happy that I had sent him an “SEO article” even when he hadn’t asked for one.

Although elsewhere I have explained the difference between normal content and SEO content if you ask me, frankly every well-written article is a search engine optimized article. Still, there is some difference when the relevant keywords come in focus. Clients often ask for a percentage density for the keywords of their choice. For instance many clients want the density of the keywords to be around 3% to 4%; this means of the total number of words existing on a page the keyword should take up 3% to 4% of the total number. Does it matter?

Nobody is sure. What matters is the relevance. Using the right words you need to explain the right thing. For instance if I want to talk about SEO content and if I want people to find my page that talks about SEO content then I should use this phrase at least a few times on that page. This has to be done till the semantics used in search engine ranking algorithms become highly intelligent. They have already improved a lot but you still have to use the exact keywords. Here I would quickly like to add that sometimes when you are looking for a writer Google also shows the results that contain the word “writing”.

So how do you create SEO content?

• Use the keywords: If you want to be found for a particular keyword then you have to use the keyword on the webpage but you shouldn’t overdo it because that proves counter-productive. Instead organize your content in such a manner that your important keywords get highlighted naturally.
• Organize your content logically and highlight important portions: This is very important especially when you are writing for web pages. The reading on your webpage should be as seamless as possible. Highlight the most important portions of your content using headings, subheadings and bullets. Use your keywords in headings, subheadings and bullets. Repeat your important key phrases and keywords at least once or twice in the first paragraph and definitely include your keywords in the title of your page.
• Stay away from creating abstract text: Being a writer I love literary experiments but not at the cost of my clients. When you are writing copy, SEO content, use precise phrases and use the exact words. Straightaway say what you mean to say and never leave scope for confusion. Why is it necessary to stay away from abstract style of writing? Straight writing is friendlier towards both your human readers and search engine crawlers; they can easily make out what you’re trying to sell and what you’re trying to promote.
• Research your keywords: It is very important to know for what keywords you want a particular webpage or the entire website to be found on the search engines. For instance if I want my website to be found for the term online copywriter then I must optimize my content for this particular phrase. But then I need to be sure whether people looking for me use this expression or not; maybe they are using something totally different that I am not aware of. So I have to find the keywords and key phrases that are actually being used and shouldn’t optimize my content for the keywords that I think people must be using. In fact researching your keywords should be the first step you should take before starting to generate optimized content for your website or blog.

Doing what you love and making money off it?

Oct 17, 2008 2 Comments »

Can you actually love your work and earn money doing it? This is a question Seth Godin ponders upon on his blog. Loving your work does not mean loving to earn money because if that is your passion than of course you can earn money while loving to do it. He talks about creative things like painting, poetry, creative writing, music etc. People love these arts, they love to consume them and be entertained by them but can you actually make money without compromising on your values vis-a-vis your artistic sense?

I think to an extent you can. This may sound clichéd but I love writing. A few years ago I wrapped up my web designing and web hosting business and started writing to make a living. It was a shaky decision but I knew that there was a great demand for writing services and for people who could provide quality content. Blogging was just beginning, and the search engines had just started ranking websites according to the quality of their content. Sure, the sort of writing I do, you cannot call it literary, but I definitely have to use my creativity. I am not ecstatic – I will be ecstatic if I start writing novels and can support my family through them – but I am not frustrated too. I am always dabbling with words; they are my tools. It is a lot better than creating websites and writing code as far as my passion goes. My current profession allows me to perpetually remain in the company of words and this doesn’t let my writing muscles rust. I would have totally lost the touch had I been doing something else and not writing.

You can surely do something that you love and also make money while doing it if you are ready to make some adjustments. Take for instance painting. There is lots of scope for creative arts and you don’t even have to create professional art all the time. Do commercial painting during the normal working hours and then afterwards you can do the sort of painting you love just for the sake of passion and love. The same you can do with other creative arts such as photography, creative writing, poetry, even pottery.

The whole point is trying to remain in the company of your art no matter what happens. Although some compare it to something like prostituting the most important part of your life but it doesn’t have to be like that. The problem arises when people get trapped in solely earning money.