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Direct Response Copywriter on The Google Penguin Update

2012-05-19T15:36:29Z

I’m not an SEO expert. I’m a direct response copywriter and content creator so SEO is best left to people who don’t have the intellectual ability to produce money-sucking copy(!). So I don’t spend vast amounts of time worrying about search engine algorithms.

Google just made a big change to their algorithm through its Penguin Update.

The search engines wage a constant war with ‘black hat’ SEO practitioners. The search engines want to maintain the quality of their search results. The so-called ‘black hat bad guys’ want to use dodgy tactics to rig the search results.

There’s nothing illegal about the tactics of the bad guys. Companies like Google call them bad guys because Google sets the rules. But I don’t want to get into the whole ‘white hat’ and ‘black hat’ thing.

If you know nothing about SEO, the Penguin Update especially penalizes SEO practitioners who essentially produce nonsensical website content—content ‘written’ to improve SEO results; the content is often directly plagiarized from other sites.

Here’s an article from The Wall Street Journal explaining the impact.

From the remedies the article suggests…

Content is king. Make sure your website has original and accurate information. Google places the greatest value on sites providing the best possible user experience.
Use social media. Post links to content on your site from Twitter, Facebook and other social-media profiles. Your fans may repost the information.
Spread your wings. Don't rely just on Google. Look for other ways to attract people to your website, such as by running special promotions or buying ads.

If you rely on ‘black hat’ SEO techniques, Google is going to penalize you. You’re better off spending money on content and copywriting. Content to keep your visitors engaged and coming back to your website and social media outlets. Copywriting to persuade people to visit your website for the first time. And copywriting will also persuade people to take the next step in the sales process once they're on your site.

The Wall Street Journal says it best…

Make sure your website has original and accurate information. Google places the greatest value on sites providing the best possible user experience.

Again—I’m not an SEO expert but I believe EVERY search engine expert will tell you to pay close attention to superb and fresh content. Content will ALWAYS help your search engine results...and keep your prospects and customers engaged.

Remember Conversion

I’ve been working with an excellent SEO company. They get superb ‘white hat’ results for their clients. But there’s a problem. The companies they help aren’t getting results—phone calls, emails, opt-ins, etc.

That’s where conversion comes in…turning the visitors into buyers. If you want to do this, I’ve got the following advice.

Use proven conversion techniques for landing pages. DON’T reinvent the wheel.
Hire a direct response copywriter and use direct response copywriting techniques. We spend all day every day persuading people to BUY.

Again—I’m not an SEO expert. I’m much more important! But seriously…when you focus on content and proven conversion techniques, your digital marketing will thrive. Just make sure you hire top-quality talent.

I'm a direct response copywriter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I specialize in providing copy and content for the direct marketing environment for clients around the world. I increasingly specialize in sales pages and landing pages. Enter your info to the right for my free series: Seven Steps to High Converting Copy. Or contact me here.

Direct Response Copywriter Provides Tips from Top Copywriters: Richard Armstrong.

2012-05-14T14:44:12Z

Richard Armstrong:

Direct Response copywriter Richard Armstrong teaches that one man’s junk mail is another man’s multi-million dollar business. His free eBook My First 40 Years in Junk Mail is a virtual text he provides as an introduction to his work. This eBook is a sales pitch for his business. He presents the book to anyone who visits his website as a ‘welcoming’ gift. This gift matches the tone of his website very well as his copy addresses web-surfers as “Friend” and converses with readers as if they have known him for years. In his eBook, Armstrong suggests his ‘junk mail’ line of work is entirely humble and without frills, yet lucrative to those who will take it seriously. We also learn from his writing how important it is to have a business plan, even if you are creating and marketing ‘junk.’

Armstrong demonstrates how vital to success it is for a copywriter to have go-to ‘do’ and ‘don’t’ lists which serve as practical mini-business plans.

Armstrong lets his clients know what he wants, and what he doesn’t want. Summarizing from his website www.freesamplebook.com, he wants client projects that:

Pay large amounts of money.
Are new.
Mail out on a larger scale.

What this means is that he likes challenging new work that pays a lot of money and reaches tons of people. This is great advice.
Armstrong claims scenarios that do not interest him are:

Last minute, hurried work.
Clients who do not know what they are doing.
Clients who scam.

Armstrong reminds us that what is best for your client’s business is often best for yours as well. Rushing is unprofessional, even if it pays more; it is better to have clients who know what they need to make their business succeed.

Any copywriter will do well to establish a firm business plan with established ideas like these ‘do and don’t’ lists. It is important to know what you expect and want so that you can clearly relate those ideas to your clients.

Direct Response Copywriter Provides Tips from Top Copywriters: Joe Vitale.

2012-05-07T12:09:09Z

Joe Vitale: Finding Inspiration in Different Places

Joe Vitale’s Hypnotic Marketing website details his ‘hypnotic’ moments of discovery and the places where these moments of discovery take place. He established his latest 4-step method for masterful marketing while on a nature walk and channeled the petals of a flower into his business dream. Really.

What is most important to learn from Joe Vitale’s process is focusing on the concept of inspiration. Perhaps you detest nature and prefer digital tools for inspiring your cranium to create financially powerful ideas. Maybe you’ll get ideas by reading one of the classics or touring the galleries of your favorite museum.

Whatever it takes to get your creative juices flowing, that’s your ‘Joe Vitale nature walk.’ But have backups. Find new ways to find ideas by watching what inspires others. Whether you need a vacation (perspective change), or just some simple yoga (looking within), or learning a new language (helps some get a better grip on their own), do what it takes to find creative thinking and turn your ideas into opportunity.

Some copywriters struggle with a legendary foe…‘writer’s block.’ There may be no such thing; it could be you are simply not prepared. Clear your head of non-related worries and always have the tools you need once the ideas emerge.

Most fantastic ideas flow from life experiences and conversations, not from a computer screen or a desk—most people have their “a-ha!” moments while actually living. So let’s say you are kayaking or rock climbing and you have a light bulb moment. Are you prepared to write it down in a pocket notebook or dictate into a voice memo app on your smart phone?

However you record your brilliant ideas, try to always have your tools with you. While a smart phone can be very useful for recording, saving, or sending ideas, it never hurts to have a pen/mechanical pencil tucked into a pocket, purse, backpack, brief case, lunch box, or suit case. Joe Vitale’s idea about creative process can be translated and shortened: an idea doesn’t have to be complicated to make money. For example, reinventing the wheel is not as hard as it looks: http://www.magicstraws.com/

This company gave consumers a new way to drink milk—an activity that has been mostly the same for centuries. Joe Vitale’s message is clear: find your inspiration and turn your ideas into revenue.

Direct Response Copywriter Provides Tips from Top Copywriters: Dan Kennedy

2012-05-05T18:31:49Z

Steve Platt wrote a piece based on the 14 lessons in The Ultimate Marketing Plan by copywriter and Internet Marketing king Dan Kennedy, whom he calls the “Sovereign of Sales Letters (Or maybe the Duke of Direct Response).” Platt calls this piece a “three-part series on how to profitably translate advice from old-school marketing guru Dan Kennedy to a new online environment.” Please excuse Platt’s split infinitive. So Platt’s read this book which was published in 1991 and translated the chapters so they apply to an Internet-based business.

1. Putting together the right message: (Find your USP-unique selling position).

2. Presenting your message: (Assemble your 5 step sales pitch).

3. Choosing the right audience: (Hone your niche, find your audience).

4. Proving your case: (Get paranoid—justify why you are great and promote yourself).

5. Putting your best foot forward: (Your website should ALWAYS look its best).

6. Get Free Advertising: (Social media is your best friend—it’s free).

7. Become Hot!: (There are 7 ways to get noticed and stay noticed).

8. Poor Boy Marketing: (Spend time, not money, on your advertising).

9. Maximizing total customer value: (Hold the audiences’ attention; keep clients happy).

10. Fueling Word-of-Mouth: (Go viral; Use the EAR formula).

11. Create a short-term sales surge: (‘Sales Surges’ are vital for cash flow).

12. Take Advantage of New Marketing Technologies: (Embrace your inner techie).

13. Avoid employee sabotage: (Partner profits and manage employees carefully).

14. Hiring and firing experts: (Filter all advice using your own common sense).

From Dan Kennedy there is much to learn about the world of copywriting, and even more to learn about marketing and though this piece is mainly about marketing, selling, and money-making, one crucial lesson a writer should learn about the business of writing is in lesson number fourteen: “Hiring and firing experts.” A writer and freelancer should know that other writers are in fact competition for your business and may struggle with several of the same questions and mistakes. Gather advice from many sources about how to make your business successful and use your instincts and common sense to decide for yourself who runs a successful writing career, and who doesn’t.

Direct Response Copywriter Provides Tips from Top Copywriters: John Carlton.

2012-05-03T03:33:08Z

John Carlton has a triumphant rags to riches story.

The story teaches us perseverance in the face of adversity, professional integrity, and how to be an entrepreneurial powerhouse. His no-frills approach to the business of writing is based on common sense.

When you find out his secrets for success are in fact public knowledge and completely bare bones, expect the obligatory smack to your forehead while you mutter “Doh! Why didn’t I think of that?!”

The 4 fundamentals of John Carlton’s approach:

1) Work hard. Take your career as a copywriter seriously and recall that you are in the business of helping other businesses thrive. Carlton calls this his White Knight approach to copywriting—you are safeguarding another person’s livelihood so handle with care!

2) Do your homework. Speed read, then reread. Carlton bought a speed reading course and then sped-read almost every sales and marketing book in his local library. He then reread all the books containing valid and crucial business info. Carlton achieved his goal to ‘catch up’ with those who had already held jobs in advertising for years while he drifted: by the time he emerged into the word of ad copy he realized he had wisely overshot and become far more educated in the field than the majority of his acquaintances. He read himself ahead of the game!

3) Write with a gun to your head. Avoid traps like wordiness or cuteness and make copy effective by imagining your life depends on your work successfully selling your client’s product or services. For a man like Carlton who began his career as a copywriter while living out of his car, his life completely and totally depended on the success of his writing.

4) Be efficient. Carlton prepares his desk. He stays zeroed in and focused and does not write until he has completed his homework. He calls writer’s block a total myth: he believes it’s unpreparedness. To prepare for coywriting, Carlton recommends an activity: take a nap, eat a meal, go for a walk. Just get focused and then get to work.

Carlton’s personal journey as a copywriter is an inspirational tale of believing in yourself, and above all, working very hard. Copywriters can learn from his experiences, mistakes, and achievements.

Direct Response Copywriter Provides Tips from Top Copywriters: Bob Bly

2012-05-01T01:13:16Z

What’s the most valuable lesson you can learn from Bob Bly? He’s a strong writer but his customer service is excellent. He provides clients:

1)    A guarantee—not necessarily a money-back, but a promise of a rewrite.
2)    No charge rewrites. If a dentist drilled the wrong tooth, why would any patient pay him or her to fix it?
3)    A barrage of testimonials backing up his customer service claims.
4)    Communication—staying in touch with the client.
5)    Clarity. Tell the client who you are, what you do, where you are located, when you can deliver the copy, why they should choose you instead of another copywriter, and how you can help them.
6)    Multiple resources on the website for the client including many ways to reach him.

Bob has published hundreds of client testimonials on his website. You can watch videos to see what he looks like (striking) and hear how he sounds. You can see examples of his writing and read about his services.

Bly also presents multiple ways to spend money on his website but also includes plenty of free goodies including audio, video, downloads, etc. Bly targets possible clients for his copywriting, but also manages to turn his colleagues, competitors, fellow writers, and marketers into his clients as well.
How?

Variety—he sells them books and CDs about writing, freelancing, selling and marketing, and starting your own business. He links his main website to his other websites. Bly has a few hundred websites set up to sell his products. So if you have no need for his copywriting skills, he presents you with about a thousand other ways to spend money/time with his company. The wide range of products he sells complements and augments his customer service.

Direct Response Copywriter Indulges in Branding

2012-04-29T15:41:32Z

In the world of direct response, branding is a banned word. There’s a famous book about branding…or non-branding: Branding Only Works on Cattle.

People in direct marketing (like me) often wonder why small companies spend a lot of money on branding/image advertising. And the people who run branding/awareness agencies generally view people in direct response as inferior. Let’s not get into that battle for now. But it was time for me to come up with a new image for my business so I asked a graphic designer to create a new logo. I gave her the direction and the copy and it was ready in two days.

The result…

I think every business needs an image and a brand but it’s less than 1% of the marketing spend.

When you want actual results from your marketing investment, use direct response techniques and hire a direct response copywriter.

Direct Response Copywriter on Successful Landing Pages

2012-04-27T20:30:20Z

Traffic on the Internet is becoming much more expensive. And the amount spent by online advertisers is also increasing significantly.

This means the online advertising environment is becoming more and more competitive. A few years ago, a really bad landing page could convert readers into buyers but today, the landing page has to work to gain a positive ROI. Failure is not an option. Mediocre is not an option.

For online advertisers who want their landing pages to work, my advice is:

Use direct response copywriting techniques.
Hire a direct response copywriter to write the copy.
Follow proven successful landing page formats.

Here’s a landing page that’s converting successfully.

Many times I speak with potential clients who want creativity and ‘innovative’ work. That’s not what you want. What you want is CONVERSION and so you want to imitate, without plagiarizing, what’s worked before.

The Most Important Copy this Direct Response Copywriter Has Written

2012-04-16T14:56:01Z

If you want to be successful and you want to reduce your sales costs dramatically, then this page I just created includes the most important copy you will read.

Direct Response Copywriter Meets Renaissance Man

2012-04-10T00:14:18Z

I was just on vacation and I ran into this guy. I told him I was a direct response copywriter and he told me he was a writer. Actually, here’s what’s on his business card:

Film Critic
Author
Scriptwriter
Executive Chef
Extreme skier

That, my brothers and sisters, is a renaissance man.

Nothing wrong with that.

However, I’m increasingly becoming a specialist. Two years ago, I was writing books, publishing magazines, and also writing copy.

For the record, I'm not an executive chef and I'm not an extreme skier...yet.

I just write direct response copy. And I’ll soon start to focus on two niches.

I only spent an hour or so with my film critic, author, scriptwriter, executive chef, and extreme skier new friend—and I enjoyed the banter—but it’s generally better for a direct response copywriter to get vertical. So I won't take inspiration from his varied background.

For the small business, the more vertical and specialized you can get, the better.