1. Make your offer easy to understand at a glance
2. Ask for the order
3. Make your offer easy to respond to

Make your offer easy to understand at a glance:
If your market cannot understand your offer at a glance their attention will be lost, which means your offer will not get any attention.

Ask for the Order:
We do not get what we do not ask for, so Ask for the Order!  We continuously see sales pages with offers & no strong call to action.

Make your offer easy to respond to:
The more your market is asked to do the lower the conversion. People follow the path of least resistance, make the process easy & seamless for highest conversion rates.

2)  What goes in the business plan?

• executive summary
• company history and background
• clear description of the business concept and value proposition
• marketing analysis including competitive analysis and market development plan
• production and operations assessment and development plan
• financial assessment and projections
• management and human resources assessment and plan
• implementation plan
• identification of resources
• proposed deal structure for investors (if appropriate)
• survival strategy describing inherent risks and mitigation strategies
• growth strategy
• exit strategy
• appendices

Some of theses are optional depending upon the audience. The reader should be able to clearly understand what the value proposition is, why the business will succeed and how it is going to achieve this success. If the plan is being pitched to investors, the investor should understand as soon as possible what the proposed deal structure is and what the return will be. To do this you must support any claims and assumptions about what the business will do with realistic research. Unrealistic financial projections are a sure fire way to lose investors’ interest or for an owner to lose perspective.

3) How long should it be?
A typical business plan may consist of 20 pages although some business plans can be 100 pages or more, depending on the purpose of the plan, who the target is, and the nature of the business.

4) Should I use a template? Or a consultant?
It’s best for the owner(s) of an organization to write the plan.

A business plan is an easy way to communicate the business idea to the prospective audience, to assist in preventing problems, and to identify growth strategies, as well as a tool used in the search for funding. A business plan should be used as a tool for the entrepreneur to guide the business operations rather than a strict manual or blueprint to be adhered to and implemented exactly. The business plan can also be designed to help owners of businesses to clarify the strategy of a particular business and provide insight to manage risks.

Over 70% of new businesses do not survive after year two. Having a business and knowing what to do with it are very separate issues and creating a well-executed business plan for the right reasons will enhance the odds that your venture will be one of the ones to succeed.

So how do you know when you’ve found an IT copywriter? And – more importantly – how do you know what to expect from them? The following 10 tips will give you a good understanding of the qualities to look for – the things that make a copywriter an IT copywriter.

1) IT background

Perhaps the most beneficial quality in an IT copywriter is a solid background of some sort in the IT industry. If your copywriter shares an understanding of your domain, you’ll spend far less time explaining the benefits of your product or service. Remember the last time you watched someone glaze over as you waxed lyrical about the wonders of your latest technology? You don’t want that to happen when you’re briefing your copywriter. More importantly, you don’t want that happening when your potential customers read your copy!

2) Technical writing experience

Good technical writers are experienced in bridging knowledge gaps. This means they have to understand the technology, but they also have to be able to talk about it in the layperson’s language. A copywriter with technical writing experience in the IT industry is likely to have domain knowledge and an ability to hit the ground running. They’ll be quick on the uptake, so they’ll understand your product or service more rapidly than most.

Of course, not every technical writer is a IT copywriter. You need to be sure they can write compelling copy – not just dry instruction manuals. Take a look at their samples and testimonials before making a decision.

The other important consideration – especially if you’re after a website copywriter – is, do they have online writing experience? Writing for an online medium is entirely different to writing for print. Readers have different requirements and objectives, and reading conditions are very different. Many technical writers have written online help, so they should know how to cater to these differences. To be sure, ask them to recommend a maximum page length or word count per page. The correct answer should include some comment on the trade-off between the problems of scrolling and the need for a high keyword count for SEO. Ask them whether they prefer long sentences or short (and hope to hear “short”).

3) Further Education

IT products and services are generally very complex in themselves. What’s more, the needs of the end-customer are also very complex and unique. This means there’s normally quite a steep learning curve for anyone new. Ask your IT copywriter if they have tertiary qualifications. It’s not essential, and – by itself – it’s no guarantee of quality copy, but it’s generally a good indicator of someone who’s been trained in the art of learning (i.e. researching, information filtering and modelling, knowledge retention, etc.).

The flip-side of that coin is to be wary of people who are technically qualified. Don’t discount them on sight (many technical people have made great IT copywriters); just remember that technically trained people have a tendency to take a lot of things for granted when speaking to lay-people. Your IT copywriter needs to be able to understand the technology and its complexities, but still relate to the issues of the non-technical customer.

4) Management Experience

Anyone with management experience – at any level – has dealt with decision makers. They may even have been a decision maker themself. In any form of promotion, you need to appeal to the decision maker. Your IT copywriter needs to develop an understanding of the needs, influences, pressures, problems, work environment, and constraints of your typical decision maker(s). The more understanding your IT copywriter brings to the relationship, the less time you’ll spend schooling them.

5) Marketing Experience

Actual marketing experience is a big plus. It brings with it a broader understanding of strategic marketing and the realities of working with a range of challenging people and evolving products and services. Look for an IT copywriter with corporate experience as a marketing manager or marketing coordinator, or someone who runs a copywriting business with a heavy marketing focus.

6) Testimonials

Anyone can call themselves an IT copywriter; few have the client testimonials to prove it. Testimonials are a great way to validate your IT copywriter’s claims. Ask to see some and read them carefully. Don’t just look at the company name and logo. You need to determine if the clients’ words back up the copywriter’s claims. And make sure the testimonial relates to the type of work you’re commissioning (or something with similar requirements).

7) IT Samples

The proof is in the pudding. ALWAYS ask potential IT copywriters to send you samples of their work. And – as with testimonials – don’t be fooled by flashy packaging, big names, and recognizable logos. Read the words. Are they relevant to your project? Do they convey a clear understanding of the subject matter? Do they convey benefits or just features? Are they written in a style that you find easy to read, yet compelling? And after you’ve read the words, double-check exactly how much input the copywriter had in their writing. Not all copy is written from scratch. Some copywriters work in teams, and others do more editing than writing. Make sure you get a clear understanding of your IT copywriter’s abilities and experience before commissioning them.

Understand Benefits

Your customers aren’t interested in what you do; they’re interested in what you can do FOR THEM. In other words, they’re interested in what benefits your product or service will deliver. How will it make their day easier, more enjoyable, less stressful, safer, or more profitable? Identifying benefits is one of the hardest tasks in any advertising project. In fact, many people rely on their copywriter to help them uncover the most compelling benefits. Does your IT copywriter truly understand the benefits you’re promoting?

9) Contributes value

A good IT copywriter should have solid professional experience. They should bring value to your marketing push which goes far beyond the written word. Strategy, tactics, imagery, contacts, anecdotes, corporate identity… Your IT copywriter must bring more to the table than grammar and punctuation. Expect them to make suggestions, not simply take notes and say “Yes”.

10) Plus all the normal copywriter requirements…

Of course, your IT copywriter must be able to satisfy all the normal copywriter requirements. Ask for a contract of works to be completed, a time estimate, a plan of attack, a CV, and SEO copy skills (if search engine presence is important to you). For more information about what to expect from a normal copywriter, call us at PullMoney2 for help marketing your business online.

Conclusion

Traditionally, copywriters have been seen as a small cog in the big advertising machine. As a result, most copywriters have risen through the ranks of generic advertising agencies. These days, however, more and more people are sidestepping the agency and going direct to the copywriter. This approach gives them consistency across all of their written collateral, more compelling and engaging copy, and more responsive service. Within the industry, this change means that copywriters aren’t confined to ad agencies, and are able to specialize. The end result to you? While finding a good IT copywriter with an IT background is still a big challenge, it’s certainly becoming easier. You simply need to take the time to ask the right questions.

Good luck.

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These changes have led to a growing appreciation of the value of quality web copy. This appreciation has, in turn, led to an influx of opportunistic ‘copywriters’ promoting themselves as website copywriters or SEO copywriters. Don’t get me wrong, there are quite a few excellent SEO copywriters out there, and you should definitely shop around. The purpose of this article isn’t to scare you; it’s to help you find the SEO copywriter who’ll deliver honest service and excellent results.

So with that in mind, take a look at the following ten tips. These are the things you have a right to expect from anyone wearing a name badge that reads “website copywriter”, “SEO copywriter”, “internet copywriter”, or “web copywriter”… (See also 10 Things to Expect From Your Website Copywriter and How to Make the Most of Your Website Copywriter.)

1) An understanding of SEO

Obviously, your SEO copywriter must have a solid understanding of the essentials of Search Engine Optimization. They must know that ranking is essentially the result of a website’s relevance (i.e. keywords) and importance (i.e. inbound links). There are a whole lot of other factors involved, but if your SEO copywriter doesn’t understand these two basics, you should look elsewhere. If you’d like to ensure your SEO copywriter knows a little more than just the basics, take a look at SEO for CEOs, Writing SEO Copy, SEO Trade Secrets, Web Copy – How Much is Enough?, and How to Top Google by Writing Articles for some clues as to what you might like to ask in order to assess their knowledge.

2) Proven experience

The proof is, as they say, in the pudding. It’s not enough that your SEO copywriter can talk the talk; they must also be able to walk the walk. Ask to see some examples of websites for which they’ve obtained some good rankings. Note that it may be very difficult to find an SEO copywriter who has actually worked on both keywords and link generation, so if you find one who has, and they write well, snap ‘em up! They’ll have a very broad and useful working knowledge of search engines.

3) An understanding of how many keywords to use

You don’t want to fill every page up with every keyword you’re targeting. This simply dilutes your site’s relevance and reduces readability. Ask your SEO copywriter how many keywords they would recommend targeting on each page. Hopefully they’ll suggest no more than 3, preferably 2. By targeting 2 keyword phrases per page, you can use them a lot without impacting readability.

4) Clear agreement on who will provide keywords

Someone needs to perform a keyword analysis in order to figure out what words you should be trying to rank highly for. Your SEO copywriter should be able to do this for you, but it’s quite often more cost-effective if someone a little closer to the business does it. Either way, make sure your agreement with your SEO copywriter makes it very clear who is performing this task. Don’t assume the SEO copywriter is going to do it, because they may assume you’re going to do it, and then you’ll blow your budget.

5) Keywords or keyword phrases

Expect your SEO copywriter to offer some advice regarding how specific you should be with your keywords. In most industries, the competition for keywords is so fierce that you’ll be forced to target very specific keywords in order to rank – at least at the outset. For instance, if you’re in IT, you probably wouldn’t start out by targeting the keyword “IT”. The competition is immense (at the time of writing, there were approx 3,240,000,000 results for this search in Google.com) and the IT giants already dominate the search engines for this keyword. Instead, try using a more specific keyword phrase like “IT infrastructure consulting new york” (at the time of writing, there were only around 4,000,000 results for this search in Google.com). The other benefit to targeting more specific keyword phrases is that you’ll generate more relevant leads.

6) Agree on word count per page

Always make sure your SEO copywriter gives you an indication of the number of words they expect to write per web page. While it’s necessary to have a decent body of words on most of your web pages, you certainly shouldn’t have too many. What “too many” is all depends on your industry, the objective of the page, and the needs of your audience. It’s always a delicate balance, but it’s certainly possible to rank highly with only 100-200 words per page. So don’t be fooled into paying for copy you don’t need!

7) Density targets & measure

SEO of a web page is NOT guess-work. A good SEO copywriter will talk about density measures. This is a measure of the number of time the keyword phrase appears on the page. It’s expressed as a percentage of the total word count of the page. So if your page has 200 words, and your keyword phrase appears 10 times, its density is 5%. As a rule of thumb, your SEO copywriter should be aiming for a density of approximately 5% for your primary keyword phrase and 3-5% for your secondary keyword phrase. If your density measures are much higher than this, readability will be reduced, and you’ll risk being perceived as spam by the search engines. Make sure your SEO copywriter understands keyword density, is prepared to state the target density for each keyword phrase, and is also happy to be measured by that standard (should you decide to measure).

Where to place keywords

The question of keyword placement has been the subject of much debate amongst SEO copywriters. While it is still unclear how much impact placement has, there is a general consensus that it has SOME impact. Be sure that your copywriter is aware of this impact. Popular opinion has it that keywords are more effective if they appear in headings, bolded text, links, and generally toward the beginning of the page.

9) Some comment on structure & links

Websites are generally better indexed by search engines if their spiders can traverse the entire site using text links. This means your SEO copywriter should be linking each page to every other page using text links. If your site is complex, this may be impractical, so your SEO copywriter will need to create a hierarchical structure for your site. First, they should break your subject material down into categories. Then for each category, they should write a summary page. These summary pages should be accessible from higher level pages via text links. They should also be accessible from each other. Each summary page should link – using text links – to a number of pages discussing the finer details of the category. And each detail page in a particular category should link to every other detail page in that category (once again, using text links). This way the spiders are able to travel from the top of your hierarchy to the bottom, and from left to right across any level.

10) Don’t believe grand promises

SEO copywriters can play a significant role in increasing your search engine ranking. But they can’t do it overnight. By optimizing your site for your target keyword phrases, an SEO copywriter is simply declaring the relevance of your site. If you engage an SEO copywriter to write helpful articles containing a byline with a link back to your site, you can then submit these articles for publication on the Internet, and this will steadily increase your ranking. But if an SEO copywriter tells you they can dramatically increase your ranking in a matter of hours or days, be wary. NOTE: Your SEO copywriter should be able to submit your articles to various submit sites on the Internet. These sites are closely watched by hundreds of thousands of publishers of e-newsletters and article pages from all around the world. High quality articles are quickly snapped up and published prolifically. And each time your article is published, you’ve got another link back to your site, thus increasing the importance of your site (to the search engines).

Conclusion

An SEO copywriter is a valuable addition to your marketing function. But you need to make sure you choose wisely. When you know what questions to ask, the battle is half won.

Perhaps it’s time to take a look at what we are rewarding at work and begin questioning whether those behaviors are in alignment with the results we expect to achieve. Now would be an excellent time to change that!

2. Offer a reason for people to give you their cell number. Offering free coupons through text is a good way for customers to give their cell number to you & agree to receive your messages.

3. Text is something you add to your marketing plan.  Use SMS text messages to stay in touch with your customers so you can build a long term relationship. Use SMS text messages to remind your clients of appointments or specials, this will help keep your business in front of them.

4. Don’t over do it. Four to six SMS text messages sent your customers per month is about the right amount of contact.

5. Choose a a service provider that fits your needs, is experienced, offers great support &  operates within the law. There are a few legitimate options your business can look into. The least expensive option with the most support is the Google Pros Biz2Lz.

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The magnifying glass is moved further to the right rather than appearing directly next to the website’s name. Additionally, you have to hover over the magnifying glass icon to activate the preview. Currently, clicking on any of the text in a search result will load the preview. Also, the website link, URL, “cached” and “similar” links appear above the Instant Preview, which isn’t the case now.

Avoid the wimpy verbs—is and be.
These “do-little” verbs only occupy space and state that something exists.  So don’t write “There is one simple omission that can transform a sentence from boring to brilliant.”  Do write “One simple omission can transform a sentence from boring to brilliant.” Similarly, avoid “We will be running the new program from our Dallas office.”  Instead, opt for “We will run the new program from our Dallas office.”

Place the longest item at the end of a series.
Start with the simple and work toward the complex.  It’s less confusing and makes a more memorable ending to the sentence.  If you have a series like “He was always later that Joan, loud and boring.”  Opt for “He was loud, boring and always later that Joan.”

Specifics are more convincing.
Unless you must for legal reasons, don’t use words like many, several, approximately, nearly and other such mushy weasel modifiers. Specifics tell your audience that you know what your product can do based on tests, research, results, etc.

Modify thy neighbor.
Neighboring clause, that is.  Make sure your modifiers apply directly to the pertinent clause in question. Do this and you’ll avoid such gaffes as “I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.  (The truck wasn’t coming the other way, it was stationary.)  Better to tell the judge “I was coming the other way and collided with a stationary truck.” (You’ll still pay the penalty for running into a truck, but at least you’ll come across as sober.)

Use single verbs to avoid doublespeak.
Single verbs can often do the work of two similar verbs.  Instead of “The computer was operating and running smoothly,” go for “The computer was running smoothly.”  Or, instead of “He was empty and ran out of gas,” go for the more direct “He ran out of gas.”

Vary sentence length.
A string of sentences all the same length can be boring.  Start with a short sentence or at least a medium-length one, then go long, short, medium or any combination thereof.  Imagine a person talking in sentences that are all the same length.  Robotic.

Are your sentences like the Energizer Bunny?
They go on and on. Just because you’re conveying legal or complex technical information, doesn’t mean you have to use serpentine sentences that never seem to end. Instead of saying “Laser beams, which have many properties that distinguish them from ordinary light, result from the emission of energy from atoms in the form of electromagnetic waves.” Break up and re-phrase to “Laser beams have many properties that distinguish them from ordinary light. They are produced when atoms emit energy in the form of electromagnetic waves.”

Go short and sweet.
Why use a 4- to 5-word phrase when a 1- to 2-word version will do nicely—with no loss in meaning?  Statements like “in view of the fact that” can be easily reduced to “since” or “because.” Word economy is particularly important, especially when you’re paying for premium ad space in a major publication.

Don’t overstate the obvious.
Redundancy is good for space travel, but not for clear writing.  Phrases like “anticipate in advance,” “totally finished,” or “vital essentials” will drive your readers crazy and communicate very little. The same goes for stringing two or more synonyms together like “thoughts and ideas” or “actions and behavior.”  It makes readers wonder if you really meant to say two different things or just wanted to reinforce one word with a needless synonym.

So the next time you’re struggling with that sales letter, mailer or web page, follow these simple rules. They’ll help you communicate your message more clearly and with greater selling power. Remember, there are 26 letters in the English alphabet.  Use them wisely.

You can use these tips when it comes to creating offers, E-mails and sales letters that grab people’s attention.

So without further ado, here they are!

Number one:
Always write your sales letter with the individual in mind.

Whenever you’re writing a sales letter or an E-mail, you want to write that E-mail or sales letter as though you were talking to one person.

Number two:
Pull them in with the first line.

You’ve got to create interest with the reader, the very first line that they read.

Number three:
Use bullets.

People like to scan, they like to quickly read things as fast as they can, and using bullets makes that whole process a heck of a lot easier. So use them.

Number four:
Just let it flow.

When you’re starting to write a letter, it is very difficult to just start from top to bottom and write everything. When it comes to writing it and actually putting everything down in order, I want you to just write as it’s coming out. You’re going to have moments when inspiration hits you and your pen is going to go like crazy or your fingers are going to go like crazy on the computer keyboard, and I want you to just let it flow.

Number five:
Write like you speak.

I briefly touched on this in one of the earlier points. But it’s much easier for you to envision that you’re communicating with one individual as though you’re having a conversation with that person, because when that person reads your sales letter or your E-mail, they’re going to feel like you’re talking right to them, and that’s exactly what you want.

Number six:
Make your communication easy to read.

What I mean by that is use short paragraphs. Use pictures. I want you to bold certain things. I want you to highlight important areas.

Number seven:
I want you to stress the benefits and not the features.

I want you to put yourself in the shoes of the person reading your communication piece
The number one question that they’re going to be asking is: What’s in it for me? You have to address those things, and you’ve got to stress the benefits of your particular communication piece that you’re trying to use.

Number eight:
I want you to keep the reader interested.

How do you do that? On a sales letter there are a ton of ways that you can keep the reader interested, and I’m going to give you a few of them right now.
-     You can use graphs.
-     You can use pictures.
-     You can use audio.
-     You can use video.
-     Another one that people love to see are testimonials.
-     Another one that you can always use is giving examples of proof.
-     Do you have checks?
-     Do you have screen shots of people registering for certain things?

Whatever you’re trying to sell or promote, I want you to give proof that it works or that it would provide benefit to the person that is reading it – screen shots, pictures, testimonials – these are all great things of proof.

So there you have it… 8 quick tips to improve your copywriting skills. This is not the be all and end all of copywriting techniques but they will definitely help you jump over some of the hurdles that are standing in your way!

The U.S. Constitution is clear about the issue of privacy. In fact, the Fourth Amendment states, in part, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…”

With that in mind, it’s safe to say it’s more than just a little disturbing to know that, in certain circumstances, police can search your cell phone and computer(s), even if you don’t want them to and even if they don’t yet have a warrant to do so.

“Smaller businesses don’t have the same access to capital as these larger companies,” said finance professor John Paglia of Pepperdine University.

Paglia recently released the Summer 2011 Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, that showed nearly 95% of 1,221 privately held businesses want to put more money into their businesses.

A survey this year by PNC Bank showed that more than half of women business owners are funding their businesses with their credit cards. Only 27% got a loan from a financial institution, according to the survey.

The lending environment is a black cloud hanging over small business, said University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith. Blame the evaporation of home equity in the housing crash, he said.

“That had been, especially in Florida, a relatively inexpensive source to fund small business,” Snaith said of home equity. “That source of funding was eradicated as well during the housing crisis.”

Until banks begin to open up funding for local small business it will be very hard to turn this economy around even though many local small business owners are optimistic and want to grow their business.

Before you sit down to write your email sales letter, you`ve got to determine exactly who your audience is. This is a master key to getting results from email marketing.

Ask yourself these questions:

- What do your prospects/customers want?
- What frustrates your prospects/customers most?
- Who else is selling something similar to you?
- Why should your prospects/customers believe you?
- Why should prospects/customers respond to you instead of someone else?
- What kind of appeals will your target market respond to?

=> Step #2 – A GREAT SUBJECT IS YOUR OBJECT

Before an email can generate results, recipients need to open it. But what can you do to spark their interest and get their interest “motor” revved up?

Your SUBJECT LINE is the key.

There are four types of email formulas you can use as a guide in crafting your email. Each has a different PSYCHOLOGICAL APPEAL that works like magic on consumers. Here are some examples:

- State a powerful benefit – “Empowerism Satisfies Your Need for Leads”

- Pique curiosity – “Empowerism Has Uncovered the Secrets of Success”

- Write your subject line with a news angle – “Empowerism Launches RSVP For Those Who Want to Double Their Money Fast!”

- Offer Immediate Gratification – “With Empowerism RSVP, you can start the money wheels turning before the sun goes down tonight”

Here`s an important “homework assignment”: Write at least 25 SUBJECT LINES before you decide on which one to use. Take the best two and test them against each other in your marketing campaign. (Save the “losers” to use for other purposes or spruce up later.)

=> Step #3 – WHAT`S IN IT FOR THEM?

Sit down and write every conceivable benefit your product has. Don`t know the difference between features and benefits? Features describe the product; benefits describe the results of using the product. Features appeal to logic…logic justifies emotion…emotion drives sales (see below).

Here`s a rule of thumb for benefits: ask yourself “What can my product or service do for my customer?” Then begin to write your letter telling your reader WHAT`S IN IT FOR THEM. Tell them how much better life will be for them after they buy from you. Tell them how much better they`ll feel. Tell them how their peers will respect them more.

=> Step #4 – AN EMOTIONAL APPEAL

When promoting anything to anybody, you must remember that buying decisions are based upon emotion and later backed up by logic. Before you write a single word, determine what emotional hot buttons you need to push to “jumpstart” your prospect.

Selling health supplements? Go for the “fear of illness” button with “A Natural Way to Save Your Eyesight.” Selling political bumper stickers? Hit the “anger” button with: “Let the President Know What You Think of His Policies.” Other buttons include: curiosity, greed, ego, vanity, hope, and/or fear of scarcity or security.

=> Step #5 – A NAME YOU CAN TRUST

To convince people to buy your product or service, you must make them believe that your offer is credible and that you (or your product) will deliver as promised.

How do you do that? Here are three ways you can build credibility with the readers of your sales letter:

- Provide testimonials.
- Include endorsement letters from authority figures in your industry
- Make your offer and promises sincere and believable.

=> Step #6 – A GUARANTEE

Nowadays, trying to sell without some type of guarantee is a losing proposition. You`ve got to have one. And the stronger your guarantee, the better your response will be. And, believe it or not, although most people will NOT ask for a refund, they`ll trust your offer knowing that you stand behind it.

You can offer a 24-hour, 30-day, 60-day, 90-day, or even a full-year. And here`s an interesting fact: The longer the time period, the fewer returns you`ll have! It`s human nature to procrastinate, so the more time someone thinks they have to get a refund, the more they`ll put it off or forget about the refund altogether.

=> Step #7 – DON`T FORGET TO ASK

It happens all the time. Someone makes a fantastic sales presentation, and then doesn`t close the deal because he/she didn`t clearly ask for the order or made the process confusing rather than simple.

- From the Research Department: Statistics show that you need to ask for the order at least three times to close substantial sales. (Some studies put the number at 7!)

If you can, offer several ways for your prospects to order — consumers love choice. It tells them, “You`re talking directly to me and meeting my unique needs.” If you only offer one way to order, make it crystal clear how AND how easy it is. Describe it in detail and ask for the order. Then ask again.

=> Step #8 – THE EYES HAVE IT

It`s a well-known fact: Large blocks of copy are intimidating and will often send people running for the hills or at least the Delete button.

The solution? Break up paragraphs into two to four sentences. Use several subheadings throughout the email letter. And use asterisks, dashes, and ellipses (…) to give your copy more rhythm. Bullet points are excellent eye-catchers – use them whenever appropriate.

If you are not on the 1st page of search results on Google, Yahoo & Bing, you are basically invisible to potential customers searching for your products & services…and that means lost business.

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Local Marketing

Nothing can turn strong copy into a 97-pound weakling faster than a flawed review process. The result is severely handicapped marketing efforts and, alas, fewer sales.

How can you avoid this dire marketing situation?

By having a smart and consistent review process that preserves the selling power of your marketing communications. Following are 7 essential tips for reviewing and approving copy.

1. Review the copy from the customers’ perspective.

On the first pass, read the copy (all of it) without your red pen in hand or editing hat on. That’s how your customers or audience will read it. Now, what do you think? Does the concept work? Did the headline grab your attention? How was the tone? Does the copy flow? If you begin by editing the first sentence or sweating the details, you will do your clients or customers a disservice.

2. Don’t get hung up on grammar and usage.

If you think the copywriter broke a writing rule, 9 times out of 10 there was an excellent reason. Copywriters are sales people in print, so if we take liberty with the English language, it’s for effect. Plus, be aware that copywriters (and proofreaders) review and correct the copy before you see it. For example, I consider spelling, grammar, style issues, trademark usage, and more to ensure the quality control of every piece of copy I write.

3. Avoid copy by committee.

There’s that old joke that says if you want to kill an idea or project, start a committee. Copy by committee is no different. Conflicting and misguided comments put the copywriter and creative team in the awkward position of trying to please everyone except who matters most — the intended audience. One way around this is to circulate informational copies to people who would like to see the copy. They can make comments without being part of the formal approval process.

4. Minimize the rounds.

Provide complete feedback on the first round, forwarding all your comments, suggestions, and changes to the copywriter. That way the copywriter can consider everything when he or she rewrites the copy and you can shorten the review cycle. Copy is typically stronger when it’s created in three or fewer rounds.

5. Provide specific comments.

When you provide specific comments, the chances of succeeding on the rewrite improve dramatically. For example, instead of saying, “This isn’t strong enough,” say, “The tone needs to be more authoritative” or “These are additional benefits the copy should cover.” Often times putting your comments in writing will help you be more specific than if you just provide them orally.

6. Let the copywriter rewrite the copy.

Instead of trying to “write” the changes yourself to be incorporated, tell the copywriter your concerns and let him or her address them. The copy will benefit when the copywriter does the rewriting.

7. Judge the copy based upon your objectives.

In the end, the copy was written with particular objectives in mind: to build your brand, generate leads or sales, inform about your company, products, or services, and so on. Make sure the copy is technically accurate and factually correct. Then critique the copy based upon what you want it to accomplish, not on the number of superlatives, your competitor’s latest ad campaign, or how it compares to your previous brochure.

Call PullMoney2 for help with your copy so you can rank in to top keywords for your industry.

I was petrified.

It was early in my freelance writing career and I didn’t even know what one looked like. I had a lot of questions. “What the heck is a case study?” “How long is it?” “What is the format?” “How much do I charge?”

I didn’t have a clue.

Of course, these days, I know more. A lot more. In fact, I write dozens of case studies for clients each year.

Case studies now rank high on my list of the most fascinating — and lucrative — projects I handle. (I’m sure glad that my client offered me the job all those years ago!)

If you’re unfamiliar with case studies, don’t worry. They’re really quite simple. A case study is just a fancy name for a success story – the tale of a happy customer and his or her experience using a product or service.

Lately, I’ve noticed that more and more companies need case studies written, yet have difficulties finding writers who can do the job.

That spells OPPORTUNITY for you and me.

And it gets better. Consider the following:

1. Case studies are not difficult to write.

They are similar in style and format to a newsletter article. So if you can write one of those, you can write a case study.

2. Case studies are relatively short

Usually about 400-800 words in length. Once you’ve gained a little experience, you’ll be able to knock one off in less than a day.

3. The formats are standardized

Unlike ads and direct mail, you won’t get stressed out by having to come up with a dazzling new concept or killer headline. The basic structure of a case study is remarkably simple. All that’s required of you is to get the facts and write a good piece.

4. Case study writers are in demand

More companies are scrambling to get case studies written today than ever before. I can’t give you an exact figure but, in my opinion, the demand for case study writers has increased significantly over the past couple of years.

5. There is little competition

I’m not sure why, but few copywriters go after this market. Some may not know it exists. Others may mistakenly think that case studies are dull or technical. Not true! Case study writing is storytelling. It’s fun.

6. Case studies pay well

Surprisingly well. Now you won’t get the superstar rates paid to big-league direct mail copywriters. But most clients do pay handsomely for case study writing. Earning $100 per hour is not an unreasonable expectation for an experienced writer. I know many who earn a lot more.

Right now the case study market is booming. Why not jump in and get your share of these fascinating and lucrative writing gigs?