Copywriting – Page 14 – Express Writers

Great Copywriting In Action: Tim Burton

January 1, 2021August 13, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image credit: Listal.com We all know Tim Burton, whether we are solid Burtonites or if we have only watched a few of his films with friends or family. He is known for his unique take on films and many remember him for his films like Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejuice. However, his incredible filmography is not the only great thing about this unique director – his copywriting skills are something that any copywriter can learn from. We are going to take a look at a few ways in which Tim Burton does copywriting and how it is tremendously successful. In fact, how he does copywriting is really what has helped push him to the top, since his films are not the standard Hollywood fare. Tim Burton Stays True To Himself One thing you can never say about Tim Burton is that he copies or hides behind methods that are overdone. He is known for completely being himself and anything that seems overdone (like Johnny Depp in almost every film) are only overdone because he has stuck to what he likes. You know that you are watching a Burton film, or that he had something to do with the film because it has his unique signature looks and designs. He also sticks with the things he loves and those things that inspired him to become a director, such as using Vincent Price for as long as he could in his films or making a film based off of painter Margaret Keane, who one can obviously see inspired Burton’s art. When being interviewed, he never strays far from his personality, which endears him to many people. What can copywriters learn from this? It shows how important it is to stay yourself and be genuine. Sure, sometimes it might seem difficult to be yourself when it comes to writing copy, but if you try to sound like anyone else, it will come across as fake and forced. Burton does change to different versions of himself depending on the situation, and copywriters can do the same. If you are witty and sarcastic, you can definitely use this in your casual, laid back pieces, but you should also be able to transform your wit and sarcasm into something professional. Whatever your personality is, always make sure to stay true to it. It will make your writing sound more personable and can create excellent relationships with existing and potential clients. Tim Burton Dedicates Time To His Projects You can never say that Tim Burton doesn’t spend enough time on his projects. While he didn’t direct Nightmare Before Christmas, he did direct Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, all of which are stop motion. (Stop motion filming is a huge process and commitment to undertake.) Many of Burton’s projects all started a long time before they were even considered for large motion pictures, many of which he wrote while working as an animator for Disney. He wrote the story for Nightmare Before Christmas in 1982, and Disney considered for a brief moment to use the poem as a TV show. It was eventually shelved for being far too strange for a TV audience. Eventually, it was filmed and released in 1993 because of Burton constantly working to get it put into production. This shows an awesome level of dedication to his projects, even if he couldn’t direct some of them. No matter what role he had to take, he always took some role in making his films to make sure things were done like he wanted them to be. This is great for copywriters because it shows that dedication can produce long lasting, quality material. If you simply aim just to write out X amount of blogs a week or to write X amount of word web content pieces a week, you will find that the quality of your content is low and lacking. Spend some time and work on your projects to ensure that you produce the highest quality pieces. Tim Burton Builds Lasting Relationships With Fans While Tim Burton is known for being insanely shy, his fans know him as someone they can relate to. This is because he works hard on his projects, gives access to things like an art book, and stays true to himself. Because he follows these core values in copywriting, he is able to build long lasting relationships with his fans. Many feel they know him, though they’ve never met him, simply because he can get on their level and speak to them in a way no one else has been able to. This is great for copywriting, because relationships are what will make your web content soar. Building relationships will also help you beat your competition at the game and get a strong client base. The relationships you build now will ensure that you will have a consistent client base that will always support you, share your material, and, of course, purchase your items. Build those relationships by following what Tim Burton does, be yourself and dedicate time to your content. Copywriting Inspiration from Tim Burton You can learn quite a bit from Tim Burton. Take this chance to look into his work some more and see what inspiration you can gain from him for your content marketing and copywriting. You will love the results you get once you follow the above steps!

Great Copywriting: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & the Infamous Sherlock Holmes

December 31, 2020August 6, 2014 by Adam Oakley

What makes great copywriting? The answer varies widely depending on whom you ask. However, there is a constant string of qualities that embodies what the industry classifies as great: engagement, emotion, strong storytelling, and facts. But sometimes reading ‘how to’ material about creating great content for our website isn’t enough. Sometimes we learn a great deal more by example. That is why we are going to look to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his infamous detective, Sherlock Holmes, for some great copywriting advice. Conan Doyle Creates an Icon The great Sherlock Holmes, who appeared in publication for the first time in 1887, is more than an iconic character from a rather old series of books. His evolution from paper to screen is the ultimate display of great copy in action. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle managed to create a character that has stood the test of time and inspired numerous recreations—and even an inception into the modern world. According to Wikipedia, Conan Doyle’s fictional stories about the quirky and brilliant detective are “generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction.” He was a major hit in the late 1800s, and it speaks volumes to see the variety of venues and recreations inspired by his books. Image Source: wikimedia.org The Most Recent Evolution of Sherlock Holmes The Sherlock Holmes book series covers a period from around 1880 through 1914. In 2014, while the majority of the population have not once laid a finger on one of Conan Doyle’s books, they know exactly who detective Sherlock Holmes is. In fact, since 2009 he has become a bit of a poster boy. The 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie starred none other than Robert Downy Jr. as the eccentric detective. It was succeeded by a popular sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, in 2011. Holmes evolved his way to the television screen in 2010 in the BBC’s Sherlock. Portrayed by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, the detective is dropped into 21st century London in a modern update to the iconic series. The series is still running, drawing in a massive fan base populated by a young generation who know little about the books the character originates from. What We Can Learn From Mr. Holmes Although the famous sleuth can teach us a great deal about seeing what’s right underneath our noses, he comes with a much greater lesson for those of us in the copywriting world. He is the ultimate icon for how a single, brilliant idea can be molded to fit many forms of content and never ever outdated. Here are just three few of the brilliant lessons business owners, webmasters, and copywriters can glean from the notorious Sherlock Holmes: Great storytelling isn’t always fictional. One of the little known facts about the Sherlock Holmes detective novels is that quite a bit of the technical information is based on fact. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wasn’t just a novelist; he was also a physician. The takeaway lesson for us is that you can mix great storytelling with hard facts. The content you produce can be 100 percent factual yet still grip the reader emotionally through the art of storytelling. Great copy is timeless. Did you know that Sherlock came from the late 1800s? If there’s one thing we can learn from Robert Downy Jr’s portrayal of Detective Holmes, it’s that this character is timeless. Audiences were glued to movie screens for the 2009 and 2011 movies, and they didn’t see a recreation of a novel from the 1880s or even 1914. No, they saw a timeless character that gripped their attention, drew out their emotions, and even taught them a thing or two about logic, the science of deduction, and loyalty. Great copy is timeless. Invest in creating copy that excels at engaging, compelling, and involving the audience. Provide facts. Mix with storytelling. Result: timeless content. Great copy can be repurposed. Holmes began his journey within the pages of a series of books. The books were so compelling that he sprang up as an engaging and thought provoking character on the big screen. Numerous movies and television shows have delved into recreating the science and storytelling contained within the pages of Conan Doyle’s books. Then, in 2010, the ultimate repurposing of content took place. Sherlock Holmes was modernized. The science and storytelling was brought into 21st century London to create one of the most compelling, engaging, and outright titillating renditions of the detective to date. What’s the lesson we can learn? It’s okay to repurpose content. In fact, modernizing and updating our content can be one of the smartest and most audience inspiring actions we ever take—if we take care in crafting it! It’s elementary, my dear reader! Examples of great copywriting surround us. We need merely take the time to see and contemplate what is right under our noses to create brilliant copy.

How Does Your Content Look At A Glance? Creating Irresistible Content

January 1, 2021August 1, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Do you know what “the glance” is? It’s the .7 seconds that we have to win readers. In that tiny time period, we have to get the audience to take action. They have to want to go beyond a glance based on what they see and how it makes them feel in what amounts to the blink of an eye. How can you create the kind of irresistible content that wins clicks, reads, and shares? That’s what we’re about to consider. The Challenges of Creating Content One of the harsh facts of today’s business world is that everything runs on a budget—usually a series of tight ones. An even harsher fact is that today’s businesses are running on few staff and more workflow out of pure necessity. Who has time to write content? According to PR Daily, a recent business study concluded that approximately 75 percent of buyers are likely to use social media during the purchase process. Roughly, 55 percent of B2B survey respondents confessed to using social websites to search for information. So, how do you tie in a great headline, opener, even a tweet about your blog piece so people READ your blog…and want to go beyond the glance? Do you educate your staff or outsource? How about a little of both? The Fundamentals of Irresistible Content If we break it down to the basics, there are three fundamentals of content that cannot be ignored: The Intuitive Title: The title has to pique curiosity. It’s one of the most important aspects of any piece of content. In as few as 5 to 10 words, a title conveys the entire point of the content. It hints at the tone of the piece, and—if crafted properly—it creates an instant emotional spark that draws the audience in, compelling them to click into the content. Descriptive Headings: The skeleton of content is in the headlines. Each headline conveys an essential part of the content structure. Once a reader clicks into your content, the glance becomes a quick review of the headlines. It is vital to craft headings that pique curiosity, convey the meat of the content in short bursts, and make the reader say, “That sounds interesting. I should read that.” The Story: If you do the job right, the title and headings will hook the reader in that .7 second window. But the hook doesn’t end there. Once they’re on your page, staring down your content and starting to read, you have to tell the story. Business2Community recommends writing “like you are talking.” The best way to connect and deliver a story that will keep the reader engaged is to write like you’re speaking directly to them. Tell them the story. Show them why they should care. Give them something of value to take away. The art of weaving classic storytelling into your copy is one of the most effective means of creating delectable and completely irresistible content. Now, don’t think that these fundamentals are only applicable to your written content. These fundamentals are highly applicable across ALL of your content. It doesn’t matter if you’re broadcasting a podcast series, marketing an eBook, sharing a SlideShare, producing a video seminar, or crafting the meat of your landing page. A hooking title, classy and interesting breakdowns, and the unique story the audience can’t get anywhere else are the foundation of every piece of every type of tantalizing content. But the foundation doesn’t stop there. Know Your Audience: We hear it all of the time, but it’s one of the most overlooked cornerstones of creating irresistible content. Copyblogger recommends using an empathy map to put yourself in the shoes of your audience, Create An Experience: Storytelling isn’t the only way to create an experience. Everything contributes to your readers’ experience, from the look and functionality of your website to the copy they’re skimming and hopefully reading. Show Your Personality: If you ask a big business why they invest so much in creating their own personal branding, they’ll likely say it’s because people like and trust brands. The more people like and trust you, the more likely they are to buy from you. According to Business2Community, one of the keys to creating irresistible content is to show your personality in your content. Be Extreme: Business2Community goes on to point out that attempting to keep neutral ground is a recipe for frustration. Instead, be irresistible by offering something spectacular! Offer an opinion. State your outlook. Take a stand! “Only then” says Business2 Community, “will you attract…like-minded subscribers.” Try Something New: The number of tools at your disposal to create irresistible content is truly amazing. For example, have you ever thought about using content curation as a means of filling that downtime in between your new content pieces? What about using crowdsourcing as a means of collecting knowledge from different sources? Don’t be shy of trying something new. Sometimes it’s that fresh infusion of a new way of doing things that suddenly boosts your content to irresistible. Repurposing Is Okay: Copyblogger says that after you exert the effort into writing your content, you should be open to repurposing it. In truth, every piece of content starts out as copy. Podcasts and videos have scripts. SlideShares need to be outlined before the text and graphics can be pulled together. Once you’ve crafted your content, think about how to repurpose it and get the most mileage. Different types of content appeal to different members of your audience. The busy would be buyer who didn’t have time to read that blog post just might watch the related video because it works for their on-the-go lifestyle. A Little Content TLC Goes a Long Way With a little content TLC, you can be a brand hero and successfully create and publish irresistible content every day. Learn by example by checking out the 5 irresistible copywriting examples we covered in April. And remember, there’s no shame and everything to gain in educating your staff and outsourcing your content needs to … Read more

Great Copywriting In Action: Creative Artist Amanda Palmer

January 1, 2021July 30, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image source: TED Amanda Palmer is an artist that knows how to make a splash and uses great forms of copywriting. From her stint with the Dresden Dolls to her recent TED Talk, Amanda Palmer has made connections with many people and regularly encourages her fans, even those who might not like her music. Even when she is at her most controversial, she is still making an impact in various areas. In fact, her type of copywriting is really what helps keep her afloat if the controversies get a little out of hand, and she is able to calm the waves by writing a simple blog or simply by connecting with her fans. Let’s take a quick look at how Amanda Palmer does copywriting. The Dresden Dolls To Her Solo Career Many people know of Amanda Palmer from her time with the band The Dresden Dolls. This band was part of an underground music movement many refer to as “dark cabaret” and Amanda Palmer made sure people knew the style of the band was a Brechtian Punk Cabaret style. She created this term because of how worried she was that the media would call the band “gothic.” She keeps the cabaret style as a solo artist and performs in many similar outfits to her Dresden Doll days. She keeps true to herself and the brand she is setting forward with her dark cabaret style. (Though she might shudder at being considered a brand.) Amanda Palmer always makes sure people understand what she is doing or what she believes, which is great for many copywriters. While you may not want to get as personal as Amanda, you should always make sure your audiences know what you are up to. If you are doing something like The Dresden Dolls, you want to make sure people understand what the band is, instead of having them assume. This could change the course of your business or band. Take a stand like Amanda Palmer by making sure people understand your company, goals, and just what exactly you are writing about in your content. This can also help clients choose your business over your competitors. TED Talk Most recently, Amanda Palmer has been famous and talked about for her TED Talk in which she discusses The Art of Asking. It is an enlightening talk and something many people connected with. She gives information about her first days as a performer and that she started as a living statue, making money to pay her bills. She starts talking about much the simplest gestures meant to people on the street and how much she believes that simply giving something like a flower to a stranger could make a huge impact. This is a great example of stepping outside of the norm and giving people something useful to work with. Palmer is known for her antics both online and offline, so when she made this TED Talk, she really caused a splash. People from all different musical tastes listened, agreed and shared. When doing copywriting, you should consider doing something a little out of the norm for your company. What Amanda Palmer did by giving her TED Talk was connect with people who enjoy Beyoncé, Green Day, She & Him, and different music styles. Many of these people might never have listened to her music, but that talk really did impact them. She also illustrated the power of storytelling by giving people background information about herself and how it impacts who she is now. Interacting With Her Fans Frequently: Key to Copywriting Another way that Amanda Palmer can influence your copywriting is how she interacts with her fans on social media. She holds regular conversations about various topics from help with her upcoming book to whether or not women should wear makeup. Whatever the topic, she will talk and respond to fans, retweet them, or address other issues that they may bring up. If a particular tweet stands out to her, she will respond and retweet to get her other fans to talk to each other. She always promotes engagement, discussion, and regularly tries to instill hope for those who follow her. This is a great example of how you should interact with your client base. Again, maybe not as personal as Amanda’s responses, but by simply responding on social media, you are setting up a relationship with your clients. This is a great part of copywriting that many are still glancing over. Interaction on social media is important to maintaining a client base and bringing in new leads. If you have a difficult time coming up with ways to interact with your clients on social media, Social Media Examiner gives 7 great ways to improve how you interact on social media. In Closing Take a few lessons from Amanda Palmer and start creating a great copywriting campaign that involves stepping out of the box and client interaction. Apply some of what she does to your plans and goals and see how well it benefits you and your company!

25 Copywriting Mistakes Website Owners Make

January 1, 2021July 25, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Picture this: it’s your best friend’s wedding. The two of you have been best buddies since grade school. You’ve been through it all. You’ve seen each other weather the best and worst of what life has thrown your respective ways. As your best friend gets ready to enjoy what is destined to be one of the most memorable days of their lives, you’re on the front lines of wedding preparations. Even though your friend is on a budget, some expenses just aren’t spared—like the caterer and photographer. Why is that? Can’t Aunt Josephine cook just as well as the $25 a plate caterer, and isn’t Uncle Jim a crack shot with a camera? The truth is Aunt Jo makes a mean mashed potato, and Uncle Jim takes gorgeous photos, but neither one are in the wedding business. On this one and only day to say, “I do,” your friend spares no expense on these two venues for a very simple reason: they can’t afford mistakes. In much the same way, a lot of business owners hire out their copywriting needs because they can’t afford (nor do they want) mistakes. But just what mistakes can be made? I mean, we’re only talking about writing a few words and making people want to buy stuff, right? How hard can that be? I bet that friend of yours—the one who aced a few high school papers—could handle it. Let’s see why that couldn’t be more wrong. Why Copywriting Is Hard We’re stepping into the debate box to cover a controversial subject. A lot of people will tell you that copywriting isn’t that hard. Others will say it’s easy as pie. Still more will compare it to the piano; easy to do poorly and exceedingly difficult to do well. Well, here’s the skinny on writing: Mechanics Matter – Can you guarantee excellent spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation? By excellent, we mean 99.9% perfect 99.9% of the time, which means following the rules of English perfectly and knowing when it’s okay to break them in favor of audience appeal. It Requires Skill – If you were handed a piece of wood and told to craft a statue of a bear, could you? If you were a carpenter by trade, probably! If not, doubtful. Writing is the same. It takes skills, the kind of skill that results from years of practice and firsthand experience. It’s Art – No joke, writing is part art. If writers merely crafted sentences per the stringent rules of English, there would be no such thing as audience appeal. It’s like the difference between the computer code that makes your favorite app and the beautiful bright interface you know as your favorite app. Both parts of needed to make it work, and you can’t have one without the other. Good copywriting isn’t mere raw skill. It’s part skill and part art, and the percentages change based on the project. So, can just anyone write? Let’s put this into perspective: can just anyone perform heart surgery? I mean, it’s just major surgery, right? What could possibly go wrong? It’s All Fun and Games Getting your friend to tackle your copy, or striking off into the unknown on your own are all adrenaline rushes. But the fact remains that they’re all fun and games until someone—likely your business or a reader—gets their eye poked out. 25 of the simplest copywriting mistakes are easy to make if you lack experience: Writing for the company: People have one burning question on their minds when it comes to your product or service: what’s in it for me? According to Crazyegg.com, they don’t care about your company, your life story, or your sheer awesomeness. They care about what’s in it for them. Don’t bore them with endless company drivel. Missing the target: Audience, that it is. Do you know exactly who your target audience is? More importantly, does your copywriter? Your copy has to hit that target dead on. It has to hook, captivate, and motivate. If your writer doesn’t know your target audience intimately, they might as well be trying to shoot a moving target with no ammo—it’s not gonna happen! Bad formatting: You can write an epic article, but it’ll never meet the reader’s eye if it’s badly formatted. Bad or no headings, long and tedious paragraphs, and a dull visual presentation will kill your copy on publication. Failed headlines: According to Copyblogger, your headline is the first, and perhaps only, impression you can make before a prospective reader either clicks to your content or passes you by. A strong headline tells the reader why they can’t miss your article before they even open it. Can you pack an informative, emotional, and curiosity causing punch in 5 to 10 words? Improper tone: How often doesn’t the wrong tone spark an argument?Couples will be the first to admit that slipping into the wrong tone at the wrong time can spark a blowout that’ll leave somebody sleeping on the couch! So too can choosing the wrong audience tone. Tone is a thousand times more important in copy because it’s written; there’s no body language to save the day, only words and context. It takes an experienced pen to not only choose the proper tone, but also hold it from start to finish. Address the right customer: Your target audience isn’t made of universal customers. In fact, it’s likely your customers break down into categories of people all searching for similar yet unique solutions to several problems. Each piece of copy from your company must address the right customer, and your combined pieces of copy need to be all-inclusive yet easily structured for a breakdown for those detail oriented customers. Invest the audience emotionally: Creative storytelling isn’t just old school, it’s a staple of the savvy Internet copywriter. Storytelling invests the audience emotionally, which keeps them reading and makes them come back for more. Stay on topic: People are flooded with information on a minute-by-minute basis. Between … Read more

The Olympics 2014: Gathering Copywriting Inspiration From the Games

January 1, 2021July 18, 2014 by Adam Oakley

The 2014 Olympics were filled with talented people, glorious uniforms, and humor. It had its own twitter feed, and memes from different events were usually on the Internet within an hour of the event occurrence. Although the Olympics may seem like a spectacle with no substance, we as copywriters can actually take inspiration from various things that happened in the two-week span that was the Winter Olympics. Let’s take a look—shall we? How to Handle those Annoying Mess-ups The most memorable moment outside of the #sochiproblems twitter trend was that pesky Olympic ring not opening. Memes started popping up everywhere, joke articles posted, and people talked about it for the entirety of the Olympics. It is something that will live on for years and give Type A personality types nightmares until the end of days. There is an important lesson to be learned with this particular mess up, though. At the closing ceremony, watchers were not expecting Russia, of all countries, to make fun of itself. Many people had, and still do have, preconceived ideas about Russia and were completely surprised when Russia did something a lot of people are afraid to do by mocking themselves and turning a bad situation into a humorous one. They took and implemented the old saying of “it is better to laugh with people then have people laugh at you,” into the closing ceremony. That was quite epic! It was on the Internet in minutes, maybe even seconds. Twitter exploded with tweets exclaiming how amazing it was, and everyone seemed to enjoy it completely. What can we take away from this mess up? Well, we all know we will mess up eventually and possibly mess up just as epically. We write our copy, read it, re-read it, and send it off to editors, but undoubtedly something will happen. That is Murphy’s Law for you. There is likely to be some time when you find information online and share it or quote it only to find out it is a farce. That is embarrassing, and it is understandable if all you want to do is hide from the world. Instead, follow Russia’s example of making fun of their flub. Joke about your mess up with followers and readers; do not try to hide the fact that you messed up. Everything will be fine, and people will enjoy and appreciate that you are laughing at yourself and your mistake, as well as being honest. Staying Current with Your Copywriting Keeping up with the trends is important in every aspect of advertising, hosting sporting events, and copywriting. If you are not current, people will turn away from your events or stop reading your material. You do not want this to happen because those attendees and readers help keep you successful! When it came to advertising the Winter Olympics, the BBC went about it in a very current way. Their commercial leading up to the Olympics had a Game of Thrones vibe to it, very dark and full of treacherous landscapes. Not only did they play off of the darkness and wintry aspects of Game of Thrones, they also got an actor from the show to do the voice over. Fans of the TV show were very excited when they heard Tywin Lannister’s (aka Charles Dance) voice begin. Another way advertisers got people to tune into the Olympics is the “Loser Gets Bieber” billboard that went viral. It was set up in Chicago for the men’s Canada vs. USA hockey game and many people who otherwise might not have watched the game, tuned in. It quickly became the “most important” game of the Olympics. Photo credit: Command Sign We are not suggesting making fun of celebrities who are in the news for some of their most raucous behavior, but we are showing that keeping up with current events brings in more viewers, and in your case, more readers. As Hubspot points out, many of the athletes at the Olympics were down to earth and kept up with the current trends, particularly those within the extreme sports category. The word “stoked” was used 14 times, someone joked “Wu-Tang” was for the children (which, we will say, they aren’t), and people were just generally easy going. This is a big part of society now, especially with the millennial generation. Due to this laidback approach many millennials tweeted and talked about the Olympics. Staying True to You and Your Readers Another important lesson you can take inspiration from in your copywriting is how many athletes were unassuming while also managing to please their fans. When people tune in for extreme sports, they want to see laidback people, not people in shiny costumes who use exquisite language. When tuning in for figure skating, viewers want to see those sparkly, and sometimes outlandish, costumes. Let’s not forget that Bermuda stayed true to themselves and wore shorts to the Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. Photo credit: Mashable The Olympics are all about knowing which audiences tune into which events, and making sure advertisements and uniforms, or costumes, appeal to that demographic. The same goes for copywriting. Knowing whom you are writing for and whom you are writing to is very important. If you do not know the demographic you are appealing to, eventually people will lose interest in your writing. Creating a Buzz One thing that can be said about the 2014 Winter Olympics is that the opening and closing ceremony fashions were eye-catching and, in most cases, memorable. Twitter was ablaze with people discussing the different uniforms each country wore. America had gigantic Cosby sweaters while Canada had striking red coats, and let’s not forget those curling pants worn by Norway and Russia. While many fashion experts found the American and German teams to have terrible fashion sense, many people online loved the bright and crazy color combos. When the opening ceremony ended people were not just talking about that fifth ring, they were also talking about all the crazy fashion, and … Read more

Quality Copywriting On a Big Scale: The World Cup

January 1, 2021July 2, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Where were you on June 25th? Nigeria, Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Honduras, Switzerland, Ecuador, and France were all battling it out at the World Cup. The chatter around the office was filled with score updates and talk about how the US was fairing. And there I was, glued to my computer screen, reading news about the world cup creating a global exposure opportunity. Italy’s Mario Balotelli had made a request as his team entered a key World Cup match last Friday: he wanted a kiss from Queen Elizabeth II in the event that Italy beat Costa Rica, thereby keeping England’s chances for advancement alive. But this wasn’t really the breaking news. Balotelli had over 170,000 people retweet his message and managed to generate even more chatter for a game that bred 3.2 million tweets. The Birth of a Global Opportunity Preparing your brand for big sporting events is a no-brainer. Every year the Super Bowl rolls around and the world of copywriting goes crazy with new content creation. And it all happens for one simple reason: businesses see an opportunity for mass exposure. It’s no surprise that the World Cup, one of the largest global events on the planet, has become the biggest-ever global event for social media. According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook saw over 141 million users post over 459 million interactions during the first week of the event. Twitter recorded: 12.2 million tweets during Brazil’s win against Croatia on June 12th 8 million tweets during the U.S. versus Portugal match 6.1 million tweets when Brazil faced down Cameroon The World Cup is an outstanding example of exposure opportunity, grossing more social activity than the Super Bowl, Oscars, and Sochi Winter Olympics combined! There is no better time to jump in on a conversation and get your business or brand involved. We’re talking about engaging people on a global level because the entire world is watching this event. Is your copy up to the task? Why Quality Copy Matters It’s June. We’re half way through 2014. We’ve heard it all, from Google pushing the need for quality content to the latest trends in search engine optimization methods. We know the technical jargon behind the latest Panda 4.0 and Payday Loan 2.0 updates. We get it, already! So, was your copy up to par for global exposure? We were all expecting the World Cup to make a social media impact. I mean, it only makes sense; it is the World Cup, right? The truth is any international or global event that you jump into on social media has the potential to gain extra exposure. A pithy comment on Twitter or Facebook could suddenly trigger publicity as curious spectators click to your profile and then to your website. And that, my dear reader, is why high quality copy matters. Forget Google. Forget SEO. At that very moment, the quality of your copy will determine: Whether a potential client decides to stay on your website. It’s been known to happen. Your profile comes up on a trending Twitter topic, and suddenly you have your first international customer. You’re staring down the barrel at a fresh, untapped, and potentially HUGE audience. If your copy isn’t quality, chances are they’ll never contact you. Ouch! Whether or not you gain a new follower. There’s power in community. A new follower is a new audience member. If the copy you publish, from your blogs to PRs, is packed with value and quality, they’ll share. Before you know it, that one new follower turns into a trend of newbies from…Australia? England? France? Germany? It is the World Cup after all! Whether or not you gain a new contact. As a business owner, you know the power of a network, especially a strong network of colleagues. If the visitor perusing your website happens to be a colleague, high quality copy will go a long ways toward their reaching out to connect. Suddenly, you have a contact with an international perspective! The truth is we hear about the need to prepare and craft quality copy so much that we often forget just how useful sheer quality can be. The explosion of social media activity since the start of the World Cup has been a fine example of how the simplest bit of participation, the pithiest tweet, or the most lighthearted Facebook comment can lead to an unprecedented exposure opportunity. So, is your copy ready to go global? Is it up to the task of making the perfect on the spot impression? It’s time to take a little inventory, do a little tweaking, and call in some expert help if you’re unsure. After all, you never know who is watching or, more importantly, who is reading.

Taking Inspiration From How BBC Does Copywriting

January 1, 2021June 27, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image Source: www.bbc.co.uk The BBC or British Broadcasting Channel is definitely a powerhouse in the television and news market. It used only to be available for British citizens, but the BBC has since branched out to reach a wider audience. In the past, American citizens could watch things such as Miss Marple or other BBC mystery shows or dramas on PBS, but these shows were few and far between. Now, the BBC has a channel in America called (of all things) BBC America. This has given American citizens the ability to watch extremely popular BBC shows right away and on their own TVs. This has saved the BBC from people illegally downloading shows and has brought in significant revenue. How are they so successful that Americans desperately want their shows? The BBC has some incredible content marketing skills! Anyone can learn these skills from the BBC and this blog is going to explore this company’s excellent copywriting skills. BBC and America: Doctor Who and Sherlock Taking Over The main thing people think of when they hear the BBC mentioned is the company’s two successful shows – Doctor Who and Sherlock. While the BBC has many popular shows both in the United Kingdom and America, these two shows are television juggernauts. There is no denying the power of these shows and the fandoms created around them. How did the BBC get here though? Easy. They made two shows that are expertly crafted with great marketing strategies and made them available to anyone. Before Sherlock ever came about, Doctor Who was taking America over, but it began long before Matt Smith took the mantle of the 11th doctor. In the early days of this science fiction show, the BBC would show it on a few HAM television stations. It was poor quality, but people loved it nonetheless. This show brought about something no one had done yet: it was science fiction, yet incredibly human. After a hiatus, the show came back in 2005 and took the world over by storm. How did the BBC manage to take over the world with their shows? They expertly marketed to different audiences. Each show is varied; Doctor Who is story-based with cheesy special effects while Sherlock, also story-based, is filled with gorgeous filming and graphics. They appeal to different groups and the BBC knows that this is how they bring in money outside of a British audience. As a copywriter, you can learn from this. You need to reach a wide audience with your content marketing. The best way to reach them is to research each audience and make different content formats available to bring them in. BBC News: Becoming A Trusted Source Outside of popular television shows, the BBC has become a trusted news source in America, surpassing CNN or Fox News. How did this happen? They started writing articles that were filled with facts without any personal opinions until further in their articles. Many times, they do not seem like they are trying to influence people to feel one way or the other about an event, which is refreshing for many. Outside of keeping personal bias separate from facts, BBC news and TV channels also offer a wide variety of different content. They have their news section, they have entertainment, and they offer simple stories as well as in-depth articles about various things. This is great for copywriters to learn from because it shows that the varied posts are beneficial to anyone. Sure, the BBC could write on simple news stories around Britain but that would cut down on the amount of international readers and watchers. Understanding the Need For Social Media Copywriting and Engagement The BBC also understands the power of social media and promoting engagement among customers. On all of their articles, they encourage people to share with their friends through social media sharing buttons. On the news angle, they use social media to share news articles but to also keep followers up-to-date with any breaking news around the world. Social media is a powerful tool for all businesses whether it is for a news corporation such as the BBC or for small businesses in a small town. Social media gets you out there and makes important information available for followers. The BBC is also incredible at promoting fan engagement. A perfect example of this is Sherlock season three’s interactive trailer. The BBC released the season three trailer with an unusual fanfare of involvement. They provided fans with the ability to watch the original trailer, but to also click on various things throughout to receive insider information about the show. This could be a clip from the new season or interviews with cast and crewmembers. There were many a fan who spent countless hours watching behind-the-scenes information and this interactive trailer was shared far and wide across the Internet. While you may not be able to do something as drastic as an interactive trailer, you can engage with clients through social media or on your blog site. You can even hide little Easter eggs throughout your webpage encouraging people to look through every little detail. One example of this is a group of women who wanted to start up the art of letter writing again. When the International Geek Girl Pen Pal Club (IGGPPC) released their new website, they also released an incredible achievement game. All one had to do was go throughout the entire site to find the various achievements. This helped all of the women using this site to learn every detail about the IGGPPC and created an excellent feeling of community. In Closing The BBC has countless copywriting tips you can learn; all you have to do is read through their numerous sites. Take a few lessons from them and start implementing them into your company’s website. You will notice that you start bringing in great revenue the more you involve your clients and craft incredible content.

How To Pick Awesome Images for Your Blog Posts

January 1, 2021June 25, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Whether it is a stock image or the writer’s own, photographs really make a blog pop. Photos will grab the attention of the casual passerby or may convince a doubtful person to read your post anyway when the photo is combined with a stellar headline. Images are crucial to increase your blog views, but sometimes it is difficult to find the right image for your post. Let’s take this opportunity to look at the importance of images and three things you should consider when using them. Are Images Really That Important? Short answer: yes, images are important. Copyblogger says the reason images are vital to blog posts is because one simple image can create an emotional tie with your audience. Images also bring in readers who might not have read your post initially, but that image sure did catch their attention. Whatever the image does, whether bringing in an emotional tie to current readers or bringing in a new reader, it should always sum up your blog post. It might seem weird that a photo can do that, but we all judge whether or not a blog topic is interesting to us by the image the blog uses. One of the best ways to learn is to have live examples. Several popular sites out there utilize images to gain the best results possible. Visit Buzzfeed, Mashable, MOZ, and Hubspot to see some great examples of using images in a powerful way. In addition, we utilize stock images for our blog posts and we have found some truly astounding images that relate with our content perfectly. This is attainable! Start looking through images and adding them to your blog posts to see incredible results from readers. What to Consider When Picking Images When choosing an image, there are many different things you will need to consider. Here are three things to think about as you use images on your site: 1. Do You Have The Rights? Rights to photos are crucial when you choose an image for your blog. If you steal someone’s photograph off Flickr or Google, you could be setting yourself up for some legal trouble in the future. Many artists will let you use their photos if you simply ask, but not asking is unethical, reflects badly on your company, and can cost more than a monthly subscription to BigStockPhoto.com. The best way to know if you are able to use an image is if it is listed under “Creative Commons.” You can use photos under CC as long as you properly attribute the photograph. If you are unsure, you should do some detailed research into the topic. You don’t want to be caught unaware and have legal problems regarding a simple image you pulled from Google. 2. Are the Photos Relevant to Your Topic? When choosing the right photo for your post, you must make sure it is relevant to your blog topic. You don’t want a photo of an adorable looking house cat if you are blogging about wild tiger and lion sanctuaries in the States. That would look very strange and wouldn’t give readers much confidence that you are a leader in your field if you can’t tell a regular house cat from a tiger or lion. Make sure the image you choose has an obvious tie-in with your blog content and attempt to make the photo a summary of your post. The best way to do this is to select the photo after writing your content. 3. Is It High Quality and Appropriately Sized? Another important element to consider is making sure your photo is high quality. You don’t want a low quality, pixelated image for your post because that will look sloppy and readers will click away quickly. Find images that are the highest quality possible to ensure that they are stunning and will grab your readers’ attention. We all love a good high quality image and we are more likely to click on a link that utilizes one for their post. Stock images are great for finding truly high quality images that will look great for your blog posts. Images Are Expensive, What Should You Do? A big concern for many people is how expensive the rights can be for one photo. A great idea to save money and budget appropriately is to set up a monthly or yearly subscription to a stock image site. This will help you allocate appropriate funding and will grant you access to hundreds of high quality stock images that will go with just about anything. This is what we do with our images and we are able to find some great ones our clients enjoy! Stock images are a great investment for copywriters and companies, and can provide you with many different photos from which to choose.

Purr-fection: How Friskies Does Copywriting

January 1, 2021June 23, 2014 by Adam Oakley

Image source: walmart.com Friskies – that wonderful cat food company with all of those wonderful commercials; whether you are a cat owner or not, you know this brand and what they do. They’re a huge contender in the cat food industry and they always play on the fun aspects of a cat’s personality. They are part of the Purina food company, which is one of the top pet food companies and many vets prefer Purina over any other store bought brand. Today, we are going to focus on Friskies and how they do copywriting. While you might not think you can learn anything from a cat food company, you may actually find some helpful tips and gain some awesome inspiration. Let’s take a look at this purr-fect company! Friskies Food For All Cats Friskies has a huge selection of wet and dry food for cats and they make sure to market this selection as much as possible. They have food for indoor and outdoor cats, elderly cats, kittens, and a number of foods that you can use to spoil your cat such as their new breakfast food line. Friskies knows what it takes to bring customers in and they make sure always to have something fun and new for their client base. Friskies know the universal truth of all cat owners – they spoil their cats as much as possible. How does this help you in your copywriting? Friskies understands what their customers want and what their customers do. This is a prime example of researching your client base and offering them something that appeals to their interests and needs. While it may seem boring at first, research is one of the best marketing ploys out there. The more you know about your client base, the more revenue you bring into your company. Start researching, much like Friskies, and start offering products or services that your client base wants and needs. It’s All Fun And Games One step that Friskies made that raised a few eyebrows and created a lot of funny YouTube videos was the decision to release iPad games for cats. This sounds dangerous, but cat owners love to spoil their pets and with proper protection for their iPad, the cats won’t damage it. These cat game apps were the first ever to be released by a cat food brand and cat owners loved the idea. This is a great marketing ploy for Friskies because they know people are more apt to trust a company such as Friskies instead of purchasing an app from a company they do not know. It also helped bring in more customers for Friskies. If people didn’t use the Friskies brand, they most likely switched to the food brand after purchasing these games. Another way Friskies involved their clients was by providing them with a link to a live cat stream on Facebook. This live stream enabled viewers to control the cat toys and zoom cameras in or out. This was a great way to involve cat lovers with something they all enjoy, playing with cats no matter who the cats belong to. One of the nifty little catches to this marketing technique? If a person found that they really adored a little cat from this stream, the person was able to adopt the kitty and take him or her home. Such a great marketing ploy on Friskies part! Giving cat people to ability to do what they love – play with adorable cats and adopt one that needs a loving home. This shows the importance of fun elements and client engagement in copywriting. Friskies knows that they will only continue to grow if they continue to interact with humans and their cats. This is something you need to learn, as well, in your marketing techniques. Engage with your clients in a variety of ways and try to make the engagement as fun as possible. This promotes a positive attitude from clients towards your company and makes them more likely to tell others about your company, as well. Grumpy Cat Sponsorship One of the best marketing ploys Friskies has taken has been using Grumpy Cat as their spokes-cat. The company is using this opportunity to meld something that is incredibly popular with the food brand. This promotes both Grumpy Cat and Friskies; a match made in heaven. They have several videos with Grumpy and she became the face of The Friskies, an award show created by the company. This award show gives awards to various Internet cats and their accompanying videos and photos. It is a great way to market off of the Internet’s love of cats while bringing in more customers for the company. But we all know that Grumpy Cat does copywriting very well. The Grumpy Cat sponsorship is a great example of doing something involving current trends and being relevant with your content. If Grumpy Cat was not popular, Friskies would find another famous Internet cat or whatever the current trend was. They will continue to do this as trends change, staying up-to-date with what their customers enjoy. You should take their example and continue to stay up-to-date on trends on the Internet, as well as trends within your field. Always stay relevant; customers will appreciate it. Friskies Copywriting: In Closing You can learn a lot from the Friskies brand and how they do copywriting. Visit their site and take a look at all of their other items and content they offer. They are constantly coming up with unique ideas to engage their client base and bring in new customers. You can watch them over the coming year to see how they adapt to changes within trends and see how they shift their approach in order to continue to market relevantly. Start crafting content that is fun, trendy, relevant, and something that everyone can enjoy. Once you do this, you will watch your client base begin to grow and you will start bringing in more revenue!