“What does that mean?”

At this point, they usually assume that I am one of the following:

* A web designer or developer
* A legal person in charge of copyrights
* A journalist for a huge, recognised website

The answer of course, is none of the above.

What is Online Copywriting Then?

Online copywriting is writing for the web. Not one particular site, although I may write a great deal of content for specific sites on a regular basis. Web copywriting is a type of copywriting that focuses entirely on the creation of content for websites – either for users or for the Search Engines, and in most cases, for both.

This ranges from basic content such as a new homepage, product pages, service outline pages, blog posts, online press releases and even SEO articles that are submitted through the web. As such, web copywriters help clients increase traffic through well-written, keyword rich website pages that will help their websites fare well online.

Ironically, once the term is explained, people always know exactly what I mean. After all, anyone who spends a certain amount of time will see the fruit of web copy on every page that they visit. Sadly, that doesn’t always mean it is GOOD copy, but that is another story altogether.

As the old saying goes, content is king. If you look at it that way, you could think of online copywriters as loyal servants doing their bit to serve the king.

To ensure that the final result meets your expectations, a good copywriter gives you the following:

1. A reasonable time-line for first draft – if you have to wait two weeks for 2 pages of content, this may be a problem
2. Included re-writes if these are needed – copywriters should allow for any changes, and include a limited number of re-writes in the estimate/invoice
3. Professionalism and friendliness – approachability, attitude and overall ‘niceness’ should mandatory when dealing with any client
4. Prompt replies to queries and emails – delays can happen, but generally you should receive replies within a day or so at the very most
5. Realistic expectations of limitations – if they can’t do development, they shouldn’t promise to build you a website from scratch
6. Reasonable rates within industry market standards – do your research and find out the average rates of freelance copywriters before you agree to their quote
7. A good work ethic – fair, reasonable, hard-working and reliable are all much-needed traits of a good copywriter
8. Good work samples – samples presented on their portfolio should reflect the quality of their work
9. Experience and the right skills – if you are unsure, ask them how many years they have been in the game
10. Recommendations and references – look them up on LinkedIn, ask around and see if they can offer references of past work

Once you’ve found the best copywriter for the job, you can be sure that your content is in good hands – leaving you free to focus on the important stuff, like sales and business.

But first, here is a quick comparison of proofing, editing, refinement and rewriting:

* Proofreading: this is checking for typos, grammar issues, formatting issues and any other errors. Changes are not stylistic however, but attention to detail is vital to ensure that every sentence is 100%.

* Editing. this includes proofing, but also style. If a sentence could be improved, then small changes are made for better readability and style, to ensure a well-written piece of work on all fronts.

* Refinement: this is taking existing work, optimising it for search engines, editing where necessary, bulking up if the word count is low or neatening up if it is too long.

* Rewriting: this is taking existing content and rewriting it to read better, whether for search engines or humans. This is ideal for clients who want to bring across specific information but are not experienced writers and require a writer to ‘translate’ their information to read well.

The main point of proofing, editing or any of these services mentioned is to ensure that your website or document is free from errors, well-written and professional to send out the right message to your audience. Just like you wouldn’t do a DIY job on website design or brochures, copy should also be handled by someone with the know-how and experience to ensure a job well done.

With a wide range of newsletter and promotional mailshot options available, and a number of newsletter programs to make creating and sending newsletters a cinch, sending out newsletters has never been this easy.

Here’s a quick look at what makes a successful newsletter…

1. Concise, Well-written and Adds Value
Newsletters should give your customers relevant and newsworthy information simply, clearly and effectively. No one likes to be spammed with unnecessary information, or have to scroll down the page to find what they are looking for. Make it something customers WANT to read, and they will read it.

2. Timing is Everything
Ideally, newsletters should be sent out on a specific time of the month consistently. Even the time of day and day of week could affect newsletter response. Recent studies have shown that roughly 80% of newsletters are read between 5AM and 5PM with about 62% being opened between Tuesday and Thursday. Use a reliable mail software such as Aweber, and schedule newsletters to be sent consistently on whatever date you choose.

3. Adding Extras For Fun
You may use your newsletters to update customers on new deals or promotions, or simply to give them a breakdown on what’s been happening over the past month. Your main news story is the central force of your newsletter, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spice it up with additional features. Suduko, customer feedback, jokes, product of the month, employee of the month or any other extra features add value and interest, which will keep readers coming back.

4. Growing and Maintaining Your Mailing List
An awesome newsletter is pretty much worthless without a mailing list, and as such you need to develop your database on a regular basis. Simple tricks such as adding ‘send to friend’ buttons to your newsletter, and simple referral promotions can do wonders, and having opt-in subscription forms on your website, blog and even in your regular business email signatures will also help you boost your mailing list.

5. HTML vs. Text Mailers
This is a tricky one. Overall, HTML emails are best for monthly emails or newsletters which have a lot of content. Branding is essential on these, and you are also able to add images and colour. Promotion emails which are to the point and quick however can easily be text emails. These can be sent out for special events, such a giveaway, or product launch, and are much simpler with a hard-sell approach.

6. Tracking Your Clicks
Newsletter software such as Aweber is a great way to ensure that you can monitor the clicks in your newsletters. This means that all links in your newsletter have a special tracking code, so every time a reader clicks one of these links, their click is recorded. You will be able to see how many readers have clicked through to your website from the newsletter, plus you can also see how many newsletters were delivered. Tracking is essential to monitor newsletter campaign success to help you continually improve your newsletter service.

7. How to Lose a Reader in 10 Days
The quickest way to ruin an e-marketing campaign is to spam your readers, sell their email addresses, send out an error-riddled newsletter or accidentally-on-purpose sign them up for messages from your partners. Newsletters are not about pushing, they are about gently coaxing. The focus should be on promoting, but also informing – it is a communications tool, and as such should not be abused.

Above all, your newsletters need to send out the right message to your customers. A well-crafted, nicely branded newsletter which keeps your readers’ attention throughout the entire email is one of the best marketing tools in the box, and adds huge value to your online marketing campaign as a whole.

Here are some classic examples:

* The Butchered Word *
Now that the ‘content is king’ idea has caught on, many companies are realising the value of copy. Sadly, by letting the PA handle content, or worse, producing mass content, this content is riddled with typos – effectively creating websites that are sloppy and unprofessional at best.

* SEO Overdose *
I’ve mentioned this before – proper SEO is not about keyword stuffing, it’s about optimising your content properly and cleverly. If ‘pink poodles alaska’ cannot be made into a legible sentence, than find keyphrases that CAN be used. Otherwise, keep the tricky ones for headers, not content.

* Anti-Social Networking *
Twitter has opening up a whole new swarm of aggressive marketers who frantically target users for any remotely related topics. Mention your hip pain, and you’ll suddenly be followed by 10 arthritis cure twitterers in the next few hours. Who will then DM you, until you block them. Not cool!

* In Your Face Advertising *
For some reason, travel websites seem to be the worst culprits when it comes to OTT advertising. Pop-ups, pop-unders, floating ads and just about any other form of annoying and intrusive advertising make it hard to read the content you wanted in the first place, and are often totally untargeted too – making it all the more annoying.

* Over-Conceptualising *
Tip: if your target audience has to think to figure out what chocolate has to do with a gorilla playing drums, you’re probably doing the conceptual thing a bit wrong. It shouldn’t be rocket science, and you can still entertain your audience without confusing them.

* Sponsor Shmonsor *
Sponsored advertising is a perfect chance to promote your product and ride on the coat-tails of a popular show. Use this chance and make it work, otherwise it’s just another advert in a whole segment of adverts. Brands who’ve gotten this right include Disprin for The Amazing Race, Kellogg’s Right Start for America’s Next Top Model and Zodiac pool cleaners for Survivor.

At the end of the day, customers are pretty easy to please. They want to be presented with a product in such a way that they can easily see if it’s of value to them – keep it simple and effective, and they are almost guaranteed to take a closer look.

Sometimes, it really is as simple as that.