For information on my coaching service for freelancers copywriters, visit:

For information on my own copywriting, consulting and speaking services, visit:

Are you a freelance writer or copywriter?

Get your free copy of the Freelance Business Growth Checklist at AskNickUsborne.com

Excess Voice Newsletter
Aug 2006, Issue # 112

In this issue:

>> Intro: What we do...
>> Review: Landing Page Handbook - How to Raise Conversions
>> Article: Use product and service names as keywords on your web pages
>> Experiments: MEC Merchandising Calendar for the Holiday Season 2006
>> Survey: And in 5 years?

===============================================

Greetings,

In the last issue I asked what you do. Here are the results:

Online copywriting - 24%
Offline copywriting - 14%
Web content writing - 23%
SEO writing - 9%
Designer - 6%
Online marketing - 7%
Search Engine Marketing - 6%
Web Master - 8%
Technical writer - 3%

The proportions are not so very different from the last time I asked the same question. That is to say, the largest block of readers of this newsletters are writers...and many of us multi-task, taking on more than one discipline during the course of our work.

In this issue, as always, you’ll find both a review and article. The article takes a look at something that hadn’t occurred to me before – the strength of product and service names as keywords on your web pages.

And, as always, please take a moment to complete and return this issue’s survey.

Until next time,

Nick

Nick Usborne

www.ExcessVoice.com
www.FreelanceWritingSuccess.com
www.AskNickUsborne.com

>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com

===============================================

REVIEW: Landing Page Handbook - How to Raise Conversions

This report from MarketingSherpa is the first I have seen that provides solid data on what does and doesn't make a difference to landing page conversion rates. Tons of data on copy and design strategies. Dozens of before and after examples and the improvements achieved.

This is not a new review, but I was reading the report again last week and realized how relevant and useful it still is.

We are so often guided by 'subjective expertise' when writing and designing landing pages. I have now got into the habit of double-checking what I 'think' will work best against the data and findings in this report.

Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/landing-page.htm

>> Previous Reviews

::: At ExcessVoice.com :::

#1. The 2005 Freelance Copywriter Fee & Compensation Survey

Finally. Now you'll know how much to charge for that next freelance copywriting job - without having to worry about estimating too high or too low.

Read my review:
http://www.excessvoice.com/copyfees.htm

::: At Freelance Writing Success :::

#1. The InfoGuru Marketing Manual

A manual by Robert Middleton that delivers a wealth of hands-on information, strategies, techniques, examples, stories and ideas to help freelancers attract more and better-paying clients.

Read my review:
http://www.freelancewritingsuccess.com/infoguru.php

#2. Start your own Resume Writing Business

This is the perfect money-maker for any writer who can put aside a little time occasionally. There is a huge demand for quality resumes. This course gives you the tools (including software) to start and build a real business writing resumes.

Read my review:
http://www.freelancewritingsuccess.com/resume.php

===============================================

ARTICLE: Use product and service names as keywords on your web pages.

As many of you know, I am running an on-going experiment between two very different approaches to making a few pennies from web sites relating to coffee.

CoffeeDetective.com and CoffeeBestBuys.com

I’m learning something new as each days passes.

Right now, I am quite surprised by what I have learned about the effectiveness of product names as organic search keywords.

Tortoise for the long haul...

When writing the Coffee Detective site I went to a great deal of trouble looking for strong keywords and phrases for each page on each level.

Using various tools within the site building and marketing package I'm using for this site, SiteBuildIt, I selected dozens of keywords with good demand and reasonably low supply.

And I have no argument with any of that.

The Coffee Detective site is a long-term project. The tools I have been using are right for the job and I steadily keep adding content and building traffic.

But it does take time. It takes time for the major search engines to rub their chins and decide how to rank your site and list your pages.

Meanwhile, over at Coffee Best Buys, now approximately one month old, I’m receiving a surprising amount of organic traffic from Google and MSN.

The Coffee Detective site is now six months old and certainly took a lot longer to attract Google’s attention. So how come I’m getting organic search traffic faster with the new site?

Enter the hare, kind of...

The thing about the Coffee Detective site is that it is not directly about products. It’s an information site first and foremost, with some links to places where you can buy coffee and related products.

This means some of the search terms I have optimized for are fairly generic...like “gourmet decaf coffee”.

By way of contrast, over at the Coffee Best Buys site, which is actually a blog, the headline for each post includes a specific product name...whether it be the brand name of a coffee, or a make of coffee brewer or grinder.

And that’s where I’m getting the occasional good listing in Google and MSN.

I have no chance of competing with better established sites for terms like ‘coffee’ and ‘gourmet coffee’.

But I can get a good listing with a term like ‘best price douwe egbert coffee’ or ‘kitchenaid proline grinder’.

My point being?

It’s early days with my comparison between these two sites.

I’m not going to rush into changing either one based simply on a week or two or learning from the other.

But I will perhaps add some product-specific pages to the Coffee Detective site, particularly as we approach the end of year retail season. They will be information-packed pages, in character with the rest of the site. I’ll simply get some product names into the headlines, titles etc.

And there is one more thing I have learned from the Coffee Best Buys site.

Watch for what is new.

If a new coffee maker is launched next week, it will have a new name.

And a new product name is a new keyword.

And because it is new, that keyword will not yet have a zillion other sites competing for it.

You may not be in the coffee business...but this same tactic can be applied across any industry.

Watch for new product or service names, and use them as keywords...quickly.

** If you found value in the article, please forward this newsletter to colleagues and friends who might be interested.

>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com

===============================================

MARKETING EXPERIMENTS: MEC Merchandising Calendar for the Fall and Holiday Season 2006

Teleconference call, no charge:
Wednesday, August 9th, 4:00PM EDT

If you sell products or services that are in any way seasonal, be sure to attend this webinar. Plenty of guidelines, plus a complete calendar of "must do" tasks between now and the Christmas season.

===============================================

SURVEY: What do you hope to be doing in 5 years time?

[ ] Same as now
[ ] NO! I want to be....

Comments: ....

Want to earn 6 Figures as a Freelance Copywriter?

Read my review of Michael Masterson's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting