nick usborne's guide to online copywriting
For information on my coaching service for freelancers copywriters, visit:
Excess Voice Newsletter
Nov 2008, Issue # 168
In this issue:
>> Intro: A little different
>> Review: My other Newsletters...
>> Article: The Rule of One for Copywriters
>> Survey: Do you get stressed?
===============================================
Find out about my COACHING service for freelance writers and copywriters.
“Nick has an uncanny ability to listen to all the angles while still cutting through to the heart of the matter. I hired him as a writing coach, but his extensive knowledge of e-commerce, content site development, and affiliate marketing have been an unexpected but marvelous bonus. In terms of return on investment, Nick “paid for himself” in the very first month."
Cari Haus
===============================================
Greetings,
Everything is a little different in this issue.
I have used the review spot to tell you a little about my two other newsletters. And the article is actually a reprint of one I wrote and published back in September of 2005.
I am running the article again simply because I think it applies as much today as it did back then, and perhaps more so.
Finally, as always, please take a couple of moments to respond to this issue's survey.
Until next time,
Nick
Nick Usborne
>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
===============================================
>> REVIEW: My other e-newsletters for writers and copywriters.
As you may or may not know, this isn't the only e-newsletter I write and publish.
If you work as a freelance writer or copywriter, here are two others that may interest you.
1. The Ask Nick Usborne newsletter – This is published once a week on Thursdays and is written with my "coaching" hat on. Aimed at solopreneurs, it focuses on ways in which you can build a better business and work more productively from home.
2. The Freelance Writing Success newsletter – This is published every other Tuesday, alternating with the Excess Voice newsletter, which you are reading now. Aimed at freelance writers and copywriters, this newsletter included articles from a variety of different authors, in addition to articles of my own.
OTHER POPULAR PRODUCTS AND REVIEWS:
#1. Nick Usborne's Million Dollar Secrets to Online Copywriting
This is a "professional-grade" course written to address the full complexity of writing online. It is a strictly how-to course in which I go through the process of writing all kinds of web pages, emails and newsletters. Take this course and you'll know everything I know about writing for the web.
More details here:
http://www.awaionline.com/nu/onlinecopywriting/
#2. Multiply your income with **Goal Setting Rituals**
Working without clear goals condemns freelance writers to year after year of piecework. My Goal setting Rituals guide shows you how to set goals, establish milestones and achieve a more certain and secure future.
Learn more...
http://www.goalsettingrituals.com/
#3. Michael Masterson's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting
Other than my own, this is the only copywriting course I wholeheartedly recommend to any copywriter who wants to write copy that drives results.
Learn more :
http://www.thewriterslife.com/bb/nuf4/
===============================================
ARTICLE: The Rule of One for Copywriters
The Rule of One falls into two areas...what you write about, and who you write to.
Here’s the first part of the rule...
Confine each communication to a single topic
This is a battle that has been raging between copywriters and their clients for a very long time.
Twenty years ago I remember trying to discourage clients from wanting to say too much in a single ad or direct mail letter.
I think they felt that if they were going to pay the media costs, they would get “more for their money” if they used every opportunity to say as much as possible about their products, services and company.
My counter-argument was that they would communicate much more clearly, and with better results, if they stuck to a single topic and a single message.
The same problem persists today on the web.
Too many web pages try to cover too much ground.
Think of it this way. Very few people arrive at your site wanting to hear about all of your different products or services. Most will have used a search engine to find information on a single, clearly defined topic.
Whether you bring them to a specific landing page or some other interior page, build your pages so that they focus on just one topic at a time.
Do that and you will stay focused and please your visitors.
As a side benefit, you will also please the major search engines, which consistently reward pages that are confined to a single topic. The more clearly defined the page topic, the higher the listing.
And now for the second part of the Rule of One.
Write to one person at a time
You have probably heard this advice before. But as I read web pages across a variety of industries, I see little evidence of writers following this simple rule.
Basically, you will write more clearly, more personally and with better results if you picture an individual prospect or reader as you write.
Don’t write to some amorphous demographic group. Write to one person within that group.
Don’t create a mental picture of “that kind of person”. Picture a real person with a real life. Think about that person’s life. Think about what they want out of life.
Now think about how your product or service fits that person.
If you do this well, if you can truly see an individual prospect in your mind, it will have a profound impact on what and how you write.
Your text will read and feel as if it is being written to a real person. The corporate-speak jargon and biz-speak nonsense will disappear, and you will suddenly begin writing more clearly, with a true empathy for the person who will be reading your text.
Keep one thing in mind. This is not a “copywriting trick”. This is writing pages in a way that corresponds to how they will be read. It may sound obvious, but so many people lose touch with the fact that every page you write WILL be read by individuals with unique lives and needs.
No “group” will ever read your page. No “industry” will ever read your page.
The web pages you write will always be read by individuals, one at a time.
Concluding thoughts
Stick to one topic and write to one person.
It sounds easy, but very few people do it. Sometimes copywriters fail to write in this way because they haven’t thought about it. Sometimes it happens due to unrelenting pressure from above.
Either way, sticking to the Rule of One will always help you. Discipline yourself and fight your clients and managers if you need to.
In the end, the results will speak for themselves.
>> Feedback: mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
===============================================
SURVEY: Do you get stressed?
Writing and copywriting, whether for a company or as a freelancer, can be stressful. Do you find your writing work stressful at times?
[ ] Yes, sometimes
[ ] Yes, most of the time
[ ] No, it's happy time from dawn to dusk
If Yes, what causes you the most stress? .......................
Comments.....
(NOTE: Any comments and your name may be published in the next issue, or on the Excess Voice web site.)
Cut and paste your replies to me at mailto:nick@excessvoice.com
===============================================
NICK USBORNE'S SERVICES:
Yes, I do more than write articles and publish newsletters.
Ask me to give a training seminar or webinar for your writers or web team.
http://www.nickusborne.com/speaking.htm
Ask me to write for your site, emails and newsletters.
http://www.nickusborne.com/copywriting.htm
Ask me to optimize your key offer pages...
http://www.nickusborne.com/consulting.htm
Sign up for the Excess Voice Newsletter and get this 35-page Guide FREE.
Writing For the Web #1
7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web
Sign up NOW and I'll send you the link where you can download this 35-page guide...
(Your email address will be used only for the purpose of sending you this newsletter, and you'll be free to unsubscribe at any time.)
