heartharmony.com.au

Copywriting, like all service industries, have people at all ends of the financial spectrum.  You can find budget writers in India and Indonesia, and you can find $20,000 a letter plus a % of all sales in the USA.  In Australia the fees vary dramatically – ranging from the VAs who moonlight as writers, right the way through to highly qualified direct mail marketing writers.

We are unashamedly at the mid-high end of the industry. And here’s a little case study to help you understand why you get what you pay for.

Over the past few weeks I have been working with a very talented and successful natural therapies practitioner on revising her website content. She  understands the value of being found in search engines, so we invested time on conducting a range of searches for her so she could get an idea of how many people per day were looking for particular services relating to her industry.

We used this information when creating her copy. This is termed SEO copywriting and includes creating the metatags, H1 & 2 tags and on-page links that her web designer can then just upload onto her site, as well as keyword rich copy.  Her copy will be on-page optimised before she loads it – meaning step 1 of SEO has been completed when her site goes “live”. SEO copywriting is a unique niche – and one we love!

But, in researching her copy we found she used two machines in her business. We did a quick research scan to see what other businesses and the manufacturers said about the machines – and found all used basically the same copy.  (In most cases the copy was identical. This is termed “duplicate content” and has SEO implications, as well as breaches of copyright implications, but we won’t go there).

We then went back and re-read all the Australian legislation and guidelines from the Therapeutic Goods Administration Act to determine what could be said about these machines.

We did further research to find out the specific wordings of the TGA approvals for each machine – as the wording is unique to each machine. “TGA approved” just doesn’t cut it legally – we wanted to state specifically what each machine was approved to do.

We also checked out legal case law to see if there had been any claims made against the advertising of these machines, and discovered a recent case where the “standard wording and claims” used by most practitioners and the manufacturer had been blasted by the courts. The standard wording and claims had been banned from being used, the person before the courts had to withdraw their ads and print a retraction.

Of course, this also means most of the other websites out there that mention these machines and use the standard wording and claims are in breach of the legislation.

Using all of this data and case law, we presented it to the client, to educate her on the situation. We very carefully crafted her web copy to comply with the legislation, guidelines and case law (… yet still sell her services and use of the machines). Of course we advised her to seek competent legal advice to confirm our draft.

What is the point of this post? Budget basement copywriters or newbie copywriters don’t do the research and don’t “get” the legal and SEO side of things.

Of course in every business you need to adopt a risk management approach to your work – but as one of the USP’s of this client is her wonderful honesty and ethical dealings, we made sure her copy was in line with her USP.

Yes, we do things a bit differently … but we also can sleep at night, comfortable in knowing we are protecting our clients while making their businesses highly successful. And yes, we do charge accordingly.

Until next time

We put your business into words

Ingrid Cliff – Freelance Copywriter

Recently I tweeted  “If you are not writing from the heart you are not communicating. Heartfelt words are the most powerful sales words on the planet.” The response was fascinating.

I had stacks of emails and direct messages from people from the “right on” camp as well as the “no – you have to write to the heart of the reader and not connect with your own heart” camp.

I have to disagree with the second camp. For me writing from the heart is the most important step.

In my experience many people get into copywriting from the perspective of making money. They may have been a great admin assistant but wanted to earn more money – so they put the title copywriter after their name. Many other people can be found in word factories in India or the Philippines – churning words out for cash.

Recently I tried a few of these word factories and ex-admin newbies out to check the quality of their writing – to say I was underwhelmed was an understatement. The words were formulaic, bland, and had very poor grammar. There was no spark, no passion and nothing to get excited about.They were writing from the chequebook and not the heart.

The best copywriters write because they have a burning desire within to express themselves in words. They have a passion for the businesses they work with and spend ages discovering the most amazing things within each business that they feel they just have to share with the world. They love what they do and the businesses they work with. They write from their heart and only put pen to paper when their hearts are bursting with excitement and joy for the business or product they are writing about.

The best copywriters are like diamond cutters – they find unremarkable lumps of rock and through their vision, skill and passion show the brilliant diamond within – showing everyone the true shining heart of that business or product.

When a good copywriter first connects with their heart and then applies their skill to their writing – then magic happens. It is at that moment that they also connect with the hearts of their readers – and sales automatically follow.

They connect on a deeper, emotional, almost visceral level. Their words vibrate with power and clarity and people naturally respond to the words. That’s what I mean by saying that heartfelt words are the most powerful sales words on the planet.

Without this heart felt connection with the words and the business, then the words are the same as fast food. They fill a space but they don’t nourish the soul.

So – which would you prefer? Words from the Heart or words from the chequebook? For me it’s a no brainer – it’s a heartfelt response.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriter

When you think of branding most people think of logos, colours and designs. But the way you write and the words you use are as much a part of your brand as all of the other visual elements.

Think about Virgin’s Brand – cheeky, taking a poke at the establishment and very fresh. When they write ads or brochures each part of their writing reflects their overall brand – fun and saying it like it is.

Now think about some of the major banks – their business writing is often dry, corporate and staid.

Many small businesses make the mistake of being too formal with their writing. They use big words, formal sentence structures and refer to themselves in the third person. However the trend in marketing is personalisation – people want to know and trust you, the people behind the logo. You can achieve this by being real and open in your communications.

Some indicators of this trend are the shift in ads on TV. Gone are the ads promoting a company “Woolworths the Fresh Food People” to be replaced with ads showing Woolies employees showing their expertise with fruit via weekly information about new seasons fruit and vegies. Bunnings shows their employees talking in their words about their company. Even the banks are cashing in showing their tellers in social settings.

This trend has also shifted into writing. Gone are the boring web pages or brochures. People want to know more.

When we work with a company I always have a conversation with the head of the company. I want to hear in their own words what makes their company great. I also want to hear how they speak, what makes them laugh and what makes them tick. We use this information to ensure there’s no disconnect between the words people read on websites and brochures, and the words they hear when they talk with the company.

As a freelance copywriter, here’s my process to make sure your writing reflects your brand:

• Describe your brand in words – what does it mean, what does it stand for, what sort of people work there, what sort of experience do people get when they work with you?
• Ask a few of your friends and top clients to describe your brand to you.
• Look for common words and themes – for example fresh, vibrant, trusted.
• Use these words as part of your unique selling proposition (USP).
• Run writing past the ruler of these words – if someone didn’t know you and they read your words would they think this company was (fresh, vibrant, trusted)?
• Always write directly to your clients or customers. Refer to “you” and “we” not “the client” and “our company”.
• Insert emotion – have some fun with your words. Don’t try to be someone or something you’re not. You are perfectly fine the way you are – if you represent the essence of you in your writing the right customers will be attracted to your business for the right reasons.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriters

More about the power of metaphors. Have you the heard the metaphors “forward thinker” and “step back and think about things” . Psychology has caught up with testing on the validity of these metaphors.

Reported in We’re Only Human, scientists looked at what happens to people’s decision making ability when they literally and physically take a few steps back before making a decision.  They tested volunteers physically taking a few steps back, forward and to the side, before taking part in some simple decision making tests.

And the results … drumroll please. If you physically take a few steps back you are more focused and attentive. There is a whole lot of theory about why this happens in terms of vigilance and flight/fight, but all that matters is if you are feeling stuck you may want to get up and take a few steps back from your desk or your situation and think about the situation before responding.

If you want people to consider your marketing offer in more depth – suggest they mentally step back and consider … to trigger a similar response.

Once again – metaphors need to come with warning labels – they have more power than people imagine.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriters

Happy April Fools Day – the day when people can play pranks on others in an attempt to create some fun.

But what I have found is that reality is often much funnier than forced pranks. We all do stupid things at times – but by laughing at them we take the sting out and realise  our humanity.

My colleague Kurt Johansen did this to great effect with his extremely funny promotional email yesterday, telling readers about the challenges of being a 14 year old boy and dissecting rats at High School.

His email reminded me once again that you can use your mistakes and missteps as great fodder in your copywriting and marketing. By owning up with a wry smile at your stupidity, you create a sympathetic bond with your reader. They are more likely to relate to you as an equal rather than someone in an ivory tower – and are more likely to buy from you as a result.

So if you are the victim of any pranks today – your response could be “Thanks – I look forward to using this in my book/emails/marketing some day”.

That said … I don’t think the home owner of this house in Qld is seeing the funny side of things. One of those “It looked OK in the plan” moments.

Check the driveway and garage location

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance writer

One of the things copywriters learn is the art of communication … how to get a message across to customers in a way that they “get”.

When reading the Modern Goddess blog I came across a fascinating post that captures the essence of HOT communication.

Did you know that those who are more skilled at expressing their wishes, needs and wants have a much greater chance of fulfilling them?  …

When communicating, consider the following points:-

* Heartfelt – Be sincere, take time to consider the impact of your words on others.

* Open – Be open to others opinions, it never hurts to listen without judgment.

* Truthful – Be honest and trustworthy in your communication.

Within Heart Harmony we believe the following when we are writing copy for our clients.

If you are not communicating from the heart in the words you use – you are not communicating. Heartfelt words are the most powerful sales words on the planet.

If you don’t listen to feedback and opinions, and test and measure results – you are not communicating. If you don’t listen to people, you are telling and not communicating. Without listening you are not taking the other persons needs into account. Listen – respond – care. These make the most difference.

If you are not being truthful, if you plagiarise or tell lies in order to get a sale – you are not communicating.  There is no justification for lies. If your product or service is not good enough to stand on its own merits – it deserves to fail.

Copywriting and communication need to be HOT. How Hot is your communication?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriter