Tag / copywriter in South Africa

by Copley Sutton

5 ways to convert VISITORS into CUSTOMERS

The blogs you have are nice. Your AdWords campaign is getting lots of clicks. Even your social media page is receiving loads of comments and feedback. But how are your sales looking? If you aren’t converting your audience into paying customers, what’s the point of it all? Here are five practical ways to actively transform website TRAFFIC into online SALES.

 

  1. Adapting to the culture of your audience

You’ll never get into the head of your customer unless you understand the way they speak, think and act. Customer circles have individual cultures. If you can tap into that culture, you’re on your way to establishing a client base. But how?

Getting in touch with the culture of your client involves the following:

  • Understanding the vernacular of your audience. How they speak, what they respond to and what they like.
  • Be controversial in your posts. If you can gauge people’s responses, you can read them better.
  • What is your audience doing on the weekend? If they are somewhere, that’s exactly where you want to be. Take part in events and host your own. Travelling the same circles as your audience is a great way to market yourself!

 

  1. Find out what makes them buy

Your audience is spending their money on something. If they’re using a service similar to yours—or if they’re buying your products elsewhere—you need to find out WHERE!

More than that, you need to establish WHY they are buying somewhere else and not from you. Someone is offering your potential clients something more than you are. The only way to win them is to find out what extra mile you can go to gain their loyalty.

This isn’t always about price—although sometimes it is. But most clients want VALUE for what they are already spending. Study your competitors and find out what you could be doing differently.

 

  1. You can’t go wrong with landing pages

This is the ace in the hole! Landing pages are a sure way to take visitors and turn them into customers. If you’ve never tried a landing page to sell a product or service, TRY IT RIGHT NOW!

A landing page is an external web page that has been designed to intensely sell an individual product or service. It prompts people to follow your call to action and takes them through a sales funnel which leads them to buy on the spot.

 

  1. Use existing customers to get new ones

Your current customers are a commodity you MUST cash in on. Here are some ways to use them to gain NEW customers:

  • Have two or three of your best customers write a reference letter for you. When quoting new customers, offer to send them a reference letter from a satisfied customer.
  • Get as many customers as you can to write testimonials for your website.
  • If you receive a compliment from a client, ask them to mention it on your social media page—and to share it with their friends!

 

  1. Become an authority in your industry

Do you follow the trends of your industry or do you set them? Your answer could mean the difference between being an industry leader, and fighting for your percentage of the market!

Study your industry. Become more knowledgeable than your competitors. A good way to do this is to set aside one hour every day dedicated to research and reading. Discover new ways to reach your audience. Set the trend, and have others follow YOU!

 

Website visitors CAN and WILL buy from you! But if all of this sounds like a lot of work to you, don’t fret. Leapfrog Media is dedicated to these practices and we do them on behalf of our clients. If you’d like more information on how we go about our strategies, give us a call.

 

About the Author: Copley Sutton writes for businesses across the globe. Companies in the UK, Australia, the US & South Africa utilise his copywriting services to increase their website traffic and increase sales. 

by Copley Sutton

Copley’s Customer Diary #1 – Just not a good fit

Sometimes you get the opportunity to deal with clients who teach you a lot. Although negative feedback can be a sensitive issue to a freelance copywriter, it must be embraced if we are to improve and grow.

 

Recently, I had dealings with three customers who showed me that my writing was not up to scratch. Of course, I first went through the typical ‘writer’s denial’ before accepting this. Here’s what happened.

 

Client #1

My first client asked me to write an article as a test. He asked that the writing be conversational in tone. If he was happy, I would get more work. This client had already checked out my profile. This was not a job I applied for—he sought me out.

 

Feeling chuffed with myself, I set out to deliver a factual, well-researched article. But wait, that wasn’t what he asked for, was it? No; he asked for a CONVERSATIONAL piece. I skipped this instruction and delivered the article—facts and all.

 

Needless to say, the client thanked me for the work and paid me. But I didn’t hear from him again. Worst of all, the feedback was positive. But the fact that he didn’t come back spoke loud and clear.

 

Client #2 and #3

In a slightly different situation, I had two clients who needed content written. The one needed blogs, and the other needed web content. After doing these jobs, both did the same thing.

 

Both clients re-wrote my work! This is not a minor edit—this is a complete rewrite. They stated that the rewrite was the style they wanted. They also added that I was a great writer, but that they wanted me to follow the tone provided.

 

At first glance, the style seemed less appealing than what I had done. Besides, I’m the one who studied copywriting. Don’t I know what I’m doing?

 

A question of style

Of course, it’s not really about what I write; it’s about what the client wants. They are paying me to do it THEIR WAY.

 

In the instance of the one client, I tried my utmost best to write according to his style. He paid me for the job and left me a decent rating with the message, “We just weren’t a good fit.”

 

I don’t want to make the same mistake with the other client. So I’ve asked him to highlight the sections he feels I should redo. Hopefully I won’t have to work double time on his project.

 

What can you and I learn from these clients?

First, let me just say that my attitude was wrong with all three of these clients. I was over-confident with the first, lacked confident with the second, and was apprehensive with the third.

 

So how should a copywriter handle clients like these? Here are my suggestions:

  • Recognize that your style may not be what the client wants and accept it without taking it personally.
  • Be willing to learn a new style. You may get another client in future who wants the same thing.
  • Ask the client for specifics. If they send you their version of the writing as an example, insist that they highlight specifics they want you to change.
  • Once you’ve identified style changes, read up on them and learn how to switch to a different style when needed.

 

Yes, I’m just a freelance copywriter from South Africa, but I want to grow on an international level. Clients like these help me to do that. How about you?

by Copley Sutton

5 Essential Tools for Advanced Landscaping & Lawn Maintenance

The difference between mediocre landscaping and perfect landscaping is often in the equipment. There are a number of excellent landscaping tools every good garden service should possess. Among the following five essential pieces of equipment are high-end lawn maintenance tools, as well as general cleaning devices. Consider each one for the enhancement of your landscaping service.

 

Zero-Turn Mowers

For precise lawn mowing and excellent manoeuvrability, zero-turn mowers are a must-have. Many medium to large gardens have complex garden bed edges which can be difficult to navigate. Every garden also has that tight area which is hard to get to without the right equipment. Bear in mind the size of the mower you opt for. Narrower models are a safer option because of their versatility. They are more gate-friendly and ideal for compact garden areas.

 

Mini Excavators

In order to perform proper, professional landscaping services, there is no substitute for a mini excavator. These excavators deliver 360 degree turning in small areas while performing digging tasks that would take a person hours to do. There are now models available in approximately 27 inches wide and even smaller. Again, a smaller model is your wisest choice so that it can fit through narrow gateways and tight garden areas. You also want an excavator that is easy to transport to your various job sites.

 

Skid-Steer Loaders

Skid-steer loaders are like mini tractors and are perfect for moving—or removing—large piles of gravel or refuse. Various attachments can also be fitted to the arm of a skid-steer loader in order to speed up landscaping tasks. Tasks include—but are not limited to—logging, clearing and rock removal. The versatility and speed of these machines deliver a great return on investment by reducing your need for laborers and resulting in less work completion time. There are also certain tasks that just cannot be done properly without the benefits of heavier garden machinery.

 

Weed Eaters & Hedge Trimmers

Neatness is what separates the good landscaping companies from the great ones. Weed eaters and hedge trimmers allow your workers to bring real refinement to garden beds and sidewalks. Large, complex gardens often have pebble-bed areas, stepping stones, and bricked sidewalks—all of which look horrible when covered in renegade grass. These devices zone in on those hard-to-reach places and render them neat and distinguished.

 

Backpack Blowers

Portable backpack blowers are perfect for large gardens. The operator can move to any section without having to worry about a power connection or frustrating cables. Strong blowers are able to clear a large garden area within a fraction of the time it would take to sweep or rake. Landscaping and lawn maintenance involves a lot of cleaning up—especially during fall when trees are dropping leaves by the thousands. These devices come in a range of battery- or fuel operated choices—either of which will suit your needs as a landscaper.

 

To remain ahead in a competitive industry, landscapers are encouraged to buy high quality tools to reduce time and fit more clients into their schedule. These tools and machines will not only increase your company’s productivity, but they will also bring a sense of professionalism to your work.

by Copley Sutton

How to cope with freelancing stress

One thing I have come to notice while freelance writing is that freelancers are continually faced with a discipline issue. This issue comes up in the form of a choice that each one must make during every moment: “Do what I WANT, or do what I MUST?”

An interesting observation is that whenever they make the choice to do what they want, they are immediately struck with a feeling of anxiousness. This anxiousness comes from allowing themselves to prioritize their comfort over their work.

This results in a snowball effect of stress because the more they do what they want, the more behind they fall in their work—which leads to even more compounding stress. Even if they force themselves to do what they must, their minds are distracted by that which they want to do. And so it isn’t long before they stop working and start watching their favourite comedy or playing a favourite computer game.

So how do I counter this way of thinking? Well, it’s all in the knowledge of what is going on in my mind. If I can realize that doing what I want causes unimaginable stress, then doing what I must will be the remedy to that stress. In other words, if I decide that I do not want to be stressed out and worry about my work, I will sit at my desk and WORK!

The more work I get done, the lower my stress levels seem to fall. I think a big mistake many freelancers make is that they think it’s the work that is what’s stressing them out, when in fact it’s the procrastination that is. Making a conscious decision to work even though I don’t feel like it is NOT the answer. Making a conscious realization that one option leads to stress, while the other option alleviates stress, is the best way to approach every working day freelancers are at home.

 

About the author: Copley Sutton is a freelance copywriter in Johannesburg, South Africa. He and his team of writers handle a number of international and local writing projects for the web, magazines and students

by Copley Sutton

Golf Drills to Help You Hit a Flop Shot Correctly

Phil Mickelson is well known for making the flop shot look easy. Learning this shot comes in handy for clearing bunkers, while at the same time adding a spin to the ball and directing it to the desired spot. However it’s actually one of the most difficult shots to perfect. Below are some of the technicalities of the flop shot that will assist you in practicing your drills.

 

The right club for a lob shot

A club that should be present in every golfer’s golf bag is a sixty degree lob wedge. Many golfers prefer using a sand wedge for a flop shot, but for the purposes discussed here, the sixty degree lob wedge is the best tool for the job.

 

Setting up your clubface for a lob shot

When making a perfect flop shot, you should have two goals in mind:

  1. You should aim to get lots of height on the ball.
  2. You should aim to add a spin on the ball which will make up for too much distance if you hit the ball further away from your target than what you intended.

To perform these two tasks, you will need to turn your sixty degree lob wedge so that the face is 100% flat facing upwards. The face should be as level as you can get it to make this shot do what it is meant to. Remember to grip the club in this position, rather than compensating your wrists and turning it into this position post-grip.

 

Aiming your lob shot

Because you’ll be adding a spin to the ball, it’s important to compensate for this by aiming slightly to the left of your desired target. Twenty degrees to the left is enough of a slant to make the flop shot. The spin you will put on your ball won’t be too heavy, so only a slight deviation left of the target is necessary.

 

Too much height – Too much spin

This shot will take some practice to perfect. Depending on the distance of your target, try and find a good balance between flying the ball over the bunker, and adding enough spin to it for when it lands. Remember that the harder you hit, the higher—not further—the ball will travel, so make the call on which of these you want to achieve.