February 18, 2016November 9, 2016 by Copley Sutton

Make your own emoticons

Copley's Personal Blog

Seriously?

Today I got a surprise phone call from a client asking me to write an urgent landing page for him. What was the landing page about? Bottled water. How in the world am I supposed to make bottled water sound interesting?

Inspiration simply wasn’t hitting my brain so I went and lay on my couch, waiting for something to click. Lying there was pretty boring. I grabbed my phone and started doing something I’ve been doing a lot lately—I started taking selfies.

Oh wow it was SO MUCH FUN! I couldn’t stop laughing at some of them. (Some of them I had to delete because the lighting made me look like that weirdo from soul taker). Before I knew it, I was making all kinds of funny (albeit emotion-charged) faces.

Soul Taker – Angel of Death

Now I know it makes us look vain and full of ourselves (excuse the redundancy), but seriously; taking selfies is a lot of fun. So I decided to put it to good use. I’m going to use my selfies as personalised emoticons.

Oh I hear what you’re saying: “What a silly idea!” And I agree with you. It is a little crazy. But I was on Facebook today and I’m pretty sure I distinctly heard Richard Gere tell me that I’m supposed to be silly to enjoy life. So personalised emoticons it is then! Thanks Rich!

Oh, and by the way… taking selfies really cleared my head. I wrote an awesome landing page and my client said he loved it. So I highly recommend some ‘selfies therapy’ if you’re feeling a little… mentally constipated. Us copywriters are a little crazy, I know…

The Smoulder

February 15, 2016November 7, 2016 by Copley Sutton

Common questions: What the heck is copywriting? – by Copley Sutton

“So what do you do for a living?” It’s a question we’ve all heard asked. And if you know anything about wordplay, you know that the word ‘copywriting’ is a tricky one?

“Oh, so like copyright music?” someone might ask.

“Errr… no. That’s spelt very differently.” And so the conversation goes.

If you are a copywriter, you’ve DEFINITELY had this discussion with someone before. And if you’ve ever spoken to a copywriter, you’ve been on the other end of a very confusing conversation.

So what’s the best way to define copywriting?

Two vague words

The best way to logically explain what copywriting is, is to analyse both words this term is made up of.

‘Copy’ refers to content. These are the actual words that get displayed on… well, anything. Flyers, catalogues, websites, billboards, TV ads, and even the content you hear on radio ads.

‘Writing’ is exactly that. Not to be confused with ‘righting’ (a legal term), we’re talking about someone who very simply writes copy. A copywriter! Get it?

So what do copywriters do?

The term ‘copywriter’ is mostly associated with advertising. Before the internet, copywriters would write the scripts, slogans and dialogues for adverts.

But today, copywriting has exploded into so much more. Why? Because the internet is ALL about marketing. Blogs, websites, social media… you name it! It’s all geared at getting exposure for companies. People love being on the internet, and since so much on the internet is free, it’s the perfect place to advertise.

What are freelance copywriters and how much do they earn?

There are some really great international platforms for freelance copywriters. These platforms connect clients and freelancers and offer safe payment gateways for both parties. Freelance copywriters are lucky enough to work from anywhere in the world and will usually get paid in US dollars—the reserve currency.

So how much do freelance copywriters generally earn? There’s no definite answer to this question. An entry level freelance writer will often start off with basic blogging. If you were blogging for a client, you would typically charge per 100 words—and $1 per 100 words is pretty much an entry level rate.

But as your experience grows—and you start taking on different types of projects—your rate will go up. And when it comes to the ‘salesy’, marketing side of copywriting, you can charge very hefty rates for all the brain work and creativity that goes into persuasive copy.

So there you have it. Copywriters love talking about their jobs. The next time someone tells you they’re a copywriter, you’ll know what they mean and you can ask them more about it. You’re welcome!

February 8, 2016February 7, 2018 by Copley Sutton

The 6 most important SEO tips for 2016 – Copley Sutton

Anyone can make their business EXPLODE on the internet. Google search holds the key to website traffic and if you know Google’s secrets, YOU’RE IN! Fortunately for all of us internet marketers, a team of SEO experts have done a super important study and found out 170 factors that influence your website’s rank.

I’m not going to give you all of them—because that would be crazy! But I am going to give you the top six that you simply must do RIGHT NOW.

Write longer blogs

The study showed that blogs reaching an average of 1890 words ranked higher than shorter blogs. Gone are the days where 400 or 600 words was enough. It seems that blogging will explode over the next year because now the 2000 word blog is the only way to cover everything that needs to be said about a particular topic.

Cover all aspects of your topic

And that’s exactly what your blogs should aim to do. When a blog covers various aspects of your topic, people are more likely to click on it via Google. Why? Because the more questions you cover, the more likely it is that someone will find the answer by reading your blog. It just makes sense, right?

Get website security

One aspect Google has never been shy to mention is that an “https” prefix in your URL ranks you higher. It’s that simple! Get website security and make sure you’re generating trust for your customers. It’s a small step that clearly makes a big difference.

Editor’s note: I personally did all the content for https://www.trustthesite.com/ and believe them to be the best vendor for website security.

Increase your anchor text

Anchor text DOES make a difference to your rankings. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Add at least two anchor text links to each of your blogs which link back to your own website. Then, add at least one exact match anchor text link to that same blog so that you get a double score for mentioning your primary keywords. There’s a lot of stuff out there about this being bad—but that advice is grossly outdated.

If you’re reading this blog after 2016, these anchor text rules are still valid today. If you’re looking for a more updated article on anchor text, this great post by Outreach Mama is super comprehensive!

Link to established websites

Linking your content to websites that are authoritative, popular or well established will also put you in Google’s good books. But don’t settle for the YouTubes and the Facebooks alone. Find out what the authoritative websites are in YOUR industry and link to them as well.

Add images to your blogs

Blogs with at least one image were shown to rank higher that other posts. People want to see images on your website. Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook prove that images speak louder than words. Besides, if you want to use an image to relay content, use a MEME or an INFOGRAPHIC to do so. You won’t be disappointed in the results!

These are small changes you can make immediately to improve you ranking. If you’re looking for more advice on how to boost your Google ranking, contact our team of copywriters from South Africa and we’ll be glad to help. Good luck!