copy writing

Proven Tips for Creating A Winning About Us Page

September 15, 2017 by Nancy Fields Leave a Comment

When was the last time you updated your website ABOUT US page?

Your ABOUT page may not seem as important as your HOME page, which you’ve likely labored over for weeks, maybe months. Chances are, when it was time to write your ABOUT page you ran out of steam, or thought, “I’ll just put up a resume. It will be good enough… for now.”

Eye tracking studies, and analytics confirm that your ABOUT US / ABOUT ME / ABOUT page is one of the most important pages on your site. Most website visitors quickly scan your HOME page, but they read your ABOUT page from top to bottom.

If you’ve got eyeballs on your ABOUT page, doesn’t it make sense to meet your perfect customers where they are and not let another sale slip through your fingers?

Proven Tips for Create a Winning ABOUT Page

TIP #1

Pretend you’re writing a personal letter so you ‘speak’ to one person and sound conversational.

Tip #2

Let your perfect customers know how their lives will be better, easier or more enjoyable by using your products, or your service.

Let them know:
- What’s in it for them?
- What have you experienced that lets your perfect customer know you understand their problem?
Let your perfect customer be the hero.
- He or she is looking for someone to help them get to the next level. How can you guide them?
What makes you different?
- List your specific skills and why you do what you do.
Are you mission driven?
- If you are mission driven explain in one sentence what you’re hoping to achieve and how you want to change the world.
Give them a personal detail, or two, about your hobbies. This helps to create a connection with your perfect customer.
If you have testimonials, weave them into your copy because testimonials remove a reader’s objections to buying your product or service, better than anything else.
At the very bottom of your ABOUT page offer them a small free-b, in exchange for their first name and email address. If they’re interested in you, your product, or service you’ll want to keep in touch. An email newsletter is the best way to continue the conversation.
- Even though your perfect customer has read your entire ABOUT page, they’re still in the “I’m just looking phase.” A coupon, checklist, or resource list is ideal because most website visitors find these things valuable.

TIP #3

Try your best to sound natural, and don’t use ‘big’ words. Instead of sounding impressive, you’ll come across as snobbish — and who wants to open their wallet to that?

I can’t wait to read what you can do for me!

Web Design Money Saving Checklist

January 16, 2014 by Nancy Fields Leave a Comment

Imagine finding just the right person to design your website. You may have tried to design your own website, or thought someone on your staff was up to the challenge — but they were not — it just wasn’t their “thing.” It doesn’t seem to be your “thing” either. No shame in that. The good news is you’re finally ready to take the leap, and financial commitment, to hire a pro to do it for you. Can’t you just feel the weight of the world being lifted off your shoulders?

Oh, there’s just one more decision you need to make. How much money do you want to save?

Your Money Saving Checklist

Time is money, so if you can have all these items ready to hand over to your web designer, you’ll save a bundle.

• List of best times for meetings and questions as website develops

• All website copy in a final, edited version in MS Word

• Headshot: 72 dpi 300 px width minimum

• Product images if you’re selling something

• Cover graphic for your IFO (Irresistible Free Offer) for list building

• Other images you would like to use on your site

• Your domain name registrar Username and Password (your website name)

• A contract with a web host plus c-Panel Username and Password

There are copy writers, virtual assistants, lots of stock photo companies, as well as your web designer who can help you pull all these things together. It all comes down to how much money you want to save.

Best wishes for attaining a site you truly desire.

Can I Have it Next Week?

December 17, 2013 by Nancy Fields 2 Comments

Do you remember the first time you asked to have something designed and produced in one week, and were shocked to learn it took much longer? You might think ‘I only need a little business card, or a simple brochure.’ It shouldn’t take that long? Right? Well…

Experience is the best teacher

If it’s one thing I’ve learned from doing custom design work for the past 20 years it’s this: how ever long I think it will take me, multiply by 3 and I might be close. I couldn’t have been more pleased to learn from two professional project managers with over 50 years combined experience, who told me my hands-on experience is right on target. In the project management world they call this “effort” vs. “duration,” which translates into, it always takes longer than you think.

Realistic time tables for promotional materials

Good design takes time, but it shouldn’t take forever. A RUSH job always costs more, and tends to lead to mistakes and oversights, which makes it really expensive. Time does, indeed, save money when it comes to design and production.

Here’s a realistic time schedule for some typical design projects, including 2 rounds of proofs, design changes, printing and delivery, but NOT including shipping or copy writing. If you need to hire a freelance copy writer add a minimum of 1-3 weeks onto the timeline below.

• Advertisements: 1 week
• Banners: 2-4 weeks
• Brochures: 4-6 weeks
• Calligraphy: 7 working days per 100 names for envelopes
• Interpretive Panels: 4-8 weeks
• Invitations: 4-6 weeks
• Logos: 6 weeks
• Newsletters: 4-6 weeks
• Power Point Slides: 1-2 weeks
• Programs: 3-4 weeks
• Sales Catalogues: 4-6 weeks for design plus 1-2 weeks for photography
• Sales Sheets: 3-4 weeks
• Stationery (letterhead, notecards, envelopes): 2-3 weeks
• Trade Show Signage: 4-6 weeks
• Training Manuals: 10 days if photocopied / up to 3 weeks if printed
• Web Banners: 2-3 weeks
• WordPress Website: 4-16 weeks depending upon the size and complexity

Why does it take so long?

Assuming your project can begin right away, project planning, proposals and invoicing for a project can take a 1-3 days. Add to that approvals, meeting times, travel, sick days, personal crises, vacation days, equipment failure, professional sports play-offs, Mercury going retrograde, you name it! The minute you commit to a project the anti-productivity gods think it’s ‘game on.’

Another time disrupter is holidays; especially the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. If they fall in the middle of the week add at least one more week to the project because most people’s minds are thinking about preparing for, or recovering from the fete— two days before and at least one day afterward.

Project planning advise

Begin at the end. Whether you need a business card or a full blown website, first determine when you absolutely must have your finished piece in-hand. Then, work backwards from that date and compare it to the bulleted list above. If your end date is not a reality, change your end date, or be prepared to pay at least twice the normal rate for RUSH charges due to overtime and added staff needed to fulfill your request.

Best wishes for getting all your projects completed on time and on budget.

SEO Part 2: Why Good Copy Writing Will Give You Better Search Results

January 29, 2013 by Nancy Fields Leave a Comment

The more I learn about SEO (search engine optimization), the more I understand that I’ve been thinking about it backward.

In world of search, people will learn about a product or service in this order:

Title tag
Description tag
Web page headline
Web page copy

Knowing this, it seemed logical to put most of my effort into picking out the ‘right’ keywords to improve my ranking.

What I’ve learned, however, is that I need to be putting most of my effort into my copywriting, before putting out my search pearls. Why? The ‘right,’ and often best keywords will jump out in copy that’s concise and written well.

Picking out the right keywords

Now, instead of spending too much time searching for, and racking my brain for attention grabbing key words, I’m putting more time and effort into writing, and following this order for SEO:

Web page copy
Web page headline
Description tag
Title tag

Attracting the right kind of attention on search engines

It’s true, attention-grabbing keywords are critical for getting prospects to click on a URL, but keywords should relate to the web page in order to achieve my big 3 marketing goals:

know
like
trust

Why the right words matter

The logic is really quite simple: If you are who you say you are, and can say it well, you will be what your prospects are searching for = Win – Win.