Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. of Copy Cat Copywriting, invites you to reprint this
article in your publication, ezine, or on your website.
This is a Free-Reprint article. The only requirements for publishing this article
are:
You must leave the article and resource box unedited.
You are not allowed to change our recommendations, nor are
you allowed to change the context of the article.
You may not use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email).
Email distribution of this article MUST be opt-in email only.
You must forward a copy of the ezine or newsletter that contains the
article inside to the author at:
goodwincathy@yahoo.com
If you post this article on a website, you MUST set any URL's
in the body of the article and most especially in the Author's
Resource Box as hyperlinks. You must also send us a copy of
the URL where you have posted this article.
If you find any of the rules to be unsavory or unacceptable, please
do not publish this article. While we are happy to make the content
available to you for your own use, we must insist on having our rules
and *Terms of Reprint* honored in full.
Thank you for adhering to these four very simple rules.
"Can you give me some feedback on my brand new website?" a life
coach named "Kevin" asked his e-zine subscribers. "I just revised
my site --- finally!"
Naturally, I couldn't resist clicking over to see what Kevin had
done. I knew Kevin was a thoughtful life coach with a reputation
for high integrity.
Kevin's new site cried out for a makeover. He had paid a designer
to get drop-down menus and a bit of flash. As a result, Kevin
admitted, "I have no budget to pay a copywriter."
Ouch.
After skimming a few pages of the site, I emailed Kevin. "Who is
your target market? What do you offer? How are you unique?"
Kevin replied, "I don't have time to answer a lot of questions.
And everyone tells me the site looks professional."
One question Kevin needs to answer is, "Are you attracting
clients and sales - or just compliments?"
Of course your web site needs to look professional. That's why
you hire a web designer.
But some websites attract clients, subscribers and sales from
the very beginning. Others just attract compliments.
The websites attract compliments (like Kevin's) made one
expensive mistake. They didn't call the copywriter first.
(1) Copywriters can save you money.
Often I (and other experienced copywriters) can save clients
money on web design. Kevin didn't need all those bells and
whistles. In fact, some Internet marketing gurus claim they
do more harm than good.
And Kevin didn't understand HTML, let alone CSS. A copywriter
might serve as go-between, translating Kevin's requirements
into web design language. Your web designer saves time - which
translates into saving money.
(2) Copywriters help you earn money with dynamic web site
content.
Reading between the lines, I discovered Kevin could be a stand-
out. He has developed an innovative 5-step process to help
clients overcome obstacles and take charge of their lives.
But Kevin doesn't realize why he's unique, so his website reads
like five thousand other life coaching sites: vague promises of
"take your life to the next level," "discover what's important
to you" and "enjoy the work you love."
Naturally I'm disguising the details of "Kevin's" story, but I
really don't have to. Hundreds (maybe thousands) of sites sound
just like Kevin's.
(3) A copywriting expert can jumpstart your strategy.
Like Kevin, my clients often think they can show me a few pages
of a website and say, "Make it sell!" Copywriting requires energy
and planning, whether you're a do-it-yourselfer or a firm
believer in outsourcing to a specialist.
My clients often invest many hours answering my questionnaire. As
they write, they often realize there's a hole in their business
strategy. Or they're sitting on buried treasure.
Until I know what Kevin wants to do with his website and his
business, I can't make realistic recommendations - even as a
casual ezine reader. I need to evaluate Kevin's copy in the
context of Kevin's own goals, target market and unique selling
proposition.
Kevin could do this himself. But, like most busy business owners,
he didn't want to invest the time. And he wasn't sure what
questions to ask.
When clients hire me, we have the luxury (and fun!) of creating
a marketing message that hits the target market squarely in the
center of the bull's-eye.
Bottom Line: Websites deliver messages. Without a message, a
website is a calling card - nice when you have more business than
you can handle.
Most of the time, revising copy brings traffic and sales.
Websites typically earn back the copy investment with just a few
new clients, not to mention saving energy and funds by avoiding
a makeover from the makeover.
Notice: thePhantomWriters.com /
Article-Distribution.com played no part in creating this content.
Our client has purchased
thePhantomWriters.com / Article-Distribution.com Distribution Services,
and we have distributed this article to over 6,000 publishers and webmasters.
As part of this service, we offer this page and the Copy-and-Paste version of
this article on autoresponder.
Are you curious about where this article has been published?This article was first distributed on: Wed Apr 19 04:11:58 EDT 2006
Check out these links to get a real good idea. Keep in mind that
these links will only show those websites who have posted the article
and have been submitted the page to the respective search engines.
Stand out from the crowds. Educate your prospects and they will turn to you for more knowledge. When they turn to you for more, they will visit your website. It is up to your website copy to sell your products, NOT your article. Provide great information and at your website, address how the prospect will benefit from what you are offering. Using these things in conjuction will help your cash register to ring.
