There’s Web Design and There’s Effective Website Design

Website Design No Responses »
Dec 032010

From hearing many different client stories, there seem to be three types of web designers:  ones who want your business, tells you anything, designs the site and whose only interest is to make a profit… leaving you stranded with a quickly outdated and solitary website. Then there are designers who come from a graphic design background, can put together a navigable, nice looking site, but expect you to go elsewhere for search engine optimization, copywriting and the like.

The third kind of web designer/development company takes a brief and wants the client’s website to exceed their expectations and return them a handsome profit… by being found online and being popular with customers. You can probably tell that category is where Red Planet Design is.

To do this, we design the site according to client’s preferences. Once our client is happy, then the coding of the website is done by the top talent in Expression Engine or WordPress, both flexible CMS systems that have their place.

Copywriting to Sell

To top it off, a freelance copywriter (aka your writer here) is put to work in creating or editing all the content and metatags for your new website – in conjunction with the designer. You wouldn’t know how rare this is, because mostly clients don’t realise that copywriting or editing is usually outsourced 90% of the time, if you’re offered that option at all.

It’s plain as day the websites which have employed a professional copywriter and which have cobbled it together themselves, doing an admirable job. Compare this first paragraph for a roof repairer (#1 on Google):

“Our aim is to make your roof repair and gutter replacement needs simple and easy. We do all we can to make your roof restoration as best as possible”, OR  #4 on Google for roof repairs:

“Welcome to Queensland Roof Restorations (QRR)

QRR have 25 years domestic and commercial roofing experience throughout Brisbane suburbs and Ipswich. Re-roofing, roof painting, and roof restoration are all part of QRR’s of the services we provide.”

QRR has put where they are operating, so that is one vital point, and they do list their main services. Crucially their copy lacks a little finesse – note the grammatical error – and a customer-oriented headline. Overall its OK, but is OK going to make your prospect call?

The first paragraph is often shown in the search engine results page… so it’s important to make this the best it can be.

Don’t leave your website to a freelance web developer who is not in tune with the entire sales process, and don’t leave your content in the hands of a keyword junkie (oops I mean SEO professional).

Posted by Jennifer at 3:13 pm Tagged with: , ,

Optimising Website Links for SEO

SEO tips, Website Design No Responses »
Nov 082010

It’s true, there are many tricks to search engine optimisation and building links. Here are some of the main things that you can influence:

  • Use keyword rich ‘anchor text’ in both internal and external links (where you can).
  • Optimise your page titles metatag according to that page’s main content. E.g. Write ‘chocolate bars’ not ‘Cadburys’.
  • Write a great metatag description, especially for pages that may not have a lot of keyword content (when Google is more likely to use yours).
  • Comment on other relevant industry blogs, whereby they allow a link back to your website.

Anchor Text
You might be wondering what anchor text is. Here is a great article all about it: What is anchor text and why is it so darn important for SEO

Basically you should delete all the internal links on your website saying “click here” or “about us” and rename them with some keywords that could possibly be searched for. Your SEO-savvy copywriter should do this for you (say hello to Power of Words).

When commenting, don’t forget to use your main keywords, but still remember to add some value to the post’s topic.

Text Beats Graphics
If you just remember the phrase “text beats graphics”, it will remind you to not have a java language page, Shockwave Flash entry, or jpeg image as the main viewable graphic of your visitors. Hey, I love creativity. But when you have to sacrifice real interested visitors to be creative, that’s when any marketing objectives have gone bye-bye. (Image headers are OK and can always have a textual ‘alt tag’).

Robots like plain text and text-based links. So always have an alternative to your pull-down menus and your images, and use ‘alt’ image tags and keyword rich hyperlinks. It also helps us humans get quickly to where we want to go.

Last year I advised an accountant at Snelleman Tom that using Java meant that their website was impenetrable to searchers. I see they’ve made a new website with much better architecture and visibility. No need to thank me, that’s OK.

Posted by Jennifer at 12:34 pm Tagged with: , ,

Prevent Marketing Material Project Delays

Small Business, copywriting tips No Responses »
Jul 292010
Power of Words website

Power of Words - our Copywriting site

When business people think of getting a brochure or website developed, they often start by getting a quote from their favoured graphic designer, who then obliges and starts asking about the design. The designer makes a start, but then find he can’t go any further with the project without content.

Unfortunately, business owners are often juggling many balls – and the copy (words) gets overlooked and left… sometimes for months.  The reason for this could be lack of time (busy on earning activities), or lack of knowledge of how to approach the writing.

Either way, the business owner or marketer should not be the sole person who is responsible for the copy and content. Just as designers exist to ensure artwork is balanced, attractive and print ready (or web ready), editors exist to ensure your grammar is perfect, consistent, and correct in voice. People wanting professional material hire an editor.

But if you struggle to write, the solution is hire a copy-writer (that’s a writer of copy). A copywriter is trained to write to get results – so the approach is a little different. If sales conversion from written collateral is important to you, the solution is… a copywriter. Making a document compelling to read is what makes our heart sing.

All you will need to supply is info on your target market, your business proposition, benefits to customers (these can often be found in client testimonials), product features, what you will use the brochure for, and what you want to achieve. Even the desired length and form of the piece can be worked out collaboratively from what you say about its purpose (with a mind for practical things like posting through the mail and printing costs).

Posted by Jennifer at 8:28 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

Ten Common Email Marketing Mistakes

copywriting tips, marketing strategies 1 Response »
Jul 072010

As a recipient of a barrage of daily emails, all requested, it’s easy to come up with ten common email mistakes from Businesses trying to sell me something…

  1. Promoting a live event but not mentioning WHERE it is in the email… hello, I don’t want to get on a plane for a two hour seminar?
  2. Jabbering on about yourself first, and burying the goodies for ME (that is, the reader) way down the email. (Had one today about Ms Entrepreneur’s exciting trip overseas; a benefit for the reader was four paragraphs in).
  3. Not using bold and headings, if using HTML. Studies show that readers prefer use of boldface and colours actually.
  4. Only using graphics, as some of us can’t be bothered downloading the graphics if we don’t know what it’s all about. Try to have ‘alt’ text for every image.
  5. Forgetting to put your business PHONE number and general location, with no links to website. Call to action anybody?
  6. Assuming people will remember you (especially if they signed up from a free offer). Make it easier for them with perhaps a head & shoulders picture of yourself and a standardised header/logo (with a tagline to explain what it’s all about). It’s easy to put in the line “You signed up for Read By Design newsletter at www.information.com.au” at the top.
  7. Not bothering to READ your own email, which possibly contains typos. I suggest you print out the email and have your other half read it, especially if grammar is not a strong point.
  8. Not testing your email in different viewers (Gmail, Outlook, Entourage) and not ‘spam testing’ the words – all can be done inside Email Marketer or similar (an email marketing system here in Australia).
  9. Blasting untargeted emails out with offers, and forgetting to build relationships through great value advice. Also get feedback about desired communication frequency.
  10. Forgetting to test and measure the campaigns. Which newsletters had the best open rate? Test your email subject lines (e.g. half with your standard type of subject lines, and half with intriguing but not misleading subject lines).

Thanks for reading, and remember the copywriting code: What’s in It For Me?

Posted by Jennifer at 4:40 pm Tagged with: , ,

Don’t put eNewsletters in the Too Hard basket

marketing strategies 4 Responses »
May 072010

Why e-Newsletters?

Do you have time to ring every past client, every prospect, or business partner? Make a point to communicate your new products/services? Give them value by educating them in small, helpful ways?  Yes, e-newsletters can do all this for very little cost.

While most know it’s good for business, some businesses seem to go about sending a newsletter in a haphazard way, or only make it all about them. First of all, you need to ask a few clients what they want to know about (pertaining to your industry). You’re in your world, but they are in their world. Hop over to their world and see what the weather’s like, see what the problems are there.

Which Style?

Look at the e-newsletters you like reading; they are probably clear, concise and have a simply designed layout. While you can send out newsletters in just plain text, some folks find it less professional or harder to read. Plus, you want your brand to be prominent, and this is usually put in a small header. The whole template can be custom designed for you by a graphic designer, and it must stay consistent.

It’s really important to keep the content as simple as possible, remembering your audience is more likely to be a wide cross-section of people who happen to use your services rather than all industry experts.

The number of articles should range from three to around eight. Some of these could be: about an upcoming event’s speaker (to generate interest before an invitation), talk about a new employee (reveal their reason for joining and their unique talent), or a review of an industry-related book that you’ve read, and of course news/topical articles or “how-to” tips.

Writing to Entice

By keeping this interesting variety in a regular newsletter, and by getting a copywriter to write it, you ensure that readers will take an interest. A company insider is more likely to fill it with news of the company and insider jargon, thus killing off any early interest. Your reader might have no knowledge of your products or systems at all, so the writer must ensure the meaning of the content is unambiguous.

While headlines in the newsletter are important, don’t forget the subject line has to be enticing so that receivers want to open it straightaway. The “from” should be recognisably from your company.

If your newsletter is going to be long, the usual strategy is to put the first one or two paragraphs only, with a nice clear link to the website to “read more” (I advise a text hyperlink since graphic hyperlinks are firstly not loaded by many email readers). This will drive traffic to your website, and the article should stay on the website for a good while and be surrounded by the usual navigation, encouraging customers to read on.

Analysing Reader’s Responses

If you use a content management system or email marketing system, then it will be easy to analyse your opening rates and click-through rates and work out which features are the most popular. Email marketing systems with autoresponders and segregated lists start from $18 per month on up.

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 3:38 pm Tagged with: , , , ,
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