Copywriting Articles and Advice

The latest copywriting articles and advice from Copyblogger. For an introduction to copywriting, check out Copywriting 101.

Written by Sonia Simone | July 20, 2017 | 5 Comments

Better Content, Better Websites, and a Little Inspiration

On Monday, Brian Clark kicked off a new series of quick copy tips. These are short, powerful techniques that can make your copy more persuasive and get you to your goals faster.

This time, Brian taught us about the Proclamation Lead — a way to cut through the clutter and start your content with a bang. If you’re struggling to make your content stand out, or you just want a potent way to get your message across, give it a try …

On Tuesday, we welcomed our colleague Chris Garrett back to the blog. He wrote about 10 rather sad business website mistakes he recently saw over and over again while he conducted some site critiques — and solutions that will make things better.

And on Wednesday, I asked our editorial team to share their favorite quotes about writing. If you need a little dose of inspiration, there’s a lot to choose from there.
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Written by Brian Clark | July 17, 2017 | 9 Comments

Capture and Hold Audience Attention with a Bold Proclamation

If you’ve studied copywriting, you know the purpose of the headline is to get people to click and start reading. And your opening copy needs to continue that momentum all the way to the offer or conclusion.

One way to do that is to make a bold, seemingly unreasonable assertion in your title or headline. A proclamation so jarring that the right person can’t help but keep reading, listening, or watching to see where you’re going with it.

As far as I can tell, copywriter John Forde (whose site tagline is, not coincidently, “Learn to sell or else …”) was the first to define the Proclamation Lead:

A well-constructed Proclamation Lead begins with an emotionally-compelling statement, usually in the form of the headline. And then, in the copy that follows, the reader is given information that demonstrates the validity of the implicit promise made.

This type of lead works for both sales copy and persuasive content. Let me give you a couple of examples.
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Written by Sonia Simone | June 2, 2017 | 6 Comments

It’s ‘We Love the Writer’ Week on Copyblogger

Actually every week is “We love the writer” week on Copyblogger. But this one is special, because we’re about to open up the Certified Content Marketer program to a new group of students.

This is a program that turns talented writers into well-paid talented writers. The key pieces are a content marketing strategy course (Brian Clark and I teach that one together), ongoing education to make sure you stay on top of best practices, and — for those who pass the application process — inclusion on our page of recommended writers and content strategists.

If you’re a writer and you’d like more clients, better rates, and a stronger competitive position, the Certification program just might be perfect for you. You can drop your email address here and we’ll get you all the details very shortly.
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Written by Stefanie Flaxman | May 31, 2017 | 4 Comments

The Career-Expanding Discovery Many Profitable Writers Have Made

The struggle when I started my freelance writing service business looked like this:

I was fascinated with crafting words that accurately conveyed a message.
I hadn’t extensively studied journalism or entertainment writing because those weren’t career paths I wanted to pursue.
I knew that offering basic content writing services for businesses — filling up pages with words — would not pay high rates.

And I completely understood why filling up pages with words was not valued. Nothing is worse than paying for a service that doesn’t produce results.

When writers charge low fees for content writing that doesn’t persuade prospects to take action, two dangerous things happen:

It’s difficult to support yourself through your writing services.
Your clients don’t make new sales.

If a client thinks that the money they paid you was a waste because they didn’t make it back in sales, they’ll view you as interchangeable with any other writer — and there’s probably someone else who charges even less than you for a comparable lack of results.
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Written by Jerod Morris | May 30, 2017 | 8 Comments

Your Content Marketing Won’t Work Without This

“What is copy?”

My wife asked me this a few days ago.

I had been going on and on at dinner, hands gesturing, spittle flying, talking about something work-related. She waited patiently until I was finished to ask.

Her question jarred me. It had been a while since I’d thought about what “copy” is. And in that moment, my immediate reaction was to remember how I used to hate the word.

It always felt … pretentious … to me.

I used to hear phrases like “ad copy” and “website copy” and cringe. I’d think:

“Just say ad text or website text. Who calls it ‘copy?’ That doesn’t even make sense.”

Then I started working for Copyblogger. I also binge-watched Mad Men right around that time.

Needless to say, I quickly got what “copy” meant. And it’s made all the difference.
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Written by Sonia Simone | May 26, 2017 | 1 Comment

A Big Week at Copyblogger

Ever been frustrated with putting a site together and wished someone could just do the whole thing for you? With custom graphics, copy, marketing automation, and even content strategy — all using Copyblogger principles?

Very soon, we’re going to be able to make that happen.

Our big news this week is that we’ve entered into a relationship with a new partner that will allow us to offer you an extensive range of done-for-you services in the very near future.

There’s plenty to talk about, including a significant price increase coming for new Rainmaker customers (but not for you if you’re already a customer or start your free trial shortly), so get all the details over on Brian Clark’s Thursday announcement.
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