The Day I Fired Myself
A true story of international romance and un-work The freelance life is a life like no other – especially in […]
Blog
3 Things To Consider When Choosing A Brand Name
Recently, a friend and business associate decided it was time to completely transition their business away from their current target market of business owners, to a completely different market: brides.
My friend’s initial preference was to keep their old brand name. But when I pointed out a bunch of jokes and other less than savoury associations for connecting the current brand name with weddings, my friend quickly realised it was time for a completely new name.
I make a living playing around with words. But the suggestions I made hadn’t been obvious to my friend. So I figured it was time to share them here, so business owners like you can avoid making a mistake you’ll regret when choosing a brand name.
My Top 3 Favourite FREE SEO Tools
While I use my fair share of paid SEO software, you may be surprised by just how much good stuff is out there that’s completely free.
That’s right. Zero cost, but big value.
And we all like a bit of that, right?
In this post, I share my top 3 favourite free SEO tools. These are super handy tools that anyone can use. For nothing.
Judging Success: 3 Key Measures of Effective Blogging
Blogging can sometimes feel like a bit of a wishy-washy marketing effort. That’s because it can be difficult to see how it translates into material results – especially when its success is often judged by subjective or obscure measures.
But the truth is that, like all online marketing, blogging is a measurable marketing activity.
My Clients And Where They Come From: 2014
Have you ever wondered what sort of businesses pay for copywriting?
Have you ever wondered what industries I specialise in writing for?
And have you ever wondered where copywriting clients come from, anyway?
I sure have!
As 2014 draws to an end, I thought I’d take a look at my copywriting clients this year, and see if I could categorise them. I also wanted to know where they came from.
Now, I’m sharing the results with you. So here they are…
Judging Success: 3 Key Measures of Good SEO Copywriting
Have you ever wondered how successful the SEO copywriting on your website really is?
SEO copywriting can be judged by a vast array of subjective measures. But there are also objective ways to judge the success of your website’s SEO copy.
This blog post examines three such measures in detail:
- Bounce rate
- Search rankings
- Conversions
Why Keyword Optimised Content Matters So Damn Much
I recently had a conversation with a client during an SEO consultation that looked a bit like this:
John – why are less-developed, incomplete sites ranking higher for “Launceston plumbers” than our website is?
Me – do you use the term “Launceston plumbers” on your home page?
John – no
Me – do you use it elsewhere on the website?
John – not really
Me – then that’s why
Why No-Follow Links Should Be Part of Your Link Strategy
In the SEO world, you’ll often hear people talking about two kinds of links. These are “follow” links, and “no-follow” links.
Because the humble no-follow link doesn’t pass on “link juice” or “page rank”, is often sidelined in SEO strategies.
But in sidelining the no-follow link, I believe web marketers are making a huge mistake: we are forgetting the true value inherent in any link, and we are ignoring what should actually be an important cornerstone of any link-building strategy. Let me explain…
Why Your LinkedIn Summary Shouldn’t Be About You
Last Thursday I was invited to a presentation on LinkedIn by Julie Mason, the “social media princess”. She spoke to us about 5 key things everyone should do with their LinkedIn profiles if they want to generate more leads via that social network and enjoy success.
Her tips included the more obvious to the much less well-known, but very powerful. They were all great tips that I was excited to implement upon my return home that night.
But there was one tip she gave that left me feeling rather embarrassed. Mortified, even. Because as a copywriter, I should have known better. Here’s the full story…
Getting Paid – a Guide for Freelancers
So you’ve quoted your first client, and they’ve accepted. You just finished the job. Your client loves what you’ve done for them. They’ve even offered to write you a testimonial – without being asked. Now it’s time to send an invoice using your invoicing software of choice (I use FreshBooks). But before you do, you need to decide – how will you get your client to pay you?