How to Write Content for Your Website

Want to know how to write better - and more engaging - content for your website?

If you’re a small or medium-sized business with a copywriting query or two, get in touch.

Want to know the best way to:

* Write your website's 'About Us' page
* Put together a case study
* Sell your services
* Come up with blog post ideas
* Craft an e-newsletter...

...or anything else, for that matter?

Send me your queries (here via my website Copywriter in West Yorkshire - Lauren Holden or over on Instagram) - and in my new 'Copy Doc*' series, I'll answer them here on LinkedIn. You can be anonymous too, if you like - call it online’s answer to TV's Embarrassing Bodies (but for copywriting issues - and it won't be televised!)

My clinic is always open; there's no need to make an appointment. Just send me a message on here or post a question below - and I'll help you get your head around a host of copywriting challenges.

* For transparency's sake, I'm not a real doctor (neither is this a real clinic); just a Huddersfield copywriter trying to help.

Best (try to) get an appointment with your GP if your knee is giving you gyp again.

Five Ways a Copywriter Can Give Your Business a Boost

I get it; running a company can be tough - and I’m a firm believer that the busier the business, the more the website needs finessing. Yep, really.

Rushed-off-their-feet company owners often contact me and say something along the lines of:

‘I wrote the content on my website myself years ago and it doesn’t at all reflect who we are or what we now do”

The thing is, when you’re so busy working in your business, it can be hard to find time to work on your business.

So, how can a copywriter help? Here are five things we content writers can tick off your to-do list…

Website Content

Website content is the obvious one, isn’t it? Whether you need your full website writing from scratch, or you’d simple like someone to make some tweaks to your existing content, I can help.

I also offer a convenient ‘Content Audit’ service, whereby I take a look at the text on your site and prepare a document with some hints, tips and minor edits.

I use the Comments function in Microsoft Word to leave you some helpful pointers, allowing you to tweak your own content and saving you the money it costs to have a copywriter like me write your website on your behalf. It also gives you an element of control over how your website sounds, which for many businesses is another plus point.

Get in touch if you think this will work for you.

Social Media Copy

Need someone to plan out your social media strategy in full, or post bitesize snippets of content onto your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn feeds? A copywriter can help you do that too.

Taking another task off your plate, social media content outsourcing makes perfect sense for the time-poor business owner.

Printed Literature

No time to create that flyer ahead of a big business event? Or perhaps you’d like some content for a banner ad? Working alongside some trusted graphic designer pals, I can help create printed literature - from flyers and brochures to company merchandise - that works for you.

Email Newsletters

Email marketing may be another task that falls by the wayside when you’re as busy as you are. So, allow a freelance copywriter to relieve you of the burden of creating the content for your weekly email or monthly digital newsletter.

Press Releases

Want to promote your business to the press? I’ve worked in journalism and copywriting, which puts me in a great position to help you get your message across to local and regional news outlets. Chat to me about my press release writing service by clicking the link below.

Need a helping hand with any of the above? Get in touch with me, a Huddersfield copywriter, by saying hello here.

Until next time…

Three Resolutions Your Business Needs to Keep in 2019

It’s the start of January - and you’re probably full of good intentions and big ideas. I love the motivation the start of a new year gives me; what about you?

A new year marks a new start – a clean slate where we can forget the bad habits we accumulated over the past 12 months and dive into a year where we never forget to respond to an email, never eat chocolate for breakfast and never, ever forget our business cards.

While some resolutions are doomed to fail (I’ll eat chocolate for breakfast if I want to, thank you very much) there are some great new year’s resolutions for your business that if you keep up, will help your enterprise grow and succeed. Here are some of the best new year’s resolutions you can make that’ll keep you motivated, bring in new customers and push your business to the next level.

Regularly Update Your Business Blog

Your company blog is vital to your success in 2019. Keeping your website updated with fresh content is essential for your search ranking, and it’s the perfect opportunity to talk about your new products, shout about your success and reveal new information about exciting plans that may be afoot.

Start off small. Setting aside half an hour twice a week to research, write and edit your blog posts means you’ll easily manage one blog post per week. Feel that achievement!

Of course, if you really don’t have the time, or you need a little support, contact me. Helping businesses out with their content is what I do best.

Keep Your Social Media Ticking Over

How’s your Twitter account doing? Are you answering all your Facebook messages?

Ignoring your social media accounts can seem like the only way to deal with them when you’re busy but honestly, in 2019, your customers will be reaching out to you via social media more than ever. Making your accounts a priority will make them far less scary and gain you new business. I promise.

Take a look at Buffer’s useful tips on using social media to your advantage, and while you’re at it, have a gander at their post scheduling tool. I use it, and honestly, it saves me so much time.

Carry Out A Web Audit Twice a Year

Ever wondered what your customers think when they reach your website?

Take some time to walk in their shoes by carrying out a web audit. If you’re not sure what one is, don’t worry, I’ve written about them before in my blog. A full web audit means talking a deeper look at the content on your website, and running through it with a fine-tooth comb to see what needs to be amended, what needs to be removed and what could be enhanced to make your website earn its keep.

Trust me, it’s well worth doing.

Want some help getting that new year’s motivation going? I’ve got plenty to go around. Get in touch today and let’s talk about how a freelance copywriter like me can help you make the best possible start to 2019.

Until next time..

Copywrite vs CopyWRONG: Dos & Don’ts for Creating Winning Website Content

I'll start by saying the title for this article is probably a little misleading. After all, who's to say what's right or wrong when it comes to your business? Aside from sticking two fingers up at your customers when you spot them in the street (clue: VERY wrong), if something's worked for you in the past, you should stick with it.

But there are certainly a few things to keep in mind when writing website content - from my own experience, at least. So, let's have a look at some of them:

Copy'writes' (or rather, 'rights'!)

Think 'You', Not 'I' - When writing your website content, it can be so tempting to talk about yourself. After all, who knows you better than you?! But the key to getting prospective clients to sit up and take notice of you (and your services), is not to talk about 'you' at all. Instead, focus on what your client needs and how your services can help. By adopting this technique, you're still discussing how you can assist them, but you're putting them - and their unique issues and challenges - centre stage.

Bearing that tip in mind (and using a stationery company as a simple example), here's a look at how the following sentence might be reworded to benefit the customer:

This: "We're a trusted supplier of pens and paper here in the UK - and our prices are low."

Can be swapped for this: "Is your stationery cupboard consistently low in stock? Never run out of office essentials again; pens, paper and everything in between can be delivered to your workplace as soon as tomorrow - if required. You can put your trust in us since we're suppliers to X, Y, and Z - and you'll save money, too, since our prices are kept low enough to meet any budget."

The first thing you'll notice about the second snippet of content is that it's longer - why use one sentence when you can let the customer know how you'll make their life easier in three?! More benefits = more chance of you becoming their new go-to stationer.

Just Start Writing - Here's a tip the news editor of a weekly newspaper I used to write for once told me - and it stuck! Knowing full well that the headline of an article or feature is often the hardest thing about the piece to write (it needs to hook the reader from the off, you see), she'd tell me to instead write the rest of the content.

"The headline will come to you while you're typing." she once said - and do you know what? She was right! Nine times out of 10, that's exactly what happened. So why spend the best part of half an hour poring over puns? Just get something down; the rest will come in time.

The very same goes for your website copy. If you don't know where to begin, just begin! It sounds simple, doesn't it - but get everything down on paper, or on your computer to save you faffing around later making long-winded edits, and you'll have a clearer idea where to go from there. I promise.

Add Personality

So, you sell pens and paper - and unless you consistently ace those 'flog me this fountain pen' questions in job interviews, like many things, it won't seem like the most inspiring of subject matters.

But don't let that put you off - you've followed this career path for a reason, and it's because you're good at it!

So, without being all 'me, me, me', or rather, 'we, we, we', think about how you can 'jazz up' your copy in other ways. Offices need pens - and they'll always find a way to get them. But maybe when they're idly browsing the net for a new supplier, your company will stand out - and for another reason than the price.

Get your thinking caps on as a team and consider creative ways you can set yourself apart. Develop a company mascot to use on your site (hello, Peter Pen!*) and run with it. Trust me on this; it'll work.

*you can have that one for free

CopyWrongs

Keywords for Keywords' Sake - No, just N-O! I get it; you want people to find your site - and organically, too. But well-written website copy will mean so much more than a site that's located easily but doesn't quite hit the mark when your customer lands on it - and more importantly, starts reading it.

Instead, think key'worths', not keywords. Does each and every word count? If not, go back and make sure it does.

You can still optimise your site for SEO - and do it well - without over-stuffing it with keywords for the heck of it.

Poor Grammar and Spelling - You'd like prospective customers to trust in you and your services - so if your site's filled with 'text speak' (or your social media page is left in the hands of a disinterested intern), is it really giving off the right impression?

Poor spelling, grammar and an all-round blasé approach to copywriting is just.not.on. (and I use those unnecessary full stops with every last jot of irony).

I won't name and shame (because I'm nice, me) but I've heard business owners say things like: "Apostrophes? Who cares?! The customer knows what we mean" and it makes my pedantic, grammar-obsessed self's heart sink.

The fact is, customers probably will know what you mean - but will they take you seriously?

Just the other day I saw a sign for a company offering 'delivary' for 'breacfasts'. Will I be going there?! No. Because I don't care how well they fry an egg; they didn't think it appropriate to proofread the full-colour banner they probably spent a pretty penny on. So, how much care will they put into that 'breacfast'?! Beep, beep; I'm going to McDonald's drive 'thru' instead.

Too Much Copy - This one ties into point one on my copywrongs list - and really, there's only two reasons people waffle on their site: they don't know when to stop, or they're desperate to increase their organic reach by way of, you guessed it, a few more keywords. But we're a nation of skim readers (hooray if you've made it to the end of this blog - a full-size Curly Wurly bar to you, my friend) and who's got time for reams and reams of text? Not me. It's why I'm signing off this blog now. Ta-ra.

Like this article? Do let me know if it helped you in any way. And keep an eye here on my site for more of the same. If you think you can benefit from my copywriting services in 2018 and beyond, do get in touch and let's schedule a chat or a coffee in the diary.

Until next time...