How do I market my small business online?

Recently set up a business? Congrats! It’s a daunting undertaking but I’m pretty sure it’ll be more than fruitful for you.

When I set up as a Huddersfield copywriter some eight years ago now, I never imagined that I’d be as busy as I am. Or as happy.

Working for yourself, when you work at it, can be hugely rewarding and a great way to spend your days. After all, when you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life - or so the saying goes.

So, you’ve set up a small business online, but how do you go about marketing it to the masses? Below, I share some top tips that worked for me…

Get to Grips with Social Media

Whether you like it or not, social media is big news - and it can also mean big things for your business. So, even if social networking isn’t for you on a personal level, make it work for your company by getting to grips with all the different platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram) and carving out an engaged audience online.

Do some research to see what it is your ideal customer likes and loves - and then create your social posts accordingly.

Network

If your business is service, rather than product-based (for example, you’re a baker rather than a seller of baking goods), the single best thing you can do to market your business when you’re getting off the ground is to network, network, network!

This is especially true if your business only extends to your local area; when you attend networking events in your town, you’ll be chatting directly to your customer base. At the very least, though - and even if networking events don’t pull in any new business - you’ll meet some likeminded folks and have a nice night out.

Take a look online, type in the name of your town followed by ‘business networking events’ and see what comes up. Then bite the bullet and sign up for a meet-and-greet or two. Psst: don’t forget your business cards!

Blog - and Often!

Does your website have a blog? If not, speak to your web developer about the possibility of adding one to the backend of your site. Blogging - and regularly - shows Google that yours is a real, live business producing fresh content your customers are looking for.

So, blogging offers a double whammy of benefits really.

Create a post and market it to your audience by leaving a link to your article on social media. Make sure the blog post includes relevant key words and, in time, you’ll be pushing your site up Google to help people who are searching for your services find you more easily.

Don’t Become Complacent

I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but you probably won’t see an influx of customers to your site overnight. You’ll have to really work at attracting people, via a mixture of the above. Once you’ve reeled in your target market, though, believe me when I say you’ll never look back. Business will soon be booming and it’ll be all down to the hard graft you put in now.

Until next time…

How to Write With Your Audience in Mind

You may well be able to write - and write well - but can you pen prose that just ‘gets’ your audience?

What do I mean by that? Well, any good copywriter will tell you that writing has a lot to do with adapting your tone of voice (the style in which you write your piece) to the very people who will be reading it.

For example, you wouldn’t necessarily write a piece filled with ‘text speak’ to a generation of people who aren’t down with the latest tech. Neither would you fill an article with ye Olde English words and phrases when your audience is made up of teenage Tik-Tok-ers.

How to Write for Different Audiences

If you had a good English teacher at school, you’ll probably know a little about form and structure when it comes to writing content - and you’ll also be able to punctuate blocks of text correctly too, no doubt. But do you know how to write for a host of different audiences?

When writing your website, blog post or printed marketing literature, you may want to observe everything from the area’s demographics to its local dialect.

Swot Up On the Local Lingo

Writing about, say, a new bar in Greater Manchester? Speak to Mancunians by hiring a Manchester copywriter who’ll not only be able to write well but will know the local lingo.

Perhaps your business is in Merseyside? In that case, you’ll want to take on a professional copywriter in Liverpool.

Copywriting services in Liverpool aren’t hard to come by, but you may also find that a content writer right here in West Yorkshire has penned enough articles for businesses up and down the country that they can turn their hand to anything. You don’t always need a Liverpool content writer to fulfil your marketing requirements, after all.

Writing with a Northern Audience in Mind

Copywriters in Liverpool, Manchester or Yorkshire will have one thing in common, at least: they’ll be able to write with a northern audience in mind.

Writing for your audience doesn’t have to be complicated. When you have a good copywriter on side, you’re onto a winner.

No One Knows Your Business Quite Like You

If, though, you want to have a go at writing your own content, go for it. It’ll save you money and, hey, no one knows your business quite like you. You may instead want to hire a Yorkshire content writer or a Liverpool copy writer to edit what you’ve put together. Saving you some dosh, which you can then plough back into your business, editing services may be the next best thing to a full website rewrite.

Want to talk to a Yorkshire copywriter who can craft anything from web content to printed collateral? Get in touch here via my website.

Until next time…

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…

How to Write Content for Social Media

I’m not going to lie, I’m not a huge fan of writing content for social media. Although it’s a service I offer, social media management can be quite a niggly task, involving lots of regular content in bitesize chunks. It’s probably why a lot of people outsource it, to be fair.

If you don’t have the budget to task a professional to do it for you, though, here are my top tips on writing content for social media…

Engage With Your Audience

Do you know your audience? If not, it’s time to get to know them (not in a stalky way, you understand).

Keep an eye, though, on the comments and feedback from your customers, though - learn what makes them tick, as well as what doesn’t - and try to feed them content you know they will enjoy.

Take time to reply to the comments they leave on your social media pages, too; opening up a dialogue with your customers can help shape your content later down the line.

Keep it Simple

Don’t force content for the sake of it; if you don’t have anything relevant or interesting to say, don’t bother posting.

Your customers’ attention will be being pulled this way and that, so it’s important to keep their interest when they do land on your social media pages. Make your content short and snappy and use relevant imagery to ensure it stands out on their Facebook feed or Twitter timeline.

Collaborate with Similar Businesses

Without linking to direct competitors, it’s always a good idea to create something of a community of followers based on similar social media pages. Link to relevant content and ‘share the love’, as it were, for other creators. It isn’t necessarily about bringing more traffic to your site, but about bringing the right traffic to your site - and giving fellow businesses a pat on the back in the process.

So, for example, if you run a gardening business and you know your followers are also interested in all things interiors, why not team up with a home décor business to create a fun series of social media posts together? As a freelance Yorkshire copywriter, I’m not adverse to pairing up with other people in the same - or similar - arena; connections and collaborations can be key.

Try Something New

If what you’ve been doing so far just isn’t working, try something new - whether that’s asking customers for their opinion on key business decisions (which packaging design should you opt for, for example) or running a promotion or giveaway.

Has this blog post helped you with your social media strategy? Let this friendly Huddersfield copywriter know by commenting below. Or say hello!

Until next time…

Writing for the Web: How To

Want a (very) mini masterclass in how to write for the web?

Oh, you don’t? Okay, no bother…I’ll see you back here next month when I’ll be sharing something that’s a bit more to your liking.

For now, though, pop and read the first post in my new ‘Good News Guide’ series, this piece on becoming a copywriter (if that’s what you so wish), or this article which delves into the myths people believe about what it’s like to be a freelancer.

Everyone else…stick around - and make yourself a brew before you dive right into my top tips.

Writing for the web, then: what are my top tips?

In a nutshell…

1. Know Your Audience

Made a bad ‘Dad Joke’ in a room full of teens? Or perhaps you heckled someone with poor presentation skills at a funeral. In either case, your attempt at ‘wit’ probably didn’t go down well, did it?

Knowing your audience is less of a skill and more of a given - especially if you’re in business.

You’ve probably heard the expression ‘Read the room’ - and it’s a phrase that’s been coined for good reason. Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing (writing marketing messages being one), knowing your audience is essential. So, if you haven’t already, take some time to get to know them - and what makes them tick.

2.Less is (Usually) More

I should take a leaf out out of my own book - as that last point dragged on a bit, didn’t it?! If you’re still here, remember this: people’s attention spans aren’t what they used to be, with so much info coming at us from all angles. Keep your online messages concise to grab your customers’ attention, then.

3. Use Keywords

Now, there’s nothing very ‘s*xy’ about using keywords, is there? In fact, litter your content with them too freely and Google (it’s a clever so and so!) will know - and maybe even penalise you for it by not showing it to as many people. Pah.

Use keywords ‘naturally’ though, weaving them into your marketing messages with ease, and you’re onto a winner if you want more site visitors. I’m always keen to bring more people to my freelance Yorkshire copywriter site, which is why I add key words into my site cleverly (and some may even say, sneakily). You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.

4. Don’t Overthink It

Comedians often write from experience. So do novelists. So, see if you can resonate with your customers by just being ‘real’ and sharing stuff people can relate to. Don’t overthink it by trying too hard to make everything you post online solely about making a sale.

5. Know Your Platform

I’ve mentioned getting to know your audience; you should also know a little about the platform you’re posting your content on - whether it’s your Squarespace or WordPress website; Facebook; Twitter or LinkedIn.

Some sites have a character count limit and others are designed for longer-form content like blogs. Get an understanding of who’s using the platform - and what for - and write your content with those two things in mind.

6.Use Headings

Break up long-form text - in bullet point form, with headings or images. Trust me; it’ll please those (i.e. most of us) with a short attention span and, well, it’s just easier on the eye.

7. Pay Attention to Spelling and Grammar

Trust me when I say you could lose a reader or two if your content is littered with errors. Check, check and check again.

8. Have Fun

When you enjoy putting your content together - and coming up with fun ideas regarding what to post - it’ll shine through. You may be a business owner but you don’t always have to be so ‘corporate’. Not if you don’t want to be, that is.

9. Try Something New

Tried and trusted content not working? Now’s the time to give something completely new a go. A silly poll, a ‘blast from the past’ type post to appeal to your customers’ sense of nostalgia, or even a cheeky giveaway.

10. Get Some Help

If you feel your time is better spent elsewhere because writing content just isn’t for you, outsource it to a professional. A professional like ‘meeeee’.

Yep, you knew where I was going with this post, didn’t you? Joking aside, though, as a business owner, you probably enjoy the fact that you don’t always have to do what you don’t want to do. That’s the beauty of being self-employed.

So, get in touch and let me see if I can take a task or two off your to-do list.

Until next time…