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I would think that good grammar is still important. It helps you sound intelligent, like you know what you're talking about. And that could make the difference between making a sale or not...

I would think it would depend on what you are selling. If you are writing a sales letter, for example, you need to anticipate any questions your customer might have and answer them in the letter, since it's your only contact you will get with a potential customer. But on the other hand, if you put in too much information, you risk losing their attention.

I was just musing on this: what do you think the main differences are between writing for the Internet and writing traditionally?

You obviously need to optimize for search engines, but I think there may be differences in the style as well. For example, sites I write for like you to leave a blank space between one paragraph and the next.

Any other differences you can think of?

I stumbled across another site today. It's a writers forum, so they have a lot of noncopywriting items, but there were a few copywriting jobs posted as well

http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=24

I found this interesting article on how to become an expert in your field. Basically, it all boils down to deliberate practice, which makes sense intuitively. So to become an expert copywriting, you need to, well, write copy.

So my question is, how do you motivate yourself to deliberately practice?


Anyhow, here's the link if anyone is interested:

http://www.wisebread.com/how-to-become-an-expert

I think you can, but it probably would be better to start with local businesses so you can get some experience first. After you have some recommendations, then the bigger businesses may be more interested.

Does it hurt your SEO rank if you use one of the free domain names? Also, with free hosting, does that handle a lot of traffic if your website grows, or would you recommend moving it once things take off?

I would say integrity would be the most important part. That and really knowing and liking whatever it is you're selling.

Wall's site does look like it will really help. Now I'll just have to make some time to read it!

I also found out that you can research the most popular search words using Google Hot Trends and the Yahoo Buzz Index. I don't think stuffing your copy with references to Brittney Spears actually helps, though...

Really? So not only does your copy become unreadable, but the search engines overlook it?

Do you think it's worth it to make your own website? I can see how it would be useful, as you could include samples of your work and details of your business. If you do have a website already, how did you design it? What costs were involved and what information did you decide to include?

Wow. I did not know that people would actually offer as ridiculously low price as that. Do they actually think they'll get quality writers that way? Or maybe they just want someone to throw in the search terms as many times as possible...

Also, you need to be careful about your word choice. Avoid words that people would have to look up in the dictionary. Ideally, your copy should read like you're sitting down next to a person and talking to them. Professional, intelligent, yet relatable at the same time.

I think I will mail them a proposal first - that way I don't have to take the kids anywhere and make a bad impression!

Lately, I've been collecting direct mail fliers from local businesses. When I get some time, I intend to look at them and see if I can improve their results, then offer my services rather inexpensively if so. That way, I can get some experience and hopefully referrals.

I also noticed the free membership at guru.com isn't as bad as I originally thought. They've been emailing me job opportunities every day this week, so I might start applying for those after I complete my profile there.

I understand your viewpoint too, Sal. I can see how paying a fee would ensure that only those who will actually commit to doing the work will sign up. My husband's gym at work is similar. They could offer gym membership to all the employees for free, but instead they require you to pay for it. Their reason? Because if people don't pay to go to the gym, they don't go.

I also read a similar story about a woman selling turquoise jewelry. Very nice pieces weren't selling at the price she set for it, so she went out of town for the weekend, instructing her assistant to mark them half off. The assistant misunderstood and doubled the price, and all those pieces sold that weekend.

It's interesting how the human mind works in that for something to be of value to us, we must earn it. It's an idea that has a lot of good applications in marketing.

The Guru site free membership has turned out better than I thought. They've been emailing me job opportunities every day, and there's been a few decent ones. My thought is if you make enough money and experience in doing smaller jobs, then reinvest it in expanding your career.

Good copywriting all boils down to being persuasive. Convince someone that they need what you're selling, and you can make a sale. With that being said, how can we improve our persuasiveness? Do you like to go with simple statements of facts, or are there certain tricks you use to make your copywriting more persuasive?

I know we've seen the example of hypnotic copywriting. What other tools are in your copywriting toolbox?

Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It's an online event where thousands of people write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. It's crazy, but very fun. And what you come out with often takes on a life of its own, which is in my opinion the best way to write a novel. (It got quite crazy last year in my novel when the giant wolves and zombies appeared, but I like to keep a party lively.)

My time to write is very limited (naptime and after bed hours) so I try to structure it as much as possible if I have a project I'm working on. For example, when writing an article, I'll research it and write it out, then let it sit overnight and edit the next day. I'll generally try to have several going at once. Next month, I'll be writing a novel (Nanowrimo) so I'll be dedicating my writing time to trying to get 2000 words a day, unedited. Then in a few months, I'll hopefully be able to work just on editing that novel.

Where do you research keywords/phrases? And is there an optimal number of times to work them into your copy? I can see how too much would make it hard to read, and therefore not effective, but what is the advised minimum of times you would work a phrase in?

I've wondered that myself. Ever since Payless did the BOGO promotion, I've seen a lot of local stores using the phrase "BOGO" on their outside signs. I would think that since Payless coined the phrase BOGO, they would have rights to it.

I have a vague idea of what is meant by SEO copywriting, but it's still not entirely clear. Does anyone know of resources to learn more about it? Or an ability to explain it for those of us whose eyes cross upon encountering anything technical?

I would say they still could come up with selling points. While it may not be educational according to some studies, it is entertaining to babies. And let's say you're taking a long car trip with a fussy baby. It would be nice to have something to hold their attention for thirty minutes while you're driving.

Also, Baby Einstein can be educational if used with a parent. If you're willing to sit and explain what's going on to your baby, that child's language ability will improve. Of course, you can also do that with a book, but some parents find it easier just to talk to their kids about something than try to read to them.

Even if you have to be more creative, you can come up with selling points for just about anything. You just have to frame it correctly.

I checked out the Guru site in depth, and found while they offer a limited amount of services for free, to get access to the majority of the listings you have to pay. I agree with you Katharina, I don't see the sense of paying to get a job. hireaghostwriter.com had a few listings, but I didn't see any copywriting ones. And Odesk seems to be mostly computer programming...