Despite the various problems that can and do occur, I nearly always enjoy the SEO copywriting process – settling on a brief, deciding what needs to be done, then delivering it to the best of my ability. I even quite like the organising part too. There are plenty of other jobs in the world, so believe me when I say that if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be doing it! Constantly switching between different writing styles (and briefs in general) can be mentally exhausting, it's true, but at the same time, it's one of the things that keeps things varied, fun and makes you feel alive.
Yes: strange as it sounds, voluntarily spending an awful lot of time sitting on my arse makes me feel alive. I suppose like Nan always says, it takes all sorts. Well, now I know exactly what she means.
SEO copywriting doesn't happen at light-speed, but it should happen fast enough
Copywriting can at times be a long process – what constitutes long in this case depends on your deadline! – so if there's one solid thing that a client can initially do to speed things up, it's ensure that they know and understand what they want out of it. Aside from the obvious things like I want the copy to make people click on products and buy more stuff, there's the less obvious element of style. For some reason, people seem to often over-look this element, when in reality, almost nothing is more important than the style and tone-of-voice of the finished writing.
It's this simple: if your copywriting has no style, it's generic. In other words, the copy is shit.
I say style and tone-of-voice because they can at times be arguably (trust me when I say that us copywriters could argue for the next hundred years about this) separate things, although they can of course be the same thing. Tone-of-voice is the way you're copy comes across and the personality it has. Style is similar, but can also relate more to the technical aspects of the copy: short paragraphs, long paragraphs, exclamation marks and use of grammar...the list goes on.
Decide on the style you need, make your life easier!
In reality, though, the two things are interchangeable. But if you're the client, you don't need to worry about that – all you need to think about is the style you would like the copy to have and the effect you would like the copy to achieve.
Not sure how to do this? Have a read of some competitor websites and see how the copy strikes you. Read some magazines, some journalism, some fiction, some poetry. Is the writing too formal, too overly-friendly, too soft or too salesy? If it's website copy specifically, is the copy persuasive enough or does it talk down to the reader? Does it actually connect? Let us not forget, either, that style is the thing which things simply have. Therefore, it is something which can be hard to pin down. Something that just...exists.
We have to break it down, because if we don't, your SEO copywriting will not deliver
In a way, it seems a shame to break something as unique as style down to a technical set of principles and conditions – as I did above – but sometimes it's essential. Otherwise, we're going nowhere fast.
Which means that if you're looking to have copy written, you need to do your best to pin it down. Or to at least know what you don't want it to look and read like. It's by no means vital to know all of this before we start – we'll get there somehow, after all, that's my job – but if you have a deadline looming and need that copy fast, it really will help. Plus, it'll be easier, fun and you'll hopefully enjoy the process on the way!
Yes: strange as it sounds, voluntarily spending an awful lot of time sitting on my arse makes me feel alive. I suppose like Nan always says, it takes all sorts. Well, now I know exactly what she means.
SEO copywriting doesn't happen at light-speed, but it should happen fast enough
Copywriting can at times be a long process – what constitutes long in this case depends on your deadline! – so if there's one solid thing that a client can initially do to speed things up, it's ensure that they know and understand what they want out of it. Aside from the obvious things like I want the copy to make people click on products and buy more stuff, there's the less obvious element of style. For some reason, people seem to often over-look this element, when in reality, almost nothing is more important than the style and tone-of-voice of the finished writing.
It's this simple: if your copywriting has no style, it's generic. In other words, the copy is shit.
I say style and tone-of-voice because they can at times be arguably (trust me when I say that us copywriters could argue for the next hundred years about this) separate things, although they can of course be the same thing. Tone-of-voice is the way you're copy comes across and the personality it has. Style is similar, but can also relate more to the technical aspects of the copy: short paragraphs, long paragraphs, exclamation marks and use of grammar...the list goes on.
Decide on the style you need, make your life easier!
In reality, though, the two things are interchangeable. But if you're the client, you don't need to worry about that – all you need to think about is the style you would like the copy to have and the effect you would like the copy to achieve.
Not sure how to do this? Have a read of some competitor websites and see how the copy strikes you. Read some magazines, some journalism, some fiction, some poetry. Is the writing too formal, too overly-friendly, too soft or too salesy? If it's website copy specifically, is the copy persuasive enough or does it talk down to the reader? Does it actually connect? Let us not forget, either, that style is the thing which things simply have. Therefore, it is something which can be hard to pin down. Something that just...exists.
We have to break it down, because if we don't, your SEO copywriting will not deliver
In a way, it seems a shame to break something as unique as style down to a technical set of principles and conditions – as I did above – but sometimes it's essential. Otherwise, we're going nowhere fast.
Which means that if you're looking to have copy written, you need to do your best to pin it down. Or to at least know what you don't want it to look and read like. It's by no means vital to know all of this before we start – we'll get there somehow, after all, that's my job – but if you have a deadline looming and need that copy fast, it really will help. Plus, it'll be easier, fun and you'll hopefully enjoy the process on the way!