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New Blog: Content Writing Tips

"Blessed" Content from India

And the hits just keep a coming...

This unsolicited email arrived today from a content writing service in India called Blessed Solutions. What's up with the "voluminous" word, anyway? It turns up in so many of these pitches out of India... (Italics are mine)

For the last couple of years, we (our company) have established our own identity cum prominence by providing quality and voluminous work in SEO enriched content development sector. Also, we adhere strictly to time schedules as requested by the clients.

Additionally, myself have a thorough knowledge of rewriting, proof reading and book concising projects too.

Through the gradual phase of success and appreciation, at present we are delivering around 50 articles in a day to both local and offshore clients. Last but not least, we are always in quest for working with esteemed organizations so as to contribute quality and distinct work through best of their expertise and experience.

Yikes. Isn't it time somebody tell all self-described content writers in India that this is NOT the language of global ebusiness? My word, just read a few good websites -- read anything at all -- and you'll quickly see that.

Have you seen any doozies? Feel free to send them to me.

Am I being too critical? Not critical enough? Open to comments.

Update: A few days after I wrote the above post, I received an email alert from usability expert Jakob Nielsen addressing the problem of English variants. He says:

"Users notice when a website uses a different version of English than the one they're used to.

• Some users will simply assume that the site is littered with typos, poor spelling, and weird words, all of which reduce credibility a good chunk.
• Other users will recognize that the site is using a different variant of English. These users won't think the site is poorly produced; they'll simply assume it's foreign and doesn't apply to them." (end of quote)

Either way, both the user and the site owner lose.

Another "Immensely Exquisite" Writing Service

I'll just let this spam email speak for itself. It's from some content writing outfit called Shri Sharma Services (note the cozy salutation and "lovely" use of adjectives):

Hi Dear,

Shri Sharma Service is immensely emerging company in the Indian IT market. We deliver best IT solutions in the field of SEO and SEM. Apart from the admirable SEO and SEM services provided by Shri Sharma Services. The company also provides an exquisite service of Web Content Writing.

The creative and unique content writing are done by the content writers of Shri Sharma Service. This creativity puts the company up, in the priority list of the clients to get content writing services for there business. SEO services are quite efficient and always have been up to the requirements of the client. The productive SEO, SEM services gives a global identification to the company.

Current Content writing Prices –
200-250 words 2$
300-350 words 2.5$
500-600 words 3$

-end of email-

$3 for an article... and worth every penny.

Article Writers Who Can't Wrote

Today, thousands of people will have had a good laugh when they opened their email and got the same mass-mailed message I did from Article Alley. Usually I don't mention names when I share these gems. But this one comes from a fairly large, established site that posts articles and offers "professional" article writing services. So I think they need to be outed, for their own good. This is verbatim from their email:

"Do you want articles with 100% original content, which have been wrote by experienced and professional copywriters? How about an unlimited amount of articles wrote for your disposal?.... you can have as many articles wrote that you need and ... the grammar, spelling and punctuation used within your articles will be accurate."

The price per article? $40. 'Nuf said.

Seven Things You Should Never Say On A Company Website

Remember when George Carlin so famously reeled off the seven words you can’t say on television? He called them “the heavy seven”, the nasty words “that will infect your soul, curve your spine and keep the country from winning the war.”

Well, since countries are again at war and souls are just as endangered as ever, I’d like to do a riff on George’s list, this time bringing it into the Internet age. With a nod to Mr. Carlin, here is my list of the heavy seven phrases you should never use on your company website:

1. Second to none. This phrase is second to none in the vacuous cliché category. It’s worn out and says “next to nothing”.
2. One-stop shop. An expression borrowed from convenience stores and where it should have stayed.
3. We are proud of our ___. Whatever you’re proud of, it doesn’t matter one iota to your prospective customers. They just want to know your stuff works, that it can help them solve a problem or make their life better. Give ‘em proof, not pride.
4. Welcome. A word that should be restricted to door mats and stuffy maitre d’s. The biggest problem with “Welcome” on a website is that it always appears where your scintillating heading should go. A waste of valuable real estate.
5. Limited time offer, act now. You should only use this expression when it’s actually true, and usually it isn’t. What if I order your gadget “now” to get the offer and find the deal is still being plugged on your site next month? You tricked me into buying, a mistake I won’t make again.
6. Outside the box. It was clever the first time around. It was even kind of cute when Taco Bell started “thinking outside the bun”. But now if you boast about thinking outside the box, it’s pretty clear you aren’t.
7. Solution. It has something to do with computer software. Or is it hardware? Or a mixture in chemistry? Oh wait, maybe it’s the answer to a math problem? Vague words elicit vague responses – not the best outcome for a company website.
   

Deploy This

Any term that reeks of insider jargon should be used with extreme caution and restraint -- turnkey, scalable, deploy, etc. Even in B2B marketing where your web copy is supposedly addressing a savvy, insider audience, why place that cognitive load on the reader? Wouldn’t it be a faster, more pleasant read without the gobbledygook? And the bonus is that anyone (a journalist, non-techy manager, curious relative) who lands on your site for any reason will get it.

David Meerman Scott, who wrote The Gobbledygook Manifesto, said, “Many people never get off their butt and get out into the marketplace to learn how people really talk so they end up using the language of their own R&D labs, CEOs, and the jargon used in conference rooms and internal meetings.”

And that is why “the heavy seven” listed above continue to enjoy such mass appeal. But there’s hope. The world clearly is hankering for some new clichés to replace the anemic old ones. So next time you’re tempted to insert a “solution” or a “second to none” in your writing, think of George Carlin’s wonderful, original brain and make up your own clichés. It’s fun that won’t infect your soul or curve your spine.

An SEO is Optional, But Copywriter is Mandatory

Some powerful words from SEO pro Jill Whalen about copywriting that I think are especially pertinent for those who want to market their business online or sell a product over the Internet:

"...hire a professional copywriter to work on the important pages of your site. This is the best investment you can make for your site and your business. Even if you don't want to hire an SEO, you absolutely MUST hire a professional copywriter.

"You need someone who really and truly understands target audiences and how to speak to them about the benefits of what you offer." -Jill Whalen

See the rest of Jill's article here: http://www.highrankings.com/advisor/art-of-seo/

I've been subscribing to Jakob Nielsen's wonderful (and free) usability newsletter for some months now and today it lead me to meander around his extremely usable and useful website... where I encountered a great example of bad writing made good.

Nielsen's team took a technical website that had been using a white paper as its online copy (big no-no) and set about adapting it for web usability. The adaptation process was fairly simple but what a difference it made -- the resulting copy delivered 159% greater usability.

The first link below shows you a section of the original copy:

Sample 1

Now here's the rewritten version:

Sample 2

Note the numbered list, the simplified but technically accurate text, the bold-faced words of importance, and the elimination of unnecessary verbiage.

This is just a short sample and it doesn't illustrate all the possible ways to make your copy more usable. If you're interested in learning more, here's Nielsen's excellent web writing tutorial:

http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/

"Experienced Writter Seeks Work"

Email received yesterday at my www.thewritecontent.com inbox:

I AM AN EXPERIENCED JOURNALIST FROM INDIA. I LIVE IN CALCUTTA CITY. CAN I GET OPPORTUNITY TO WRITE BUSINESS PRESS RELEASE? CAN I EARN BY WRITTING THE PRESS RELEASES? HOW?

WAITING FOR YOUR RESPONSE

(name withheld)
JOURNALIST
INDIA
CALCUTTA CITY

In a crabby mood, I wrote back to "Name Withheld", explaining that an experienced journalist wouldn't send a pitch letter that contains spelling and grammatical errors. Here's his indignant reply:

I know the spelling of ‘writing’...................but it was the accident I made while sending you the mail yesterday...............................
anyway...thanks for the correction .....................and also thanks for corrcting me with a perfect geltleman’s attitude!!!.............
No human being in the world can boast of making even a ‘silly’ mistake ever............I think you are............

regards

(end of email)

Please... no more unsolicited solicitations from semi-literate "writters". It just isn't funny any more. At least, not to this "gentleman".

Content That Can Save You From Tidal Waves

And it just keeps on coming... this copy from a content writing service's website that shall remain nameless:

"(Content writing service) has already a huge list of satisfied clients in every where on the globe... We have always believed we are not just into writing; we are into a noble work of saving websites from the tidal waves of ever this Cyber Ocean and we are doing our duty with real honestly.

"Whether you have a small project or large our precious team of writers is always ready to serve you.

"After reading this breath taking description, you are ready to count your benefits from our fascinating Content writing Service...

"You have everything to gain with our focused writers adding a clutter edge to your products with ravishing reviews, captivating the market was never been this easy.

"...request us for a free quote with your pursuit and let us get back to you within no time with our voluminous perception."

Indian English: A View From the Trenches

Here's a recent email I received from a blog visitor with a personal perspective on the unique brand of English used in India... an American writer living and working in India:

"I got a kick out of your blog posts dealing with the "quality" of Indian content writing services..."Viagra Delivery Room," "Cheap Offshore Copywriting" and others. Since much of what I have done here has been centered around ensuring quality English writing and editing among a team of Indian content workers, your posts certainly struck a chord with me!

"For the most part, I agree with your assessment that it's "buyer beware" when it comes to outsourcing content work to overseas locations such as India (despite its overhyped English-speaking workforce). Lots of factors contribute to this, most notably that English is not the native language for the overwhelming majority of Indians.

"Still, there are invididuals and organizations here that are committed to improving their written English. While this is an uphill battle for many, there are some interesting opportunities evolving. Most apparent is that people or groups in India that can offer TRUE quality can provide a valuable resource to services like yours, as and when the business scales to the point that it would benefit from some level of outsourcing. On the flip side, while the knowledge sector is growing very rapidly in India, young Indians' skills, particularly in written English, generally lag woefully behind the demand.

"Hence, I believe there's a real need for Indian writer training and education services, in much the same way that Indian call center workers have their spoken English "accent neutralized!" I'm now focusing on a few initiatives that address each of the above."

That's from David Juman, a wonderful and entertaining American writer working in India. You can read more of his stuff here: http://writestuffindia.wordpress.com

"Slight Delay in Acting Causes Woman to Explode!"

One day, we can have a discussion about sensationalized headlines... but for now, let's talk hyperbole.

This is the first sentence from a marketing email I got today:

"Just the slightest delay in acting could cost you your 10 product package:which may actually cause you to explode Heather Reimer!"

False advertising. I did delay. And I didn't explode. So there.

Do you think hype works in emails or online? Here's what web usability expert Jakob Nielsen had to say about the risks of using exaggerated claims:

"Promotional language imposes a cognitive burden on users who have to spend resources on filtering out the hyperbole to get at the facts. When people read a paragraph that starts 'Nebraska is filled with internationally recognized attractions,' their first reaction is 'No, it's not' and this thought slows them down and distracts them from using the site."

Full Article: http://www.thewritecontent.com/hypesequel.html

Notes From the "Viagra Delivery Room"

Just had to share this with you. An online businessman needed a large amount of content all at once, more than I could single-handedly supply. So he shopped around and contracted a content writing team out of India to write search engine optimized pages about Viagra and various other pharmaceuticals.

Here are some of the highlights from the pages they delivered to him. Nothing has been edited or changed; italics are mine:

What is Viagra:

Viagra is a drug, which is used for the treatment of erectility dysfunction. Some common side effects of Viagra are headache, upset stomach, chest pain, irragular heart beat and nasal stiffness.

Lowest Price Viagra

Wish to get your partner's more attention to you? Then you must be hard in erection. The natural erection process can't help you to get this and you must try on Sildenafil citrate mostly called Viagra (Lowest Price Viagra) which gives you sexual stimulation and helps erection with its fast effects in half an hour.

We provide secure transaction on the Internet and provide you lowest priced Viagra at fastest speed to raise your excitement to get better sexual stimulation with your partner.

Our Dedicated Services

Our order taking services are available round-the-clock. You place your requirements on the site, we tell the lowest priced Viagra delivery room which will interest you. So within minutes after you place your order, your lowest priced Viagra wish list will be in the delivery room and delivers products depending on your location.

Humble Request to Consumers

We advice you not to buy products from unauthorized dealers because they sell fake products under the name of lowest priced Viagra that may be suspicious and highly injurious to your health. So you must be conscious about your health and buy trusted lowest price Viagra from pharmacy providers like us on the Internet to get the successful bliss.

Another Copywriter Steps Up

When it rains, it pours. I got this email today from a Yahoo! account in India:

"I have come to know about you that you are very experienced person in content writing and scriptwriting and content writing too. I am also having experience in these services. So if you have excess of work in near future and if you want to completed it by someone else I can prove to be a good resource to you."

I think I'll refer him to the "anybody can do it" people from the post below. A good match, doncha think?

Copywriting for the Search Engines: "Anybody Can Do It!"

A while back I was on a rant about how some SEO companies are putting too much emphasis on the "optimization" part of the content equation and not enough on the "copywriting to inform and sell" part. So you can imagine my reaction when I received this spam in my inbox this morning, from a UK-based SEO company:

"We are a search engine optimisation company looking for people to write content for web pages. Writing the content is simply a case of cutting and pasting different bits of information, whilst adhering to a few easy rules such as beginning each opening sentence with a key word etc, it is not necessary to have a journalism background, anybody can do it!"

Simply a case of cutting and pasting??? Anybody can do it??? Give me a break. Companies like this are selling their clients garbage content and likely charging them a small fortune for it.

The New Heifer in the Stable

Hey gang, just a quick heads up to let you know I recently joined the freelance copywriting "stable" at Professional Copywriting. Details here:

http://www.professionalcopy.ca/PC_team.htm

Nice to be in such good company! Thanks to head honcho Aran Kay for the invite.

What Are You Really Paying For?

Fees can vary wildly for copywriting services. Some charge up to $300 for a single page. Others just $10! So, how can that be. How does a business person shopping for a copywriter justify spending more when such bargains are available?

Here are just some of the benefits you're paying for when you contract a professional copywriter / web writer versus somebody doing it in their spare time for pocket change:

-Education and experience: Check the credentials and years in business of any writer you're thinking of commissioning. Their experience is actually more important than their degree/diploma, so give added weight to their body of work.

-Research: A good copywriter spends time getting to know your industry, your business, and your competition so he/she can help you carve out your unique selling proposition. Doing this research can often take longer than the writing itself, but the writing is meaningless without it.

-Innate talent: Folks who don't have the writing gene or talent or whatever you want to call it know its value. But that talent has to be combined with a diligent work ethic and attention to detail for a really gifted copywriter to emerge.

-Original sales copy: I once had a prospect show me an article that was written for him at a cost of $20. It was 300 words of inane gushing about his great new website. He will have to pay people to publish it as an advertisement, because that's all it was. If all you care about is cost per word, then this is a real bargain. If you care about effectiveness, then saving your pennies for the real "article" is an investment that will actually be able to pay for itself by attracting qualified prospects to your business.

Anybody Can Write Articles... Or Can They?

We have only ourselves to blame... a few years ago, web marketers / writers like myself positively gushed about the benefits of writing and distributing articles. And we insisted that anyone can do it.

"Don't be afraid," we said encouragingly. "You can write articles, just tap into your own expertise and let it flow."

And boy, did it flow.

CEOs of big corporations, small business owners, academics, and professionals listened to us and they all started writing and submitting articles... flooding the article announcement lists and unmoderated article sites. And proving that we were totally wrong: not everybody can write a good article. (If you want proof, just check out some of the free article sites at Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com )

The result has been an overwhelming surplus of mediocre articles that won't get read, won't get published, and won't generate backlinks or traffic to the authors' sites.

For those who publish free reprint articles, like newsletter editors, it means slogging through a mountain of unusable blather to find the rare nugget of wisdom and insight that they can actually use.

Is anybody else regretting that we made it all sound too easy?

Does Your Blog Pass the Credibility Test?

Nick Usborne wrote a great article this week about the growing number of blogs and forums that have no credibility. And how hard that overcrowding makes it for people to find the truly useful, informative, unbiased blog sites.

He predicts trust levels will continue to plummet as more and more marketers use blogs to spin their messages.

But it isn't all gloom and doom for bloggers. Read his article here:

http://www.excessvoice.com/article114.htm

More "Incredable" Writing

I seem to be a magnet for poorly crafted email pitches:

"hi! i'm a content writer. in case there is a vacancy in your firm for content writers. kindly acknowledge this application. my resume is attached for your further reference. thanks."

Okay, the e.e. cummings approach to capitalization is so NOT appropriate for a cover letter.

For more on this theme, see Spelling That's "Incredable". All I can say is "sheesh".

The Importance of Proof: Your Portfolio Page

It's one thing to tell your potential customers that you have the greatest item or service of its kind. But it's even more effective to SHOW them.

That fact became very clear to me recently when I started tracking the actions of my website visitors and monitoring how they use my site. I always knew that, for content writers, designers, artists, architects etc, having a portfolio page that showcases past work is extremely important. But when I looked at what my site visitors were doing, I was amazed.

After landing on the home page, the majority of my visitors clicked to my Portfolio. That was NOT what I expected. I figured they'd either jump to my copywriting services page or those who needed reassurance would look at my testimonials. But I was wrong.

And that has given me a whole new appreciation for the importance of proving your stuff -- regardless of what you're selling -- and putting that proof in an obvious and accessible location on your site.

I'll be writing more about how to create an effective and persuasive portfolio page in the days ahead. Stay posted for a link, coming soon to this spot.

In the meantime, check out this new article if you're thinking about going freelance or starting your own business:

"Taking The Fear out of Freelancing: Is Self-Employment Right for You?"

Spelling That's "Incredable" + A Proofreading Tutorial

Spotted in a new ebook of tips for writers:

"There's nothing that will cause you to lose credability faster than misspelled words."

Got any sightings you'd like to share? Drop me a line.

Update, July 6, 2006: Just spotted this beaut in an article about the importance of proofreading:

"Proofreading content isn’t tedious and unexciting job and neither time consuming. It’s the interesting one as by this one get know the latest information along with improvement in their vocabulary."

Update, July 14, 2006: This one sighted in an article on the benefits of article writing:

"To see results in this world you have to be like A purple Cow, you need to stand out from everybody else. I consider myself to be a Purple cow. I do things differnetly than most people..."

To prevent funny typos and embarassing gaffs in your writing, this tutorial will show you how to edit your own website content writing:

Navel Gazing: How to Edit Yourself

Website Analytics Not So Scary After All

Like many writers, the technical end of the biz is not my forte. So I have procrastinated for years on studying the traffic stats for my content writing website, www.thewritecontent.com However, ClickTracks just made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Actually, the offer is open to everyone.

You can now download their web analytics software for free and use the basic features at no charge. Then, every once in a while, ClickTracks will activate an advanced feature for a day, again for free. And once a month they activate ALL features so you can go nuts learning exactly what your visitors and the search engines are doing on your site.

BONUS: They also offer free webinars on topics like making your site robot friendly and how to choose keywords. I attended the first one, an hour of excellent information. Some of it was fairly basic, but it never hurts to review the fundamentals. And I learned about the importance of the robots.txt file, so it was time well spent!

I highly recommend checking out this amazing freebie: http://www.clicktracks.com/

Update On The Downside of SEO Copywriting

Excellent article in the Wall Street Journal echoing my comments in an earlier post entitled "Search Engine Copywriting: RIP?" I strongly encourage anyone who buys or sells online content to read it... it's about how unethical SEO content is corrupting the overall value of information on the www:

Our Columnist Creates Web "Original Content" But is In For a Surprise

Rented Content?

I wouldn't have thought it possible. But now, it appears ebusiness owners no longer have to write their own content or even commission a copywriter to do it for them. Now, there is "rent-a-copy".

At least one, and probably more, content provider is renting out articles -- I kid you not -- to website owners. One client reports having paid a $900 set up fee plus $300 a month to rent 20 articles (short ones of about 300 words each).

Over a one year period, that works out to an astonishing $4,500! That's $225 per article that he doesn't even get to keep when the year is over and has no right to distribute or republish.

Has anybody out there used this kind of service? Did it provide you with decent value? Or did you feel ripped off when you found out you can purchase articles and own the copyright for less than that? Just curious! Let me know.

The unSEO

Have you heard the latest SEO theory? It's called VEO (Visitor Enhanced Optimization) and it's the anti-SEO. Author and affiliate marketer Colin McDougall has written a book called the VEO Report in which he will share with you the secrets of this revolutionary "new" way of gaining higher search engine rankings.

I haven't read the report (just can't bring myself to shell out $79 for a 64-page ebook, call me cheap), but reviewers who have read it say that with VEO, you don't chase the algorithms, you don't worry about keywords in the copy, you don't use tricks like duplicate content etc.

Instead, you -- are you ready? -- try to please your site visitors. You become an expert in your field so you can fill your site with relevant and helpful articles, and publish those articles far and wide to get the backlinks (and traffic) you need. Create a strong brand and then softsell your stuff.

He calls it the un-SEO guide and I can see why. This is good, sage web marketing advice which has always been rewarded, over time, by the search engines. It isn't SEO although the end result might be better rankings and more traffic. Most of us who are in business for the long term and for the love of it, have been doing it this way for years.

The only downside? It's time consuming and requires a deep knowledge of your product or service. But if you don't feel a passion for the widgets you sell or you aren't a natural-born writer, promoting your site through articles and building your site into a resource mecca isn't going to be easy. You may have to outsource both the passion and the website content writing chores.

But, like the man said, this kind of white hat marketing will have longer lasting effects and you won't risk being penalized for search engine sorcery. Original content has always offered multiple rewards!

Hmmm, sounds like we've been beating the same drum, only Colin had the smarts to turn his strategy into a "Strategy". Well done!

Cheap Offshore Copywriting Services: Can You Afford Them?

Recently I've received a few unsolicited email pitches (read: spam) from offshore (read: India) copywriting services trying to convince me to outsource to them. I like reading these messages, I am always curious to see how other writers sell themselves.

But these sales pitches were full of spelling mistakes and gross grammatical gaffs. Check out this beaut from a recent email solicitation (I am not making this up):

"We all know Content is one of the most important need for any website. It is important that we have product/serive relevent content on our website . it is also important that we write the content in way so that the user keeps reading and doesnt lose interest. Another thing that needs a lot of attention is grammar and punctuation and we need to be very strict with that."

Very strict, indeed.

One particularly cheeky copywriting website claimed to offer "Flawless Content" and then delivered this doozy on the same webpage:

"A dull or mundane content can put off the reader at once, no matter how good the design of your website be."

Okay, not very tempting... I would hope. But if the price is low enough, you never know who might give it a go. I suspect that some heads might be turned by bargain copywriting rates overseas.

As I've harped on before, it's a case of buyer "aware". Observe the copy on their websites or in their samples... if they can't get it right in their own promotional materials, what are the odds they'll get it right for you?

For more on what to look for in a website content writer, here's an article on How to Find a Good Freelance Copywriter.

The Unthinkable Copywriting Order

Maybe things are starting to turn around. Last week the unthinkable happened... I was hired to write a series of articles for a website to boost its informational content and was told not to worry about optimizing them.

That was bizarre enough but wanna know the kicker? The website in question belongs to an SEO company! I said a quick little prayer of thanks and got down to work on this highly enjoyable project.

Not that I mind optimizing webpages... I actually enjoy it. But it was so refreshing to work for a company that appreciates the value of content for the words themselves... not for their rankings- and traffic-drawing qualities, not even for their ability to sell a product. But for their sheer worth as vehicles of information. Yippee!

Update on SEO Copywriting Debate

Here are a few nuggets of SEO truth I've come across lately from a couple of industry pros whose work and opinions I respect:

"Good content isn't stuff you write for the search engines. Good content is unique. Really and truly unique. It is creative ideas that simply popped into your head which nobody else in your space has thought of yet. The key to good content is creativity." Jill Whalen, Oct. 26/05 High Rankings newsletter

"The (good) copywriter also understands that the goal of optimizing for search engine ranking, important though it is, cannot take place at the expense of the site's ability to persuade and convert." Bryan Eisenberg, Grokdotcom.com

I have recently shifted the focus of my own website content writing services to emphasize first and foremost the importance of strong copywriting, with search engine optimization as a secondary feature of, but not the driving force behind, the message. SEO used to play a larger role in my promotions but while it's still a significant factor, it's not in the forefront any more.

I feel this is not only a better, truer focus for the work I do for my clients, but also makes it much more satisfying and interesting for me. I mean, really... how gratifying can it be to receive an order containing nothing but a list of keyword phrases and a request to just write some content around them? That's happened to me far too many times to count, and I bet it's happened to you too. Let me know your thoughts.

Writing for Mediocrity

Just when you think everything is changing way too fast, especially in the world of SEO and online commerce, you get a little wakeup call.

I was just looking over some old articles I wrote when I first got into the website content writing business. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that pretty much everything I wrote in this item about web copywriting, entitled Writing For Mediocrity, is still true today... maybe even moreso.

Read the whole article here.

Search Engine Copywriting: R.I.P??

In 2005, the value of website content writing, which should be on the rise as more and more businesses go online, is in my opinion being devalued by the advent of SEO and the search engines' relentless focus on keywords.

Here's an example. I recently dealt with an SEO company interested in subcontracting their clients' SEO copywriting work to me. One of their customers spent $3000 on an optimized web design, but only budgeted $600 for search engine copywriting... not even ¼ of his design budget.

Which would be fine if he didn't hope to generate income from his online business. But he did. And simply failed to realize that it's the words that do the selling. Not the design. Not the cool flash intro. Not even the search engine optimization tricks he paid so much for.

Many SEOs are contributing to the confusion by selling optimization packages that don't place enough importance on quality search engine copywriting – by which I mean copywriting that not only includes a healthy search term ratio but also uses proper sales writing techniques that help ensure visitors are hit with a message that:

• gets and keeps their attention
• engages them in a personal, meaningful way
• persuades them to browse the product/service line
• motivates them to buy or make contact
• convinces them of the company's credibility and reputation

Cheap SEO copywriting will not deliver all that. What it most often delivers is spammy, keyword-stuffed copy that teeters on the brink of readability.

And sadly, this seems to be okay with a surprising number of SEO clients who just want to rank more highly in the search engines. So they hand over their site to the SEO company believing that rankings is the magic bullet that will make it all worth while.
It's no wonder their new, SEO content often gets dumped onto pages where human visitors will never see it.

Here's another tale from the SEO copywriting trenches. As a website content writer and search engine copywriter, I have two types of clients. Those who come to me wanting professional copy to sell their products. And those who want optimized content so the search engines will give them better rankings.

I ask all of them to answer some fairly in-depth questions about things like their target audience, their unique selling proposition, their competitors, etc.

The first group of clients eagerly tackle their homework and usually put some thought into it, recognizing it's important stuff that deserves their attention because it will ultimately contribute to their goal of a more effective and profitable website.

The second group, the optimizers, tend to rattle off a few pat answers or just don't respond. I can only assume that for them, website content is solely a tool to appease the search engines, no more important than monthly search engine submissions and meta tags.

This is a frustrating time for web copywriters in the evolution of search. We want to be able to provide the full monty... quality sales writing that's optimized well... but a large segment of the SEO marketplace seems to be demanding bargain-basement copy slapped together with a maximum of keywords and a minimum of thought.

Personally, I foresee a time hopefully not too far down the line when things begin to swing back around to where they were four or five years ago... when the search engines were A fact of life, not THE fact of life.

When the power and relevance of the message mattered more than keyword saturation.

When copywriters were judged on their ability to write gripping and persuasive content, not on the speed with which they can churn out drivel in the name of SEO.

Can Google and the other engines create an algorithm clever enough to rank a site based on the quality of its writing without counting keywords?

It can't happen soon enough.