Nick Usborne's Blog, page 12
May 3, 2017
Are there really only 21 good Copywriting Hacks?
This question is from Hugh, who took my 21 Copywriting Hacks course.
He asks, “I have taken your course and love it. But I can’t help feeling there are more hacks I could use. Only 5 hacks for writing great headlines? Surely there are more.”
I’ve been hoping someone would ask this question!
Could I write a version of this course with more than 21 hacks? Sure I could.
Give me a little time and I could probably ramp it up to 101 hacks.
But here’s the thing…
With a checklist of 101 hacks, nobody would use it.
The whole point here is that you have a checklist you can use to improve your copy before you submit it.
A single page checklist, itemizing 21 hacks, is something most of us will use.
A five page checklist with 101 hacks? I doubt it.
Truth be told, my own checklist is shorter still, simply because I have developed a kind of personal shorthand that allows me to bundle some of these hacks together.
But I think 21 hacks is about right.
Make it longer than that, and I think fewer people would use it, and those that did would use it less often, or feel tempted to skip over hacks in their hurry to get to the end of this list.
That’s been the challenge for me from the day I decided to share this.
I want to share as many of my own hacks as possible… but without making the list so long that people wouldn’t use it.
In other words… this list is imperfect. Incomplete even.
It doesn’t cover every single way you could improve your copy.
But it is short enough to be used regularly.
And to my mind, that’s a win.
Hugh, I hope this answers your question.
Learn more about my course – 21 Copywriting Hacks That Deliver Quick & Easy Wins.
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April 24, 2017
Am I too late for Conversational Copywriting?
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
This question is from Bernard, who took my course on Conversational Copywriting.
He asks, “I’m guessing conversational copywriting is really popular with copywriters now. Am I too late to take this approach? Is the market already saturated?”
Well… I wish Bernard had a legitimate worry here. But I don’t think he does.
I don’t imagine the market will become saturated with talented conversational copywriters any time soon.
For now, most copywriters still follow the traditional, hard-sell approach.
How come?
Because it’s what they know. It’s what they were taught.
And because many companies in the online marketing industry still advocate the one-way, broadcast, high-volume, in-your-face approach.
It’s kind of crazy… because as consumers more and more of us wish companies would stop shouting AT us and start talking WITH us.
But for now, being a conversational copywriter means serving a fast-growing niche market.
You’ll be helping smart companies that are ready to move forward and engage with their prospects and customers in more authentic ways.
So… Bernard… don’t worry.
As with any niche, you’ll have the advantage of being a specialist in this field.
And you’ll be targeting just those companies that feel ready to drive sales and growth through the medium of conversation.
I hope this answers your question and reassures you a little!
NOTE: I have an entire course devoted to the craft of Conversational Copywriting. Find out more about it here…
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April 19, 2017
Can a good business story be fictional?
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
This question is from Julia, who took my course on Selling With Stories.
She asks, “You say a business story has to be true. But can’t a good fictional story be used to teach a valuable business lesson?”
Ouch… Julia, you’re right. You got me.
As you say, I have said that a business story should be true. And I say that to discourage people from making up stories that are obviously false and manipulative.
You know the kind of thing… “When I was 23 I was living in a dumpster, and now I own three Lamborghini sports cars.”
Nope… I don’t believe you.
Also, I think for the most part that people relate better to true stories that have actually taken place in the workplace.
But… when challenged by Julia’s question, I did remember a story I have used myself. And yes, it’s pure fiction. I made it up.
It’s a story I use when teaching success principles to freelancers. I use it to describe the difference between a freelancer’s personal persona and business persona.
Here’s the story…
Imagine the CEO of a large Wall Street bank. He’s a tough and grumpy boss who is harsh with his employees. Everyone is scared of him. That’s his business persona. Tough and successful.
At the end of the day his limo driver takes him home. (The driver is scared of him too.)
As he walks into the house, he sees his teenage son’s backpack, jacket and dirty boots strewn across the hall floor. He calls out for his son to come and tidy his mess.
His teenage son calls back, “Whatever!”. And, like most dads, the CEO shakes his head and sighs.
At work he is harsh and feared. At home he has the persona of a regular dad, and a lot of the time his kids walk all over him.
The story is total fiction. I made it up simply to illustrate the fact that while most freelancers live their lives through their personal persona, it makes sense to develop a professional persona when dealing with prospects and clients. (No, that persona shouldn’t be harsh and grumpy. But it should be professional and ready to negotiate.)
To Julia’s point… yes, I think using a fictional story like this is OK. Because it does a decent job of illustrating and teaching a valuable lesson.
Thanks again for the question… and the challenge!
NOTE: If you’d like to use the power of storytelling to increase your skills as a web content writer, online copywriter or social media writer, learn more about my course… Selling With Stories…
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
Writing For The Web #1 — 7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web.
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April 17, 2017
Are Case Studies actually just business stories?
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
This question came from Natalie, who has taken my course on Selling with Stories.
Hers is a very brief and simple question.
“Are Case Studies actually just business stories?”
I’m glad she asked this because I don’t think I talk about Case Studies in the course. Or if I do, I give them just a passing mention.
First, let’s define a Case Study.
A Case Study is essentially a business success story.
So yes, case studies are stories.
But not every business story is a case study.
Case studies been a round forever. Typically anywhere between 2 and 20 pages in length, they are used by companies as a sales tool – describing how their products or services have helped their customers or clients.
Their structure is usually similar to a simple story structure. Something like…
Set up the situation
Describe the challenge
Present the solution
Share the outcome
So yes, you have the potential for a good story.
But…
The danger lies in this becoming a cookie-cutter process… where every case study feels and sounds the same.
Like… blah blah blah followed by a happy ending. (Case Studies always have a happy ending.)
When that happens, it’s snooze time.
So here’s my advice with Case Studies.
Follow another of the principles of selling with stories I have talked about before…
Thrown in something unexpected.
Wake up the reader.
Perhaps by being disarmingly honest.
Like, “The first time we tried this it was a disaster. The widget broke within the first 3 minutes.”
Or by having the CEO of the featured company make a very human statement, like, “Frankly, I was terrified.”
So yes Natalie… a Case Study is like a story.
But a good Case Study has to be a good story. And a good story is never predictable or boring or devoid of emotion.
NOTE: If you’d like to use the power of storytelling to increase your skills as a web content writer, online copywriter or social media writer, learn more about my course… Selling With Stories…
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
Writing For The Web #1 — 7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web.
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April 12, 2017
How can we truly engage with our audience?
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
This question came from Tom, who has taken my course on Web Content Optimization.
“Nick, in the course you talk about engaging with your audience. At best, I imagine that means interacting with prospects and customers one on one. If you’re selling high-end products or services, I can see that making sense. But our company is in the low-cost, high-volume SAAS business. There’s no way we can justify engaging one on one. So how can we engage at all?”
I like this question, because I think it can apply to a lot of different business types.
Heck, it even applies to me. Thousands of people have purchased my courses over the years, and many have questions before, during and after taking the course.
Tom, I have three suggestions for you…
Instead of answering each question multiple times, answer it once publicly, in the form of a blog post or video post… like this one. Do that and you can be seen to be responsive and engaging, but without having to keep answering the same questions over and over again.
Build a private community. At its simplest, create a private Facebook group. Designate someone to take care of that community and to engage with its members. But here’s the thing… what often happens in these groups is that 90% of the questions posed are answered by fellow members.
Engage publicly through social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. A lot of companies run these channels simply as a means of being there for their prospects and customers, and being responsive to their questions and complaints.
The bottom line is that there are definitely ways to engage with your audience, even if you don’t have the resources to handle every single inbound inquiry one at a time.
Engagement is often simply about the perception of being there for your audience. And you can achieve that without dealing with everyone individually.
I hope this helps a little!
NOTE: To learn more about optimizing a whole range of different types of web content, check out my course, Web Content Optimization.
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
Writing For The Web #1 — 7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web.
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April 10, 2017
Is conversational copywriting just “copywriting lite”?
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
This question was asked by Sylvia, who is thinking about taking my course on Conversational Copywriting.
“When you talk about conversational copywriting not being pushy and being free of hype, it makes it sound a little like you’re simply writing copy that doesn’t try very hard… like copywriting lite. Am I wrong?”
Reasonable question.
First… yes, conversational copywriting does dispense with the hype and the in-your-face hard charging of some traditional copywriting.
Second… no… this isn’t like some kind of copywriting lite, that doesn’t work as well as it should or could.
Far from it.
It works better than hard-sell copywriting online.
Why?
Because when we look online we can see clear signs that people just doesn’t WANT traditional, hard-charging ads and promotions on their computers and phones.
According to eMarketer and others, almost 30% of web users are now using adblockers … and that number is rising month after month. Even more people are filtering promotional emails out of their email inboxes.
The demand for conversational copywriting springs from this push-back against traditional advertising and copywriting online.
Conversational copywriting relies heavily on the delivery of quality content. Valuable information.
This content engages people more deeply, truly earns their trust, and then brings the prospect right to the very edge of wanting to make the purchase.
Now the “sales” element of conversational copywriting comes into play provides that final nudge.
It’s not that conversational copywriting doesn’t try as hard.
It simply does most of the heavy lifting through the delivery of high-value content, and then delivers the final nudge.
Sylvia, I hope this helps answer your question.
NOTE: I have an entire course devoted to the craft of Conversational Copywriting. Find out more about it here…
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
Writing For The Web #1 — 7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web.
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April 5, 2017
Do I believe in the power of positive affirmations?
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
Until now my video posts have been focused on the short-form courses I’ve created over the last 12 months. These are the topics that have been generating the most questions, so that’s where I have been focusing my attention.
But… it’s time for a little variety.
I’ve dusted off a question about an ebook I wrote several years ago – Affirmations for Freelancers.
I answered the question by email, back when I received it, but thought I’d share what I said.
Here’s the original question, from Richard:
“Nick, you don’t strike me as a woo-woo kind of person. So when you wrote a book about positive affirmations, I couldn’t help wondering if you really believed everything you wrote. Did you? Do you?”
I love that I was challenged on that. It would be fun to challenge every author on whether they truly believe in everything they write.
In my case, I came to positive affirmations by a roundabout route.
And Richard was right, in a sense.
I do have a large inner cynic.
So… here’s what happened.
In myself I became very aware of the power of NEGATIVE affirmations.
In common with a lot of other freelancers – I think – I was prey to pesky thoughts like, “I’m not good enough,” “There’s too much competition these days,” “Companies won’t hire me unless I reduce my prices,” and so on.
Just lots of negative stuff swimming around in my head.
And I had absolutely no doubt that NEGATIVE affirmations had a big impact on my outlook and on my business.
So… if negative affirmations work, doesn’t it follow that positive affirmations would also work?
I did some digging into the work of leaders in the field of positive psychology – people like Martin Seligman, Daniel Kahneman, Daniel Gilbert, Shawn Achor and others.
And it turns out that not only do both types of affirmation exist and work, but that negative affirmations are naturally more dominant in our minds and in our lives.
That means we have to be more deliberate about using positive affirmations, and we have to use them a lot more often.
So yes, Richard, I do believe in positive affirmations.
I particularly believe in them for freelancers, because I think as a group we are very susceptible to negative affirmations… and it’s all too easy to drown in them.
That’s why I wrote the book.
To help myself, and to help other freelancers.
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
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April 3, 2017
Every good business story needs a leaping zebra.
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
Great question from Stephan, who took my course on Selling With Stories.
“For business communications, is it enough just to describe something that has happened? Is that a story? If told well, does a description of something that happened at work qualify as a story? I guess I’m not quite clear on what a business story actually is!”
Thank you Stephan. That’s a terrific question.
Let me try to answer you with some examples.
Here’s a description of an event…
I walked down to the corner shop to buy some milk.
That’s just a description… not a story.
Now try this one…
I was walking down to the corner shop to buy some milk when a zebra jumped out into the street.
That’s a story.
Why? Because something unusual, surprising or unexpected happened.
Or…
I drove to the gym for my daily fitness training.
Again, just a description.
Now…
I was driving to the gym for my daily fitness training when I realized I could get the same exercise simply by walking there!
That second one has the seed of a story in it.
It’s not as dramatic as the jumping zebra. But something unexpected still happened. This time it happened in my mind. The realization that it didn’t make much sense to drive to the gym.
In a business context…
When I canceled my subscription to their service, I received an email saying they were sorry to see me go.
Or…
When I canceled my subscription to their service, I received an email from the company’s CEO, asking if I had time for a quick phone call.
That second one is a story, because it contains that unexpected element. Who would expect the CEO of a company to try to save one subscription?
So… Stephan… that’s the litmus test to use.
If nothing unusual, surprising or unexpected happens, it’s probably not a story.
Just ask the question… Does it have a leaping zebra?
NOTE: If you’d like to use the power of storytelling to increase your skills as a web content writer, online copywriter or social media writer, learn more about my course… Selling With Stories…
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
Writing For The Web #1 — 7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web.
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March 29, 2017
Does it make sense to make improvements to older web pages?
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
I got an email from Sally, who has taken my course on Web Content Optimization.
She asks:
“I’m working with a client who wants me to create a lot of new content pages. Which is great. But as I look through their site I see a lot of existing pages that could be improved. Should I mention this? Is there a benefit to improving existing pages?”
I love this question. Mainly because nobody has ever asked it before!
And the answer is yes, there is huge value to improving old content.
The older that content is, the more important it is to update it and improve it.
Here are a 3 things to watch for and to do…
1. If the content pre-dates February 2011, it may fall foul of the Google Panda update.
The Panda Update introduced a long list of new rules, most of which related to content quality.
For example, if your client’s site is that old, it may still have some really short pages of content. And maybe those short pages are really not very well written, and are text only, without any images or video.
So it’s actually quite urgent that they be updated and improved.
2. Check out that old meta data, and maybe add some OG tags too.
When it comes to SEO and the meta data in the head area of a page or post, best practices change over time.
Often that means lightening up on the density of keywords.
And if your platform allows for it, add some OG tags for social media.
3. All text? Go multimedia.
This often means making the page or post longer. Longer content tends to do better both when in comes to organic search and on social media.
And… add more images and video. This makes the content more engaging, more accessible on mobile devices, and more shareable through social media.
We could talk more about this, but those are the three main points.
NOTE: To learn more about optimizing a whole range of different types of web content, check out my course, Web Content Optimization.
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
Writing For The Web #1 — 7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web.
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March 27, 2017
If you can hold a conversation, you can sell.
(What follows is the outline I wrote in advance of recording the video. They’re my talking points. Not a regular post or article. Just an outline.)
I got an email from Daniel, who has taken my course on Conversational Copywriting.
He asks:
“Nick, I took your course on conversational copywriting, but still don’t feel comfortable “selling”. I’d love to make a living as a copywriter, but fear I’m one of those people who will never feel comfortable in the role of a salesman.”
Well… if you feel that way after completing the course, I can’t help thinking I have failed you there.
Because the thing about conversational copywriting is that it enables you to sell without taking on the mantle of being a salesman or sales person.
And Daniel, I have a challenge for you.
Because I think you’re a salesman already. In fact, I know you are. You just don’t know it.
We are all selling, every day.
You’re in front of the TV with your partner, deciding on which show or movie to watch. You have a preference. So you try to persuade your partner that your choice is best.
Or you’re trying to choose your next vacation together. She wants to go on a hiking holiday. You want to go to an all-inclusive resort. You both try to persuade the other to change his or her mind. You’re selling – through conversation.
Your teenage kid isn’t putting in enough time on his homework. So you tell him how important it is for his future. Again, you’re making a pitch. You’re giving him a list of reasons why he should work harder today to reap the benefits in the future.
This is conversational selling. We do it all the time, every day.
We do it at home with our families. We do it with friends. We do it at work.
When you use conversational copywriting, you are doing the same thing.
So… Daniel… you’re already selling with conversational… and have been ever since you first told your own parents why you should be allowed to stay out past curfew to go to a party.
It’s now a very small step to transfer those familiar skills over to your role as a copywriter.
That’s what conversational copywriting is all about.
NOTE: I have an entire course devoted to the craft of Conversational Copywriting. Find out more about it here…
If you found this post helpful, sign up for my e-newsletter and get a free copy of my 35-page guide…
Writing For The Web #1 — 7 Challenges every Writer and Copywriter faces when writing for the Web.
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