9. Is any text on screen: laptop, desktop, mobile phone,
tablet
10. Digital copy needs to:
• Provide information to visitors
• Engage with visitors
• Convince visitors to take action
• Convey brand ethos
• Provide context to search engines
• … and much more!
Oh, and it has to achieve all of this without looking
like it’s trying too hard – easy right?
11. It’s not as easy as it looks
While is is often
overlooked, digital copy
is everywhere and it’s
vital to help marketers
achieve goals
12. Digital copywriting is not simply a pared down
version of traditional copywriting. It does not
involve a simple process of transferring print
media onto the web
13.
14.
15. • It communicates the message you’re trying to
deliver
• The copy that you use on your website, email
campaigns, social media platforms etc. is a critical
factor in converting users and achieving your
business goals
• Fancy flash elements and impressive design will
be pointless if your copy fails to deliver
16. •Digital copy also plays a central role in the overall
online communications strategy of an organisation
• A digital communications strategy should cover,
amongst other things, your website, your visibility on
search engines and social media
27. The T represents the depth of related skills
and expertise in a single field, whereas the
horizontal bar is the ability to collaborate
across disciplines with experts in other areas
and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise
other than one's own
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-shaped_skills
29. • Online copy needs to focus on your users, it
should address their needs and solve their
problems
• So, the first step to online copywriting is to
research your audience
30. According to Price and Price, audiences were
traditionally thought of as vast and vaguely defined
crowds (2002)
31. The more you know about the reader, the more you
can tailor the content to their needs
32. This means that digital copywriters should aim to
write for one ‘target user’ or for an audience of one –
a persona
34. • A persona is a profile that you can create to
embody the characteristics of the target audience
for whom you are writing
• Personas are based on the profile of readers of
your copy
• Creating a profile is all about considering the
characteristics of your readers and their needs
and desires
35. • Quantitative data – i.e. visitor demographics
• Qualitative information – i.e. reader comments or
answers from surveys and focus groups
36. • The key is to gather as much information as
possible to create a well-rounded view of your
target audience
• This will help you craft a detailed persona
37. Yahoo! Style Guide: suggestions questions
• How old are your readers?
• Where are they from? Are they local? National?
International?
• Are they employed? Part or full-time? What do
they do and is it related to the content you
produce?
• If they’re unemployed are they students, retirees,
business owners?
• Are they male or female?
http://styleguide.yahoo.com/writing/identify-your-audience/reasearch-your-audience
38. Yahoo! Style Guide: suggestions questions
• What is their income bracket? And what do they
buy with their disposable income?
• Do they spend money online? If so, how much?
• What languages do they speak?
• What is their level of education?
• What race and ethnicity group do they fall into?
• Are there any user’s who have difficulty accessing
your site due to disability?
40. Also ask qualitative questions:
How well does the site answer your audience’s
content needs?
What do your visitors find most/least valuable?
What would people add to make the experience
better?
Why did people choose this site? How does it benefit
them?
Would visitors recommend this site to a friend? Why
or why not?
41. How many?
• You’re not limited to creating content for only one
persona
• Digital copy can be structured in such a way that it
caters for several personas
• However, you need to spend time understanding
their needs before you are able to write copy that
addresses these needs
• But don’t create too many personas either. You
risk losing focus and your audience’s attention
42. Once you’ve identified your target audience
and created your personas, you can begin
tailoring your content to their needs
Consider where your target audience is online:
•Do they use social media? If so, what
platforms – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn?
•What topics do they discuss?
•How can you tailor your content to suit their
needs and offer relevance?
45. • Storytelling is a powerful marketing tool
• We grow up hearing, reading and writing stories
• We are more likely to remember stories over cold
hard facts since we connect with them on an
emotional level
46. • If you think creatively
enough, every brand,
product or service has
a story
• But how well
structured, captivating
and relevant is it?
47. Godin on a great story
• Captures the attention of a large or important
audience
• Is true – or at least authentic and consistent
• Makes a promise – a bold one that is exceptional
and worth listening to
• Is trusted
• Is subtle – stories work best when people are left
to draw their own conclusions
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/04/ode_how_to_tell.html
48. Godin on a great story
• Happens fast – the power of first impressions
• Doesn’t contradict itself – consumers see through
deceit
• Won’t appeal to everyone – they identify with the
world view of a small audience, who spreads the
story on
• Doesn’t appeal to logic – but they do appeal to the
senses
• Agrees with what people already believe
50. Always remember the basics of a good story:
• Determine what facts you want to include
• Use a great headline
• Open strong and grab your readers attention
• Create a good structure with plot and place
• Have clear characters/heroes
• Establish a clear tone and perspective
51. Always remember the basics of a good story:
• Build tension through conflict
• Resolve the conflict
• Have a happy ending – although you don’t need to
give them all the details. Let your readers use their
imaginations but provide them with a sense of
direction
• Provide a Call to Action
54. ‘NIKE DIDN'T DISCOVER THE POWER OF
ADVERTISING, NIKE DISCOVERED THE
POWER OF THEIR OWN VOICE.’
dan wieden
55. Tone of voice
“It isn’t what we say but how
we say it. It’s the language
we use, the way we
construct sentences, the
sound of our words and the
personality we communicate.
It is to writing what logo,
color and typeface are to
branding.” – Robert Mills
http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/08/21/finding-tone-voice/
58. What’s my tone again?
Look at the brand:
•Typefaces
•Colors
•Language
•Imagery
It will help you determine the most appropriate and
authentic tone
59. Talk to the stakeholders
• What is our personality?
• How do we sound to others?
• How do we want to sound?
• Are we authentic?
• Who are we targeting?
• How can we keep our voice but change the tone?
• What words do we like?
• What words do we despise?
60. Talk to the stakeholders
• Should we use jargon?
• Can we use humor?
• How informal can we be?
• What punctuation should we use?
• What do our competitors sound like?
66. What else should I put in the style guide?
• Brand history
• USP
• Goals
• Our audience (and what we want them to think,
feel and do when they read our copy)
• Conventions
67. What else should I put in the style guide?
The way we use capitalisation:
•WE ARE QUIRK
•We Are Quirk
•We are Quirk
•we are quirk
Is there a list of particular words / services we treat
with different capitalisation?
•QuirkStar
•QuirkStation
68. What else should I put in the style guide?
The way we write numbers:
•4 / four
•4 million / four million / 4 000 000 / 4,000,000
The way we treat currency
•R1 / R 1 / R1.00
The way we treat time
•4pm / 16h00
•1.5hrs / 1.5 hours / 1.5 hrs
69. What else should I put in the style guide?
The way we treat dates:
•1 Jan 2013 / 1 January 2013 / 1st of January 2013 /
01.01.2013
The way we treat periods in titles:
•Mr / Mr.
Do we like contractions:
•We are / we’re
70. What else should I put in the style guide?
The way we use punctuation:
•In lists, tables, headlines etc.
The way we treat acronyms:
•National Credit Act (NCA) first then NCA / list of
acronyms that never need to be written out in full
Full list of words we like to use and a list of ones we
don’t
72. We are marketing
Not just writing for fun:
•Be aware of business objectives
•The KPIs of any work you’re doing
•The goals
•How the goals will be measured
89. Online, we often only have a limited space to attract
attention and entice action. And we have to use it
well:
•Your readers will be time starved
•They will not read each painstakingly crafted word
•They are overwhelmed
•They scan
•Some require more than others…
93. • The use of contractions
• Don’t state the obvious
• Limit use of specialist language
• Consider using icons / infographic elements to
replace text
94. •Bad: In my opinion, this is without a doubt, definitely
the worst time to purchase avocados.
•Better: This is definitely the worst time to purchase
avocados.
•Even better: It’s the worst time to purchase
avocados.
•Best: Don’t buy avos now.
95. ‘COPY IS LIKE A SKIRT, IT SHOULD BE
SHORT ENOUGH TO KEEP IT
INTERESTING BUT LONG ENOUGH TO
COVER THE SUBJECT .’
Unknown
100. Send us an email and we’ll issue you with an order
number.
Or
When your email has been received, we’ll issue you
with an order number.
101. Features Benefits
Has five different settings Lets you choose the
settings you prefer
Sends regular updates to Gives you peace of mind
your phone
Includes a built-in Save time and ensure you
calendar, memo and always have the right info
address book at hand
102. ‘SELL A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP – NOT THE
MATTRESS .’
Instructor at
Academy of Art
University, Advertising program
112. Search engines look for:
• Relevance
• Importance
• Popularity And we give it to them,
• Trust by optimising
• Authority
113. Building search friendly sites
We need to do everything in our power to help the
spiders crawl and index our site – this is done by
removing various technical barriers
114. Copy must…
• Provide information to readers
• Engage readers
• Convince them to do what you want
SEO copy must do all of that AND send signals of
relevance to the search engines with content
115. Targeted content that is…
• To target, we need to find out where to aim – enter
keyword / key phrase research
• Keywords can be considered as “areas in which
you wish to compete”
• You’ll be competing for position on the SERPs
116. What to consider?
• Search volume
• Competition
• Propensity to convert
• Value per lead
117. 3 phases
Brainstorm: Think like a
user
Research: Who’s
searching for what
Refine: Search volume
and competition
118. Now we need to send those signals
• URLs
• Page title
• Meta data
• Headers <h>
• Body copy
• Links
• Anchor text
• Alt tags
• Link text
133. What’s the point?
• Providing information about who you are
• Offering an explanation of what users can expect
to find on your website
• Making a statement
• Building trust and credibility
134. Writing for websites
• Writing text that can be easily scanned
• Using meaningful headings and sub-headings
• Having a well-organised site
• The inverted pyramid
• Using paragraphs effectively
• Keeping copy concise
135.
136.
137. Parts of a website
• A good home page
• An about page
• A contact page
• A products or services page
• Common page elements (CPEs)
• Main navigation links
• A search box
• Forms
147. Site content: process
Receive
• Creative brief – this is put together by the client
service team in association with the client
• Functional specification document and wireframes
- put together by the UX team
Review
• Team reviews the documentation, has a project
kick-off and feedback session
148. Site content: process
Update
• Documents are updated and re-circulated before
the work kicks off
SEO input
• The SEO team delivers the SEO strategy and key
phrases to the team (while they do have their own
processes in determining these, it is important to
understand this process and to have a general
understanding of how it works)
149. Site content: process
Writing
• The copywriter takes the SEO phrases and begins
writing
• Work on copy for two+ pages together with a
designer to present to the client
• The client then feeds back on tone, creative
direction etc. before and entire deck is created
• The copywriter then creates an entire deck which
goes through internal and external rounds of
feedback
150. Site content: process
Design review
• The copywriter reviews the flat art design with their
copy included in it to see if everything is correct
and to determine what needs to be amended to
complement the design
151. Site content: process
Finalisation
•Once the copy and design are signed off it goes to
HTML and Engineering
•Once completed, copywriter reviews the functioning
site to ensure that all copy has been correctly
implemented
•Entire team reviews the site before completion
•Site goes live
•The copywriter drinks bottle of champers and does a
happy dance
152. Some things to consider
How does it look and read? Professional and slick?
Are there clear CTAs to direct readers?
Are prominent phone numbers and addresses above
the fold of certain web pages?
Have you used testimonials on each page?
Is your content content fresh and updated?
Is your site free of errors?
154. Mobile reading
“Out of South Africa’s 6.8 million Internet users, 2.48
million South Africans use only their cellphones to
access the internet, and there are just 820,000 ADSL
lines in use.”
Internet World Stats, Dec 2011
156. Who are we writing for?
• People who are bored and browsing while waiting
(in a queue perhaps)
• Those who are task driven and urgently looking for
information, like someone trying to get their flight
details or the number for a taxi
• Those who are performing a repeated action, like
checking the weather
157. Writing for mobile
• Mobile websites
• Mobile advertising
• SMS/MMS/USSD
• Apps
158. Limitations
• A small screen size, often with tiny text.
• Scrolling – no mouse
• Navigation is limited
• Downloads are often slow
• Data can be expensive for mobile phone users
165. SMS tips
• Know who you are writing to: Define your
audience (it’ll help you to determine when to send
the message as well)
• Don’t use SMS speak: Txt spk isn’t gr8 2 use txt
speak cos it isn’t professional. Remember that the
messages you write are representative of your
organisation and should adhere to brand tone
guidelines
• Start off with a bang and focus on the benefits:
capture your reader’s attention immediately
166. SMS tips
• Keep the message simple:You only have 160
characters per SMS so use them wisely and
eliminate all the unnecessary text. But ensure our
message still makes sense
• Encourage conversation: Great opportunity for
engagement, so capitalise on this. Encourage
feedback and questions and always respond as
quickly as possible. And use them to direct traffic
to your mobisite
171. Twitter tips
• Always consider your goal
• Be informative
• Stick to one or two points in your message
• Use the active voice
• Be wary of acronyms and abbreviations
• Reply to your followers
• Use keywords #tags
• Use a URL shortener
175. Social copy tips
•Research is vital: You need to understand what type
of content community members want. You need to
know who you are targeting and then what
information they will find meaningful
•Remember it’s a conversation: Your content must be
personable and appealing. Social media is no place
for stuffy corporate speak
•Shareable content is credible content
176. Social copy tips
•Remember that your content should offer value and
be insightful. Ultimately you should aim to create an
overall perception that your brand is the thought
leader in its industry
•Avoid overly promotional content
•Community members are likely to see right through
a sales pitch
180. Tips for paid advert copy
• Heading – 25 characters
• Line 1 – 35 characters
• Line 2 – 35 characters
• Display URL - 35
• Use vanity URLs
• You can put a CTA in the advert copy
• No repeated exclamation marks
181. Tips for paid advert copy
• No word may be written in capitals only
• No claims of “best”, “number one” or superlatives
may be used unless they can be verified by a
reliable third-party source
• Product numbers may be used
• Test, test, test
184. Blogging tips
• Industry relevant • Meaningful and
• Appeal to your target attention-grabbing
market headlines
• Transparent and • Use links
honest • Optimise
• Personal and • Write for easy
entertaining scanning
• Regularly updated • If you want readers to
engage – provoke it
194. Subject lines: consider the following:
Use questions - Looking for a tool to drive
conversions?
Use numbers - 5 killer tips on creating a powerful
impression
Create a sense of urgency or time factor - Only
available until midnight!
195.
196.
197.
198. Email tips
Pay attention to subject lines
Clear CTAs
Get to the point
Pay attention to the data
Add value
Build relationships
199. Email tips
• Solve a problem: The key to a successful
newsletter is providing solutions and relevant
information to your readers
• Share industry secrets: For example, consultants
could share their advice on best practices and tips
for growing a business
• Share your knowledge: What benefits could you
provide to your consumers? Highlight these in
your newsletter. For example, a health spa could
offer home relaxation tips or advice
200. Email tips
• Ask a question: Consider what answers your
consumers are looking for, and ask an appropriate
question in the subject line
• Offer the reader a teaser: Try using a cleverly
worded subject line to entice your reader in. For
instance, ‘Four reasons your staff are costing you
money’
• Tell the reader what’s in it for them: Consumers
want to know how things will benefit them. Make
this clear in the subject line
201. Email tips
• Turn your readers’ questions into content: If you
have regular questions or concerns from readers,
use these to create content
• Show your softer side: Highlight charitable events,
wellness endeavours and community focused
initiatives through your newsletters
• Be creative: Think laterally and craft newsletters in
new and creative ways
• Take a poll: It can be useful to take a poll and
gauge what content your users would like
204. Display tips
•Simplicity is key
•Use strong headlines or questions
• Focus on one clear benefit
• Find a need and then offer a solution
• Use Calls to Action effectively
205.
206.
207.
208.
209. • HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language,
and it is the foundation of online documents.
• HTML tags tell web browsers how to present
content. HTML tags are in the brackets that look
like arrows: < >
259. What to test?
• Headline: Test different wording, as well as
different text sizes
• CTA text: Test different Calls to Action to see
which is more effective
• CTA position: Test a few different positions
• Body copy length: Test different copy lengths
• Body copy format: Test out different formats,
changing lists subheadings, paragraphs, bolding,
italics etc.
260. What to test?
• Copy tone and style: Consider changing the tone
and style
• Navigation and other linked text: Test variations in
the wording you use
• Corresponding images: While not strictly copy, the
images you opt to use with your text can have a
huge impact on conversions, especially when
selling a physical product. Test out which images
work best, how many images are optimal and how
large those images should be
261. What to test?
• Different offers: You may want to test different
offers to see which one works best. Try to set up
your offers so that they have similar values (to
prevent skewed results). For example, you might
offer one group of visitors free shipping, and the
other group 10% off
• If your page is long and requires scrolling,
consider having your Call to Action button
repeated several times on the page
267. • Write in plain English
• Edit like a mo fo
• Get to the point
• Talk like a human
• Get feedback
• Test and iterate
• Practise
• Read more (good stuff)
268. • Write headlines with impact
• Optimise headlines
• Keep active
• Read your copy OUT LOUD
• Write for easy scanning
• Use simple, clear, precise language
• Use bulleted lists
• Short, concise sentences and paragraphs
• Use bolding or italicising for important text
269. • Limit the flowery fluffy adverbs
• Write the most important info above the fold
• Write using the inverted pyramid
• Focus on the benefits
• Use persuasive writing
• Optimise your copy for SEO
270.
271. Quirk Education courses
• Writing for Digital: Foundations and Application
• Digital PR: Foundations and Best Practice
• Email Marketing: Foundations and Best Practice
• SEO 1: Foundations and Application
• Web Analytics: Foundations and Application
• Digital Marketing
http://www.quirk.biz/courses/home
http://www.quirk.biz/emarketingtextbook/
