Website copywriting specialist
You have 5 seconds before someone bounces away from your site. Let's make all your words count. Phone me now to arrange a no-obligation chat or email for a free quoteWhat exactly is copywriting?
Copy is just words – but these words have a job to do: to inform, explain or persuade.
When people say they want a website, my first question is “Why?” You need to know what you want your website to do. Then we can work on the purpose of your copy. We also discuss your audience, the tone, your business image and other important aspects.
WHY DO I NEED A COPYWRITER?
1. You need some copy but don’t have an expert in house.
OR
2. Your in-house copywriting team are too busy with other work
COPYWRITING MENU (Or what can I do for you?)
• SEO-optimised web content
• Rewrite whole website or parts of it
• Blogging
• White paper
• Brochure
• Case studies (stories from satisfied customers about what you did for them)
• Website copy audit and suggest improvements
What can I write about? Do I have a niche?
•Travel – website copy, travel content
•Hotels – website copy and brochures
•Food and drink content – menus
•Property – estate agency brochures
•Education – revision course brochures
These are topics close to my heart – but I can write about almost anything. Recently this has been website copy for a tour guide, competitor analysis for a stationery brand and a technical report for HMRC tax relief. (Please note: no cryptocurrency, fake review writing or gambling copy)
Why me?
“Olivia was very professional and a pleasure to work with.”
“Excellent copywriter.”
“Great freelancer to work with, happy with the work provided.”
‘Olivia’s work is always immaculate and she writes with real flair. As an editor, I’d have no hesitation in commissioning her again: she’s lovely to work with and pitches engaging, clever ideas.’
“Olivia was quick to understand what we were looking for and did a good job.”
I’m a trained journalist with ten years’ professional writing experience, so I’ve spent years honing my skills. No fluff, no nonsense – just simple words that work.
I’ve also run two successful small businesses (and had one failure), so I ‘get’ it. I appreciate all the challenges, worries and responsibilities that people who have secure paid employment don’t always understand. I also run a small business now.
Need help with your website SEO?
SEO is sometimes sold as a mysterious dark art but copy always comes first and should work hand in hand with solid SEO.
All copy should be relevant, succinct and compelling.
I’m SEO-certified but see SEO through a copywriter’s eye.
To improve your SEO (assuming you have done all the on-page tasks) you should consider a regular blog post and postings on selected social media to drive organic visitors to your website. I can help with that too.
Or why not ask me to do a website MOT? I’ll take a look at your website from a copy and UX point of view and suggest ways to improve it.
The biggest website mistake
Over and over again I see websites that are just confusing and overwhelming, possibly with the designer trying to be too clever. WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME? That’s what the visitor wants to know.
Cut to the chase and focus on that.
And sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but once you have heaved a sigh of relief and cracked open the champagne when your new website finally launches, it will need regular updating. A scheduled blog will keep it fresh, with a copy overhaul at least every six months.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF COPY – let me explain
CONTENT CREATION
Is much as it sounds – creating or writing content. This is the term used to describe website copy and most digital copy.
CONTENT MARKETING
Is the copy used to create a buzz around a brand. This raising of positive brand awareness is best done in a way that is useful to your potential customers. You need to provide your targets with meaningful information that will enhance your brand and, importantly, build awareness of your brand.
For example, if you sell organic vegetables, you might want to provide reliable recipes.
You could also do some work with food banks, in line with your customers’ and your brand’s beliefs.
Personal information enhances the human aspect of your brand, so ‘A week in the life of a carrot farmer’ blog post could be a good move.
ADVERTISING COPY
Is an area of copywriting that involves straplines, clever slogans and lots more. It’s not an area I specialise in. I am happy to edit and proofread advertisement copy, but I’m not normally involved in the initial concept creation.
Fees and terms: and the boring bits
ANYONE CAN WRITE, RIGHT?
Not really. Anyone can type, but that’s different from writing. It can be a false economy to engage someone just because they are cheap, but I’ll leave that to you.
I’m also not the fastest worker; I spend a lot of time thinking about my approach and choice of words, maybe doing some research.
So if you want cheap and super quick, someone to churn something out, best give me a miss too.
THE FIRST STEPS
The most important things are:
1. Find the right person for your job (hopefully me)
2. Know what you want
HOW I WORK
If you aren’t too sure what you want, we will need to talk about that in our initial (free) discussion. This aspect is really important to me. I rarely take on work where we haven’t even had a brief chat. The most successful jobs are where the brief is detailed and clear. That’s why I may ask you to fill in a short questionnaire before work starts.
MY FEES
“It depends” is not a very helpful response to “How much, roughly?” but it really does. My pricing is transparent and you will always get a written quote before work starts.
I have a minimum charge of £150 per assignment and my day rate is around £350. Work is either calculated at a day rate (seven hours) or a project rate.
Price depends on complexity of the work; two revisions are normally included in the quoted price. VAT will be added to all invoices. Terms are 15 days. New clients are required to provide 50% of the fee upfront. Rushed jobs are normally charged at a premium, which is agreed in advance. I retain copyright until work is paid for in full.
Any other questions? Just ask.
What I can write for you
WEBSITE COPY
• Write website copy – digital copy should read naturally but with strong SEO awareness (just stuffing pages with key words is old hat). It should be easy to scan, as most people don't read every word.
• Rewrite website copy so it reads better
• Reinvigorate your website copy – the copy should change and evolve over time, in tune with the business; it’s not a static thing like a building
• Write lively blog posts in the correct tone of voice
• Case studies by interview. This is a popular way to show work you have done for your clients. They tell you what their problem was and how you solved it.
PRINT
• Write easy-to-understand training manuals
• Write brochure copy
• Write product information or instructions in an informative but interesting way
• Write advertising flyers with compelling calls to action
SOCIAL MEDIA
• Devise a social media strategy and set up relevant channels: blog posts, Twitter account, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook page.
