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I’ve found that the best way to create new content is to use a clear, step-by-step SEO content outlines that focuses on targeted strategies. Using topics, keywords, and competitors to develop a thoughtfully curated plan will make all the difference for your team. Below I have detailed the steps I use when it comes to developing an outline for SEO content outlines in a systematic way.

1. Keyword Research

Start your SEO content outlines with a high-level look at potential keywords, taking into account two different subsets of terms: those we are ranking for and those we want to rank for. First, check on valuable keywords the site is currently ranking for in lower positions. Since the site already has some traction for these words, they are attainable and could possibly rank higher with a different page. Ideally, a targeted piece of content would allow the site to see greater success for these queries.

Next, look into content gaps between your site and your competitors to gain a better understanding of the overall industry landscape. Ahrefs has a feature that pulls all the keywords that your competitors are ranking for that you are not. However, if access to Ahrefs is unavailable, it is also easy to take a manual look through the other sites. Doing this allows you to identify relevant words and phrases that your site may not currently touch on but could in the future.

It is also important to check the existing SERPs for the terms you are interested in to make sure that the intent is aligned for your pages. You don’t want to present a term to a client that seems related at face value but has search results appearing for something entirely different. This type of research can be completed with a variety of tools, or a simple incognito search of the query.

2. Topic Ideation For Your Outline

Once you’ve gathered a list of terms that look to be promising based on relevance and search value, present it to the client and ask them to identify any terms that they do not want to pursue and any that should be a priority. This is an important step in your SEO content outline because although you should be familiar with the topics their site covers, they will likely have a better understanding of the subjects and vocabulary that are most pertinent in their field. This is especially true if the client works in a niche or highly technical industry where the language used is not commonly known.

Once the list has been condensed down, try to group the keywords together to create a handful of topics for the client to choose from. Of course, you don’t want to use a broad range of terms but it is a good idea to incorporate a thoughtful variety. The grouping of terms is entirely up to you but it’s always a good idea to identify a primary keyword and then add secondary words based on that term. When the topics and their correlating keywords are ready to go, the client can choose which groups to move forward with.

3. Competitor Research

Now that you have your topics and keywords locked down, it’s time to dig into competitor pages. Doing this allows you to mimic the strategies they are successfully using, and trying to write keyword-targeted content without going through this process is sort of like shooting in the dark. You can get these insights through the Keyword Explorer tool on Ahrefs but you can also accomplish it by doing an incognito search.

No matter which method is used, open all of the links that appear on page one of the search results and take a look through them. It can be helpful to take note of the topics covered by each site and create a list that encompasses those. For instance, if you look at a SERP for “lead generation”, perhaps some pages cover lead gen strategies, tools, and case studies while others look at why it’s important, how-to guides, and examples.

You can take all of these into consideration to create a page that is more in-depth and well rounded than the rest. Typically, I like to think of these subtopics as headers so I can form my page around them. In addition to the content itself, evaluate how the pages are structured and formatted to look for commonalities. A few key things to look out for include pages that use a table, a numbered list, or some other formatted feature. Finally, take into account page length and keep the average word count in mind as you flesh out your copy.

4. Content Outline Development

When it comes to creating an actual SEO content outline to be used for drafting and editing, I prefer to use a Google doc due to its collaborative nature. In terms of building the document out, the headers will be a starting point as mentioned above in step three.

First, determine what the H1 and the following headers will look like as well. While working through this, try to keep the Answer Box and People Also Ask questions top of mind since these also make great headers. Generally speaking, though, be sure to follow best practices so that the content has a logical and natural flow for readers.

Below each of the headers, provide some direction as to what that block of text should include. For example, if you want to capture a PPA make a note to start the sentence “Blank is…” immediately after a header that contains a question. Beyond this, provide a high-level view of what the text should contain and include a list of things competitors touch on for easy reference.

The goal here is to guide your copywriter in writing optimized content that allows their expertise to shine through. I also like to incorporate E-A-T features as a reminder to the team that they will need to be included when the piece is published. I try to mimic how the page would appear on the site by noting things like the published date, author, author bio, and sources as appropriate.

Of course, do a preliminary check with your client to be sure that all the aspects of the outline are appropriate and adjust them as needed.

5. Copywriting

Now that you’ve built your SEO content outline for the page, it is time to hand things over to your writer. You should send your writer a list of target keywords with their monthly search volumes and keyword difficulties, a list of competitor pages, and then the outline itself.

Providing any other insights or context you uncovered in your research will also be helpful here. The more information you can share off the bat, the more likely it is that the outcome of the draft will align with your vision. In addition, it makes the lives of copywriters a bit easier and the task itself much less intimidating. If the client is doing the copywriting themselves, however, tools like Grammarly and Hemingway can be great additional resources to share with them.

6. Editing Your Outline

Once the copywriter has populated the content outline, you can enter into the phase of collaborative editing. Here, review the copy for search engine optimization opportunities and ensure that there is a balanced keyword to content ratio.

It is also important to take the client’s feedback into consideration as they know their offerings and consumers better than anyone else. Try to create a fair balance between the client’s wishes and the potential for success. While SEO priorities are important, the client likely knows best when it comes to their brand and audience.

7. Publishing

Once the team and client finalize the content, it’s time to publish. A few simple SEO best practices to be mindful of include making sure the metadata is optimized, the images are appropriately sized and tagged, headers are in order, and that any schema is properly implemented. Once the page has been created, be sure to do a quality assurance check before pushing it live on the site. Finally, I will often go ahead and submit the URL to be indexed in Google Search Console in the hopes of having it crawled and ranking faster.

8. SEO After Publication

With these seven steps completed, you should now have an optimized piece of content that can help improve your site’s overall performance. As with everything else in SEO, it may take a period of time for the page to begin gaining traction, but if you targeted keywords correctly, you should see encouraging growth. If your page is not performing as expected, take a second look at your content and targeted terms to determine if any adjustments can be made.

Sometimes, new content falls flat due to outside factors and it can be disappointing for both the internal and client team. An example of how this could happen is that maybe you targeted terms that became more competitive because the landscape shifted. This would make it harder for a fresh page to gain rankings amongst established competitors.

With that said, reoptimizations are a valuable eighth step and can lead to substantial results in situations like this. Reoptimizations can include tweaking keyword usage from short tail to long tail or adding a few more content sections. In this case, competitor research is once again the best signifier of which direction you should take moving forward.

If you have a content building process that works well for you, we’d love to hear about it! Feel free to leave a comment below letting us know which strategies you use. Finally, if you are looking for an SEO and copywriting team to build out your website, don’t hesitate to reach out to our SEO agency!

How To Create An SEO Content Outline is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

Enlisting a copywriter can prove invaluable to a business, particularly if you’re launching a new website, refreshing your existing one, or if you’re in need of some marketing materials or want to run a new campaign. 

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What Are The Benefits Of A Copywriter?

There are five main benefits of having a copywriter for your business:

1. A copywriter can help establish your brand voice
2. They can help you improve your SEO
3. Copywriters understand different content types
4. A copywriter provides content for the end-user
5. Copywriters help you look professional

Curious how a copywriter could improve your business? Here are five ways working with a copywriting specialist can help.

1. A Copywriter Can Help You Find Your Brand Voice

Your brand’s voice can make or break your business’s success. Think about brands you’re drawn to — their commercials, their print ads, etc. There’s a style there that appeals to you, and it likely has a lot to do with brand voice. A brand voice can be witty or friendly or silly or formal or no-nonsense or any style appropriate to your business. 

A writing voice consists of:

• Your style, such as words you do or don’t use
• The way you structure your sentences
• Your personality

Your writing voice is a big component of what your audience will associate with your business, and a copywriter is skilled in helping determine what brand voice is right for your business and implementing it across whatever copy you need. 

2. They Can Help You Rank Higher on Search Engines

A copywriter with SEO knowledge can help improve your website’s ranking position on search engines like Google and Bing. An SEO copywriter understands things like keywords, web crawlers, link building, and more, and can write or refresh your website copy to help it perform better when evaluated by search engines. The more SEO-friendly your copy, the higher your website will rank in search engine results and the more people will see it. 

3. Copywriters Understand Different Content Types

Most copywriters have a wealth of writing experience. Web copy, ads, video scripts, brochures, flyers, whitepapers, one-sheets, blog posts — they’ve likely done it all. A copywriter understands the different nuances of each content type, including how to format it, how it should read, who the target audience is, and what action the audience should take after reading. A copywriter knows how to make the most of each content type and can easily switch gears between them, so when you ask, “Can I get a…” they can often turn it around for you pretty quickly. 

4. A Copywriter Provides Perspective

When you run a business, you know everything about it. It’s your thing. While this is great, it can also cause you to be so close to the business that you have a hard time looking at it the way a customer would. You may forget that those aspects of your business you know by heart are brand new to your customers, or that they need an explanation for that term you keep using. 

A copywriter is always thinking about the end-user. Who’s going to read the copy? What do they need and want to know from it? How can you best present it so it will attract and retain the right people? A good copywriter has these things in mind and can navigate them from a fresh, objective perspective. 

5. Copywriters Help You Look Professional

If you’re someone who’s insecure about where that comma goes or doesn’t have time to proofread, a copywriter can be your best ally. Writers have the skill to polish copy so that things like grammar, punctuation, and spelling are both correct and consistent across all copy. 

These things matter when it comes to presenting your business as trustworthy. A business that puts out an ad or landing page with a typo or poorly written sentence runs the risk of looking unprofessional and losing credibility. Having a copywriter’s eye on things ensures your best foot will always be put forward. 

And if all that wasn’t enough, here’s a bonus: Enlisting the expertise of a copywriter means you can focus on other parts of your business. Instead of sitting at your desk trying to find the right words for that web page or wondering if all your commas are in the right place, you can spend your time on the aspects of your work you really want and need to focus on and let a professional copywriter handle what they do best: making you look good and drawing people to your business. 

Think you could benefit from professional copywriting services? Give us a call! Our Go Fish Digital copywriters are ready to help.

5 Benefits of Having a Copywriter is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

But it doesn’t have to be.

While it’s true that ChatGPT and other AI writing tools can churn out text in seconds and help college students cheat on their homework assignments, there are still many things that they can’t do.

For copywriters and others who earn a living from being creative, that’s fantastic news.

Now, instead of Googling queries like “How close are we to Skynet?” We can turn our attention to finding ways to make AI work for us and use it to improve our deliverables.

Read on to learn more.

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Will AI Replace Copywriters?

The question on everyone’s mind and the question you probably Googled to wind up here (insert plug for our SEO services here) is Will AI replace copywriters?

The short answer is no– of course not.

Look, I even asked the AI itself if it would take my job, and here’s what it had to say:

In all seriousness, I do agree with ChatGPT’s response. Writer to writer, I don’t think we’re going anywhere anytime soon. While ChatGPT has become invaluable for automating time-consuming tasks, writing rough drafts, and brainstorming, it still needs human input to connect and resonate with people.

Although AI continues to impress, it still has a long way to go. In the meantime, here are some helpful tips for using ChatGPT for copywriting before the fears of many sci-fi enthusiasts are realized.

Different Ways to Use ChatGPT for Copywriting (with Prompts)

As a copywriter, you can use ChatGPT to help write just about anything with the correct prompts. For example, if you’re stuck on the first three letters of an oddly specific blog about how nitrogen fertilizers interact with soil, you can instruct ChatGPT to quickly draft an outline.

If you already have a detailed outline loaded with interesting insights and information, you can tell ChatGPT to write a rough draft for the entire blog or a section of it. What ChatGPT coughs up is copy that is typically a little rough around the edges but workable with a bit of elbow grease and a good eye for language.

ChatGPT and other AI editing tools can be helpful if you get stuck and save you heaps of time on a project. Just remember anything they put out will always require human input and a good set of eyes to review. Neglecting to review AI-generated content can spell D-O-O-M for any seasoned content writer (or, at the very least, make them look a bit goofy).

If you’re trying to write some killer copy but are stuck on what to put down next, sometimes a good prompt is all you need. If you’re so stuck that you can’t even think of what to ask ChatGPT to help you out with, below are some prompts to kick writer’s block to the curb.

1. Tone and Style Guidance

Freelance content writers and writers at digital marketing agencies know the struggle of nailing tone more than anyone else. When you work with so many clients, it can be challenging to pivot between various styles and easy to miss the mark on a particular brand’s voice.

For instance, let’s say you just spent hours writing a blog for a client who provides security solutions for nuclear power plants. After finally hitting those last keystrokes, you begin to gift wrap it for the client, but before you get to put the pretty red bow on it, you realize you’ve written “How to Safeguard a Stockpile of Uranium” in the same tone and voice as a piece for Fashion Nova.

Oh no!

Luckily for you, ChatGPT can help fix this right up by simply asking it, “Hey ChatGPT, can you make the tone of this blog a little more formal?”

Below are some prompts you can ask beforehand that can help you dodge that bullet altogether:

• “Can you help me strike the right balance between formal and conversational tone in my writing?”
• “I’m struggling to find the appropriate style for my business emails. Any tips?”
• “How can I adapt my writing style to appeal to [specific audience here]?”
• “Do you have any examples of different writing styles that I can use as a reference?”
• “What are some common mistakes to avoid when it comes to tone and style in writing?”

2. Product Descriptions

Product descriptions can be tons of fun, especially when you write for a client with really cool product offerings. For many products, simply describing what it is and how it can benefit the customer in a straightforward way is enough to sell it. 

But what if the product isn’t that cool?

What if it isn’t all that practical? Or what if you’re trying to sell something too practical, like a hole-puncher? What if it flat-out sucks?

Well, the first thing you can do is ask ChatGPT to write the product description altogether:

However, it can give helpful advice on many other fronts too:

• “I need help capturing the key features and benefits of my product in the description. What should I include?”
• “What are some strategies for writing product descriptions that resonate with my target audience?”
• “Can you help me create unique and attention-grabbing product descriptions that differentiate my offerings?”
• “I want to optimize my product descriptions for SEO. What elements should I focus on?”
• “Do you have any examples of effective product descriptions that I can use as inspiration?”
• “What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing product descriptions?”

3. Call to Action (CTA) Refinement

As you may already know, the primary purpose of a call to action (CTA) is to encourage users to take a specific action. Depending on the purpose of your site, this can be making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or signing up for a service. 

Refining your CTAs can help make them more compelling, persuasive, and relevant to your target audience. For sites struggling to make conversions, CTAs are a good starting point before making more significant changes to your site’s structure.

If you need some assistance writing CTAs that convert, here are some ways to prompt ChatGPT for help:

• “How can I make my CTA more engaging and persuasive?”
• “What are some common mistakes to avoid when crafting a Call to Action?”
• “Do you have any insights on optimizing CTAs for different platforms or channels?”
• “Can you share examples of successful CTAs and explain why they work?”

4. Optimize Ad Copy

Optimized ad copy is a game-changer for several reasons. First, it helps capture the attention of your target audience in a crowded advertising landscape. Crafting compelling and engaging copy increases the chances of grabbing viewers’ attention.

Second, optimized ad copy effectively conveys your unique value proposition, highlighting a product or service’s benefits. It helps potential customers understand why they should choose your brand over competitors, increasing the likelihood of conversion. 

Optimizing ad copy improves click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on investment and helps with A/B testing and improvement to maximize advertising effectiveness.

If you’re struggling to get the maximum ROI out of your ad copy, ChatGPT can help make bad ad copy good and good ad copy great with the following prompts:

• “Can you provide tips on crafting compelling headlines and persuasive messaging for my ads?”
• “How can I make my calls to action more effective in driving user engagement?”
• “What are some techniques for aligning ad copy with [your target audience’s] needs and desires?”
• “Do you have any examples of successful ad copy that I can use as inspiration?”
• “How can I conduct A/B testing to optimize my ad copy effectively?”

5. Content Ideation

Brainstorming new and creative ideas for clients that are seemingly all tapped out can be a daunting task. After exhausting SEO tools like Ahref’s Content Gap and Organic Competitors features, coming up with fresh and innovative topics can seem nearly impossible.

Thankfully, one of ChatGPT’s bests strengths is its ability to generate extensive lists of topic ideas with the push of a button. It’s just up to you, the writer, to comb through that list and conduct the necessary keyword research to determine if its suggestions are any good.

Here are some ways to prompt ChatGPT for content ideation:

• “What are some trending topics or themes I should consider for my content?”
• “Can you help me come up with engaging and shareable social media content ideas?”
• “Do you have any unique content ideas that can help me stand out in my industry?”
• “How can I repurpose existing content into new formats or angles?”
• “Can you suggest ways to make my content more interactive and immersive?”
• “I’m struggling with content gaps. What topics should I explore to fill them?”

ChatGPT and AI Writing Tool Limitations

While ChatGPT and AI writing tools can provide a quick fix for writer’s block and assist with brainstorming ideas for new and engaging content, they are often confidently wrong and have their fair share of limitations, including:

Lack of Context: AI models lack specific context about your brand, industry, or target audience. While providing more detailed information helps these tools refine their responses, copywriters will always have a deeper understanding of their clients and audiences.

Originality: While ChatGPT and other tools can generate content in a flash, ensuring it is 100% original can be challenging. As writers, we must review and modify their responses to align them with our client’s voices.

Emotional Depth: AI writing tools can recognize and mimic emotional language, but they lack the deep understanding of feelings that writers have. In this regard, we still excel in capturing nuanced emotions and crafting copy that resonates deeply with our audiences.

Cultural and Regional Nuances: Copywriting often requires consideration of cultural and regional nuances. 

Ya’ll know there’s no way a no-good AI model will have the same level of cultural understanding as a copywriter who is well-versed in local preferences, customs, and idiomatic expressions, right?

Brand Voice and Strategy: Developing a consistent brand voice and strategy is essential for effective copywriting, and it’s not something that happens overnight or with the push of a button. 

AI can provide general guidance, but establishing and maintaining a unique brand voice is best handled by copywriters with a deep understanding of a brand’s values, tone, and style.

Addressing Plagiarism Concerns

If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Right?

In the case of ChatGPT, the answer is well, kind of.

I heard the collective groan of English professors and teachers everywhere as students began using AI to generate homework for them– especially as OpenAI announced they were connecting ChatGPT to the internet. Fortunately for them, many students are lazy and neglect to refine or edit their papers to avoid human teacher detection. 

However, when it comes to writing blog content for a client with multiple competitors who also write about the same topics on their site, it can get a little messier.

While using a tool that can generate paragraphs and paragraphs of text within seconds, it’s only natural to worry about sounding too robotic or plagiarizing content from other sources.

In my experience, the best way to combat plagiarism is to rewrite, rework, and reformat ChatGPT’s responses (especially when writing about something well-established).

For example, let’s say you’re writing a piece about the water cycle– something with only one correct answer, and you ask ChatGPT to spit out a rough draft. While that rough draft may be technically correct, it is imperative to rewrite it in your own words to avoid unintentionally copying someone else out there on the internet.

And even then, whatever you write will likely be very similar to something else already written if the topic has been done to death, which is why it’s so important to come up with a new perspective to put on it.

If you want to be extra cautious, tools like Quetext and Copyleaks are great for spotting plagiarism. While not 100% accurate, they can find other sources on the web that are similar or the same as what you just wrote. Combing through what these tools flag can be a helpful way to identify content that you have unintentionally copied from someone else.

Other Helpful AI Copywriting Tools

1. GrammarlyGO

Grammarly has saved me many times throughout my college and professional career. I’m sure all of us can speak to how great Grammarly’s offerings are for picking out general errors like misspellings and misplaced commas, but that’s not all the green giant has to offer anymore.

The company recently introduced GrammarlyGO, a generative AI assistant that personalizes suggestions as you write. If you regularly use Grammarly to edit across different apps, you might already notice some of the new features.

GrammarlyGO can help you set your voice, give you ideas for improvement, and generate ideas for a blog post:

2. Wordtune

Wordtune is a powerful AI editing tool that can help generate, refine, and improve written content. Using either the dedicated in-browser app or the extension, Wordtune can help rephrase and edit as you go. You simply highlight the text you want to edit, and it will provide you with a handful of different ways to say the same thing.

Wordtune also has an abundance of other helpful tools that can help you achieve the right tone for your writing, shorten or expand sentences, or even give an example of the topic you’re writing about:

3. Quetext

If you’re like me and err on the side of caution, having a tool to help you detect plagiarism can provide peace of mind on the best days and be a lifesaver on the worst. Quetext is one such tool that helps copywriters defend their reputations by picking any sentences, phrases, or headings that seem eerily similar to something else on the internet. 

While no tool is entirely accurate, Quetext’s sophisticated DeepSearch technology combs through the web and many other sources to pinpoint sentences and phrases that need to be changed. After thoroughly examining your text, it gives you an approximation of how much of your text is “copied” along with the sources you pulled from:

Not only can Quetext help you detect plagiarism, but it also has a built-in citation generator, grammar checker (that’s still in beta), and browser extension to give writers a full suite of tools to use all under one roof.

4. Copyleaks

Copyleaks is another online plagiarism detection platform that offers services and tools to help writers ensure their content is 100% original. Similar to Quetext, Copyleaks performs a deep dive and analyzes your writing for any similarities it possesses to other sources on the web and beyond.

However, Copyleaks’ analysis takes things a step further by breaking down each report into three different categories:

• Identical text
• Minor changes
• Paraphrased text

Of course, Copyleaks also provides sources for all of its findings so you can ensure the validity of its results and protect yourself from accidentally copying another writer’s hard work.

What Copyleaks has that Quetext doesn’t is a built-in AI detector. Not only can Copyleaks detect content copied from other sources on the web, but it can also determine if it was written by AI.

Sorry college students, it was fun while it lasted.

Closing Thoughts

While AI writing tools may be hot on our heels, I don’t think human copywriters and content creators are going anywhere anytime soon.

ChatGPT may be great at dislodging writer’s block and automating all the stuff we really hate doing; however, it still lacks the human ability to connect and resonate with people on a deeper level– and I genuinely believe that it always will.

On the other hand, many of these AI language models are still in their infancy, and they continue to impress, so I can’t speak for the next generation of writers…

The Future of Content Writing: How to Make AI Work for You is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

1. Be Clear on Who You’re Writing To

Remember, you’re not writing just to write. You’re not even writing to promote your product or service. You’re writing to reach someone. There’s a reader on the other end of that email you send who will (hopefully) open it and make a decision about whether or not it was valuable for them. Write to that person. This is the foundation of email copywriting. 

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To do that, you’ll need to do some research. As much as you can, try to understand what your recipient’s day is like, the many hats they wear, their lifestyle, their desires, their challenges. How will your product/service/expertise make their life/job/whatever it may be happier, healthier, more profitable, more productive, etc.? By knowing these things about your eventual reader, you can write to how what you’re offering is directly valuable to them. 

Another tip on knowing your audience: Be clear on which part of the sales funnel you’re speaking to. Are you reaching out cold? Cold email copywriting requires you to introduce your brand and provide some context for who you are and why you’re contacting them. If the recipient is more toward the bottom of the sales funnel and has already interacted with your company in some way, your emails can focus more on specific value statements and include hard data and testimonials to urge your reader to convert.

2. Make the Most of Your Subject Lines

Without a convincing subject line, it doesn’t actually matter what your email says. No one will see it if the subject line doesn’t inspire someone to open the email. A subject line is not a throw-away email component. It’s actually critical. In just a few words, you need to hook the reader enough to get that click. To do that, you want to appeal to both their logical mind and their emotions. A subject line should give enough information for a recipient to have at least some idea what this email is about, while also connecting with them emotionally, such as hinting at a fun opportunity or a chance to win a contest. 

Not all email platforms give you the option to include preview text with your emails, but if yours does, use it to your advantage. Preview text is what’s displayed after the subject line when viewing from the inbox. It’s another sentence or two that gives you the opportunity to entice your reader to open by letting the reader know what’s in it for them if they click. 

Tip: Keep your subject lines and preview text short. You can view roughly 40 characters on most mobile devices and up to 90 on desktops. 

3. Get to the Point…Fast

Okay, you’ve gotten someone to open your email. Don’t let them slip off the hook by writing a novel no one wants to sit and read. Your recipient has a busy life. They could be walking to a meeting at work, about to head out to pick up the kids, or waiting on their Starbucks order while running errands. Whatever they’re doing, they’re not likely in a position to give your email a ton of time and attention. That’s why you want to get to your point quickly. 

Don’t wax poetically for several sentences before you get to the reason you’re emailing. Don’t even do it for one sentence actually. Your email should include only the essentials you need to convey to your reader, padded with some charming but succinct context. As much as possible, keep your email under 200 words.

4. Personalize Your Emails

This is a big one when it comes to email marketing best practices. While you may be sending this same email copy to hundreds or even thousands of people, you don’t want your recipient to feel like that. An email that feels like a mass, blanketed communication will make your reader feel lost in the shuffle. 

To get their attention, connect. Personalize your copy to include their name, the name of their company if that’s relevant, and how what you’re offering solves their specific challenges. If you’re emailing a warmer prospect, include references to former interactions, like what you discussed on your last call or asking what they thought about that conference you spoke with them at. Make them feel seen so your communication feels more intimate and person-to-person.

5. Keep It Scannable

Again, your reader is pressed for time, so format your email to be easily digested. Email copywriting is all about saying a lot in few words. In addition to keeping it under 200 words as often as you can, break up your text so it’s easy on the eyes and can be quickly scanned. No text walls. No long, rambling sentences. Keep paragraphs to three or four sentences at most, and use bullet points to highlight important information.

6. Be Helpful

This one is often overlooked when it comes to advice on how to write marketing emails, but your emails shouldn’t be one-sided. You’re writing this email because you want the reader to do something. If you want something from them, you need to offer something in return. Make value the focus of your email. Yes, you’re here to give a sales pitch, but that doesn’t mean the email should be all about you. The best way to turn a prospect into a customer is by showing how you can help them. Speak to their needs, provide links to helpful resources, include instructional images or videos, or point them to something relevant they might enjoy or find useful. 

7. Don’t Be a Cliché

Gone are the days of selling your product or service with pushy, in-your-face tactics. You’re not a car salesman from the 90s or a late-night infomercial that wakes you up by loudly proclaiming about your offer. You can be persuasive without being aggressive. Consider how you would want to be pitched if the tables were turned, and make your case respectfully. 

And if they don’t take the bait after a few emails or choose to opt out of your campaign, leave them alone. You don’t want your campaign to get flagged as spammy or not meeting email platforms’ rules about crossing inbox boundaries.

8. Sound Like a Human

Lastly, write in a way that’s conversational and approachable. Even if you’re writing business to business, you can be professional without being robotic or overly dignified. You’re simply a human talking to another human about how you have something that can fill a need or solve a problem for them. Be polite, professional, and sincere. Throw in an appropriate joke or share a brief personal anecdote where relevant. Imagine if they were sitting in front of you. Write to them how you would speak face to face, human to human. 

Conclusion

Here’s a bonus tip to add to your email marketing best practices: Proofread. Once you have your emails written, give them a read-through to make sure there aren’t any errors that could make you or your company look uncredible. You may not get many chances to get in front of your recipients, so put your best foot forward with every email you send. 

Still feel a little ill-equipped when it comes to email copywriting? Go Fish Digital has a skilled team of copywriters that can write your email marketing campaign for you, as well as manage the project from beginning to end. Make your life easier (and increase your chances of converting prospects) by checking out our email marketing services today.

8 Email Copywriting Tips for Marketing Campaigns is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

Misinformation and misconceptions can be caused by a lot of different factors, but the main one that I’ve seen throughout the news, and from the communications that companies are releasing to their audiences, is the lack of clear, concise copy.

Distributing clear, concise copy is always important, of course, but during unprecedented times like these, it’s more crucial than ever before – literally. The news is an entirely different animal to tackle, but right now, companies have a duty to communicate with their audience in a transparent, actionable way. Every company, no matter what industry they’re in, has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and it’s imperative they develop a message detailing that impact so everyone, from their employees to stakeholders to consumers, can understand it. 

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As a copywriter, it’s my job to create copy that clearly communicates what my clients want to say to their audience, and I strive to write these messages in a way that eliminates the chance of there being any misinterpretations. When there are lapses of communication distributed by businesses during this time, I see a wasted opportunity to get ahead of this crisis in order to better understand and serve consumers. Additionally, there’s a possibility that the company could lose the trust and loyalty it’s spent years building with its customer base.

Right now, it’s important to clearly define your message in order to reach your audience in a meaningful way. Below are my top tips on how to streamline your copy so your company can relay the most effective message possible in the shortest amount of time.

Address the Elephant in the Room

One of the first things a company needs to do during this time is to directly and visibly address the pandemic. Next, they need to be transparent about how it’s affecting them and how it’s going to affect their consumers. If there was ever a time to shout a message from the rooftops, it’s right now. 

The goal of writing clear copy is to give peace of mind to your audience, while also trying to show them that you are fully on top of this situation so they’ll continue to trust you. These may be unprecedented times, but at the end of the day, your audience is looking to you because they want to know if you are still going to deliver what they need, and if you’re not, they need reassurance that you have a plan in place to navigate this new normal.

So, address the pandemic head-on in your messaging. If you haven’t already, sit down with all of your stakeholders and board members to adapt your crisis management strategy to fit with the pandemic. Then develop direct, consistent messages that will address the issues at hand, answer any immediate questions and, most importantly, keep your audience’s well being at the center of it. 

Broadcast Your Message Consistently On All of Your Platforms

Another way for your company to practice clear concise communication is to broadcast your message methodically on all of your platforms and channels. In a widespread situation like the coronavirus pandemic, you can’t solely rely on a single communication or channel to get your point across. Because of the media’s oversaturation of this topic, it’s easy for people to miss something important. Your company needs to go above and beyond to make sure that your message is accessible to everyone at all times. 

Some companies are doing this better than others. Take two popular home essentials brands, Charmin and Bounty, for example. There has been an unprecedented shortage of toilet paper and paper towels over the past several weeks, and many people around the world are having to go without these products. While Charmin has taken steps to keep consumers informed, Bounty’s messaging has left something to be desired. 

Charmin changed its homepage to the message below and pinned a tweet about it as well. To add to the message’s effectiveness, the Charmin team kept their communications virtually identical:

Bounty on the other hand, which is in the same group as Charmin, didn’t follow suit with its homepage. Though it did tweet a message on March 16. (And to be fair, they are donating to people who are have been affected by the pandemic.):

Bounty missed a huge opportunity to give their customers the peace of mind they need during this time. As a company that is most likely getting inundated with questions, ensuring that a cohesive message is immediately accessible on their sites is a must. And because there isn’t much communication around the coronavirus from Bounty, it could affect how their customers see them during and after the crisis.

So, take a page out of Charmin’s book and develop direct copy that can be displayed across multiple channels, like your website, social media, print materials, and other forms of media, so that you can meet every member of your audience where they are and relay your message to them. 

Trust in Your Writers

When in doubt, trust in the writers you have on staff. Writers are trained to convey messages in the most effective way possible. So, if you find yourself in over your head when you’re developing a message, have your writers take a stab at it. You’ll be amazed at how they are able to consolidate the ideas in your head into one well-written statement. On top of them being excellent writers, they are also trained to be excellent editors, so they can take copy that is too complicated and significantly pare it down. The end result will be a refined, transparent piece of communication that you can use consistently throughout the pandemic.

During this time, we all have to do our part to cut through the noise that is being flung at us from all angles. One thing your company can do right now is develop a clear communication strategy to share with your community. In the end, your audience will thank you and you’ll find that their trust in your company will grow.

What is your company doing to spread the word? Let me know in the comments below!

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Clear Communication is More Important Than Ever is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

I would characterize myself as a naturally empathetic person – for instance, anytime I know that something embarrassing is going to happen on a TV show, I have to fast-forward through it or it will ruin my night – and that extends into my professional life as well. Professional empathy centers around getting into the mindset of your audience and understanding their needs to develop and deliver a message they find meaningful.

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Professional empathy doesn’t come naturally to some people, and that can affect how they convey a message when they are writing website copy. So, here are five strategies writers and marketers can use to practice empathy in their writing. Keep reading to learn more!

1. Create Buyer Personas

Buyer personas are basic profiles of the people who would reasonably need your company’s services or products. To develop buyer personas, you need to research your customers and prospects to look for trends, like pain points, job titles, and demographic information, that can be combined to create a single representative entity. I like to give each persona a name, job title, and brief backstory to give them more substance. I’ll give you an example.

At a previous job, I helped create several buyer personas for a software company – two of them were named Bill and Linda.

Bill is the Chief Technology Officer at his company, and his current software systems aren’t equipped to provide security protocols that can protect sensitive client and company information, so he’s looking for a new solution that can. Linda is a social worker at Bill’s company and was tasked by her manager to find a few software solutions that will create a digital archive of important case notes. In this example, my company’s software is capable of swiftly alleviating both pain points, so both personas are likely to evaluate it. So, it was important to understand their specific needs so I could write content that would answer the vastly different questions that each persona, along with others, had about the software.

Creating buyer personas allowed me to get into the headspace of my specific audience to really understand their pain points and motivations, which helped me market to them more effectively. I highly recommend taking the time to do this for your company to boost your professional empathy as it relates to your audience.

2. Avoid Using Complicated Copy

One of the biggest red flags I see in website copy is the use of overly-complicated, jargon-heavy language. Not only is it distracting, but it will also likely drive away your audience. No one wants to sift through buzzwords and platitudes to find your point, and they won’t try to; they’ll simply go to a competitor’s site. So, look at your website through the lens of professional empathy to tailor your language for the benefit of your audience.

The cornerstone of good content is to make it accessible to everyone who reads it. My most tried and true piece of advice to clients is to take a step back and read their website copy as if they’ve never encountered anything like their product or service before. Once they do that, they inevitably go back through to simplify their messaging. 

3. Place a Summary of Your Service Offering Above the Fold

When web designers say “above the fold”, they are referring to the portion of the webpage that’s seen when the page first loads. It’s the first impression that your audience will get from your website, so it’s important to make the impression a good one. One way to do that is to include a headline above the fold that briefly summarizes your company’s main service offering. So, if your company sells enterprise software for government agencies, that should be the first thing someone learns from your website.

A surprising number of companies neglect to summarize their service offerings above the fold, and it all comes down to a lack of professional empathy. A lot of web writers want to create headlines that are attention-grabbing, but that often means sacrificing effective messaging and disregarding your audience’s time.

This does two things – it increases the chances of people bouncing from your website and significantly reduces the number of people who are willing to engage with your services. 

So, resist the urge to lead with a clever page header and make sure that the one you write clearly demonstrates what your company provides to your customers, even if you’re writing for a well-known brand. It’s a simple fix, but trust me, it makes a world of difference in the mind of the user.

4. Hire a Third-Party Editor 

One way to make sure that your copy is accessible is to hire someone that is outside your organization to edit it. Third-party editors are trained to provide feedback and changes that will help you create better content for your users while also keeping your tone, voice, and goals at the forefront of the copy. They are also much more likely to find communication gaps that internal writers and stakeholders can miss because they provide a fresh set of eyes.

An added bonus of this service is that you can review their feedback to learn how you can better connect with your audience through your copy. This will not only provide even more bang for your buck, but it will also deepen your understanding of what first-time visitors of your website will see and interact with. These insights are great to have in your back pocket for any future website copy projects.  

A great way to find independent editors is to look at Upwork. This website is a chock-full of talented writers and editors who offer their services at reasonable prices. If you need ongoing copy support, however, I highly recommend partnering with an agency. Either way, this is an incredibly valuable service that is worth the investment.

5. Monitor Social Media to Find Trends

One simple way to learn what pain points your audience is experiencing is to monitor social media for their comments. Nowadays, people are quick to air their satisfaction and grievances on social platforms, and companies should take advantage of these insights. I like to think of these comments as free business advice that can make your service and website better.

To set up social media monitoring, you can use tools, like Sprout Social or Buzzsumo, to set up searches pertaining to your brand and any keywords that you’d like to keep an eye on. So, if your audience tags you directly, you’ll see it instantly. Or, if they mention a keyword that you’re interested in, you’ll be able to take note of it right away. You can then change your website’s language to reflect those pain points and how your product improves upon them. Talk about a win-win!

What other ways have you used to build up your professional empathy? I’d love to hear them! Feel free to leave me a comment below.

5 Ways to Use Professional Empathy to Boost Website Copy is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.

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Editing is the key that unlocks good writing. Knowing how to edit is a testament to your ability to look at copy objectively in order to make it the best it can be. Anyone can put words together, but editors know how to elevate phrases and make them powerful.

Great editing takes time, patience, and perseverance to even get a basic understanding. I want to help guide you over the initial hurdles of your new editing journey with a few things that I’ve learned in my career that have made me a better editor which, in turn, made me a much better writer.

Learn How to Edit Your Own Writing

This fundamental skill is the hardest to master, but it’s the most invaluable one to have in your arsenal. Self-editing makes you take a step back and look at your words objectively and that’s difficult to do for many people. After all, that’s why people pay others to edit their work for them. But, by reading through your own work, you’ll have so much more insight into your writing. You’ll find the things you like about your writing style, your flaws, and your most common mistakes. Understanding these aspects of your writing will inevitably help you get better.

As you’re beginning the self-editing process, my advice would be to stick with the 30-30 rule. Once you’ve got your first draft, cut 30% of your copy. Then, go back through and cut 30% of the remainder. Yes, it’s as hard as, or maybe even harder than, it sounds.

The 30-30 rule forces you to look at your copy in a different way and tighten it up. You’re going to write sentences that you will absolutely love. In my opinion, those should be the first to go because they are most likely only there for style. Because you love them, however, you’ll try to incorporate them into your copy, even if they start detracting from your argument. Let them, and your ego, go.

The key is to know what you want to say and make it as efficient and accessible as possible. Look for any place your copy can be simplified. If you have a long sentence, consider splitting it into two. Or if you included a long, fancy word, replace it with a simple word that a wide range of audiences can understand. Above all else, don’t ever waste your readers’ time.  

Use Unconventional Editing Tools to Find Your Mistakes

As you’re going through the editing process, it’s always a good idea to have extra help. I highly recommend using a dictation tool and a text-to-speech tool, regardless of whether you let other people read your writing. My favorite ones to use are Google Translate, the dictation tool that is already installed on most Mac models, and Grammarly for checking grammar and spelling mistakes.

These tools help you find any mistakes you didn’t catch, and they allow you to hear how your piece flows. Often when people are writing, they know what they want to say, but they aren’t always effective in how they execute the final product. Even after rounds of self-edits, writers can miss critical mistakes.

Editing tools are objective and unforgiving, and you’ll quickly find that weird sentences or misplaced punctuation stick out like sore thumbs. It will be weird at first, but stick with it and you’ll find that your writing and editing skills will get better with each piece.

Practice, Practice, and Practice Some More

My last piece of advice is to continue practicing your editing skills and to not get discouraged. Even though I write professionally, I am constantly improving and developing my style. And if you are committed to getting better, you need to do the same thing. 

Improving at anything takes a lot of hard work, but if it’s worth it to you, keep at it. Remember, even the most accomplished writers had to start somewhere, and they still never get it right on the first draft. You’re going to have to put in the work to get better, but if you do, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you see improvement in your writing.

Eventually, you’ll be able to quickly catch grammatical or word-choice mistakes that will make you pause and grimace. You’ll experience that incredible a-ha feeling that comes with progress. Lean into it and be proud. Then, file it away and soldier on.

To Be a Good Writer, You Need to Be a Great Editor is an original blog post first published on Go Fish Digital.