Content Writing & Copywriting Blog

Direct Response and PPC

Oct 25, 2004 No Comments »

The net connection is extremely slow today so I haven’t been able to work much. I wanted to write an article and post it. I think I’ll do it after posting this message.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, I’m advertising through Overture and AdWords. So far the result hasn’t been encouraging. In fact, the direct mailer that I sent on Saturday generated more response than the overall Overture response. I know my keywords are rarely searched for — web page content writer, etc. but still, the response hasn’t been as I had expected. Anyway, I’ll keep experimenting with different keyword combinations.

Charging Less or More

Oct 24, 2004 No Comments »

How much to charge to write content? This is a difficult question, especially when content means different to different people. I have decided to increase the amount of work I get and I have decided to charge the least amount I can afford. This will bring more people within the ambit of my service which means more work, which means better earning.
Until now I’ve been charging randomly, according to the tendency of the client. Sometimes I quoted very high, that chased some clients away. This way I got work, but not as much as I would like to get. At least now I know what I am quoting and if a client finds even this amount high, then he or she is not serious enough.

Articles on Headlines and Sales Copy

Oct 23, 2004 No Comments »

I recently added two web page writing articles at http://www.amrithallan.com. The first one [Using Headlines Effectively] talks about the importance of appropriate headlines. Proper headlines are critical for your web content. Without reading the entire copy, the reader can get a fair idea of what you are trying to communicate. They are like the summary of your entire web page copy. Web page headlines also cater to the inexorable thirst of the search engines. Try to include important words and key phrases in the headings.
The second article [Write to Make Them Buy] is on writing sales copy for web pages. The sales copy on the web page should not only be straightforward, it should capture the attention and make readers act (read purchase).

About Providing Free Copy Samples

Oct 22, 2004 No Comments »

I wonder if I should still provide the new clients with free samples. Alka says I’ll have to until I put my entire portfolio online. In the morning I sent a 300-word full-blown, SE-optimized sample that the client can use whether he pays me or not (I think he is not paying for the ’sample’).
Last year I lost two good clients because I was very rigid about doing the “extra” stuff. I don’t want to do the same thing again, especially when I have restarted the promotional campaign. I’m not desperate for work, but I’m desperate to grow my work. So as long as I have some free time on my hand, I shouldn’t mind providing free samples. If nothing else, I’m still writing.

Text-only Website

Oct 20, 2004 No Comments »

Finally I have done it! I have converted http://www.amrithallan.com into a text-only website. The only graphic the website has is the signature name that appears at the bottom of a few pages. It seems I’m back into the loop and there’s a lot of stuff that I want to do to promote my service. I’m going to follow some of the advice given in my own articles. First among them is, write a few articles and submit them. Article submission is a great way of promoting ones business. It establishes you as an expert (you can’t be an expert writing all sorts of rubbish…it needs to be good).
In my last post I mentioned I’m using Google’s Adword program. I just signed up for Overture too. I’m going to carefully observe my ROI graph. I think the only thing I have lacked so far is proper promotion. I need to send the word around.