Author: RossHogben355

This one is really simple, but really effective. Most people are already well-aware how important it is to add sub-headings into content. They make it MUCH easier to read. For example: Which one would you rather read? Exactly. However, you might not be aware how big a deal the words that make up your sub headers are. For example, most people use sub headers something like this: Great – that certainly breaks up the text. But random sub headings won’t make people think ‘Wow, I must read this! There’s loads of value for me here…’ Luckily, that’s something you can fix fairly easily. Just include benefits in your sub headers.… Read More

The days when keyword cramming would win you pole position in the search engines are long gone. In fact, today’s Google will actively penalise you for overusing primary keywords on your site. So what are they looking to see instead? Well, lots of things. But particularly things like Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords. In a nutshell, these are synonyms of (and closely related words to) your primary keywords. LSI keywords are valued highly by search engines, because they help provide context to what the page is about. Here’s how it works. Let’s say you do a search for ‘house’. How does Google know whether you’re after: House – the building… Read More

Someone lands on your website. Next, one of two things happens: They leave again straightway… … or they hang around. Which they do is important. If they stick around, Google starts to think: ‘This must be a GREAT page!’ But if they bounce straight back out, you’ll drop through the search rankings at a rate of knots. The long and the short of it? You HAVE to keep visitors on your site if you want high search engine rankings. How? An old copywriting trick called ‘Bucket Brigades’. What are Bucket Brigades?   Bucket Brigades are a copywriting technique to keep people reading. If they’re still reading, they’re still on your… Read More

I start sentences with conjunctions all the time. And that’s okay. Conjunctions are a great way to build flow in your copy. They can help create tone, progress narrative and smooth the transition of ideas between sentences. More than once however, I’ve had people come up to me and tell me that this is ‘not allowed’. These people invariably have two things in common. They are smug. And they are wrong. While your teacher may have told you that you should never start a sentence with ‘And, ‘But’, ‘Because’ or ‘When’, in reality this supposed ‘golden rule’ has never been followed by writers. Take a look at any piece of… Read More

Email is one of the most effective ways to market to potential customers. In fact, it’s over 40 times more likely to acquire new customers than Facebook or Twitter. But it only works if people actually open your email. That means you need an irresistible subject line – one that screams ‘Open Me!’ So what makes a subject line that works? Here are some of the key components. Improve open rates significantly by personalising it Research has shown that personalising subject lines with the recipient’s first or last name helps to improve open rates significantly. Similarly, localising subject lines to include the recipient’s city can have a positive impact. Keep people… Read More

When I talk to clients about their ideal brand voice, nine times out of ten they will say a variation of ‘like Innocent Smoothies’. Putting aside the fact that this is a tad unoriginal, I can understand their thinking. What they’re getting at is that they like the way Innocent makes you feel, their tone: informal, friendly and above all, likeable. That likeability is key. If I don’t like your brand, if I think you come across as cold, pompous or arrogant, I’m not going to buy from you. So to sell, you need warm, personal copy that connects with people.  Here are a few ways to achieve just that.… Read More