How do you know if someone is qualified to do a job? I thought about this recently while perusing my LinkedIn feed. Because I'm an animal health copywriter, many of my connections are veterinarians. The letters DVM in their titles confirm they've completed specific training and are qualified and educated in animal health care. But what happens when you, someone in the animal health world, are looking for a copywriter? How do you determine a possible candidate's skill level? Copywriters come in all shapes and sizes, so to speak, and won't necessarily have credentials after their names. And if they do, you may not know what they represent. Since that puts you at a disadvantage, here are some pointers for vetting a copywriter. These tips will help the cream rise to the top. Why should I be interested in a copywriter's skills? Good question. A copywriter's skill will reflect the quality of the content or copy he creates for you. And quality content or copy will garner the intended response you're looking for from your audience or clients. And that is the purpose of marketing; to reach the people who want your products or services. A skilled copywriter understands the difference between copywriting and content writing and the importance of search engine optimization (SEO.) A copywriter experienced with sales copy knows how to write with persuasion and tailor it to the targeted audience. A knowledgeable content writer knows content's purpose is to educate the reader by answering her questions. Clear, easy-to-read, and detailed writing is the preferred tool for this writer who aims to engage readers and build lasting relationships. How do I recognize these skills? Visit the writer's website, online portfolio, or LinkedIn profile to review work samples and client testimonials. Pay attention to the following details.
Check credentials or pursuit of continuing education Many companies hiring copywriters seek people with marketing, communications, or journalism degrees. Others prefer writers to have degrees in areas specific to their industry, such as animal health or financial services. Just so you know, a degree in marketing, communications, or journalism is what some companies prefer. However, many excellent copywriters are without these degrees, so don't limit yourself unless you feel strongly that such a degree is necessary. In addition, multiple "copywriting academies" are available for writers to learn the trade or enhance their skills. Examples are American Writers and Artists, Inc. (AWAI), Content Marketing Institute (CMI), Copyblogger's Academy, and SEO Content Institute. Finally, speak with the copywriter. Find out how she approaches a project. Look for someone with a defined process articulating what she needs from a client to give the best service. Why does vetting a copywriter's skills matter? Does the marketing success of your veterinary practice, practice management software solution, or cutting-edge pharmaceutical matter to you? Vetting a potential writer's skills should also matter.
A lousy copywriter can cost you money and fail at producing results. In the long run, taking these steps to vet a copywriting candidate is worth your time and effort. I'm a content writer/consultant and former veterinary assistant specializing in the animal health and veterinary markets. Do you need help with content or copy? Email or call me at 508-277-4929!
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Content writing and copywriting are two distinct types of marketing communication. Content writing focuses on helping an audience gather information, answer questions, or learn something new. Some examples are blog posts, articles, eBooks, whitepapers, and case studies. Content writing works to build rapport with your audience. I say your audience because your content should target people wanting to do business with you. For instance, if your veterinary practice specializes in felines, your content should address topics of interest to cat owners and lovers. The goal is to provide valuable information to these readers consistently so they will come to recognize you as a reliable source. And once your audience views you this way, chances are you've gained a customer. Content writing looks to plant a seed and nurture it. In a nutshell, it's all about relationship building and "soft" selling. Copywriting persuades On the other hand, copywriting focuses on persuasion. Copywriting isn't so much educational as it is inspirational. It seeks to motivate and compel readers by playing on emotions, touting features and benefits, and instilling a sense of urgency – act now! Or risk losing out. Copywriting's persuasiveness targets readers ready to take the next step, whether that's signing up for a product demo, purchasing vaccines, or scheduling an appointment for their pet. Product descriptions, email marketing campaigns, landing pages, and sales materials like brochures use copywriting. They aim to convince the reader to act. Good content + good copy = booming business!Content writing and copywriting help guide potential clients and customers along the "sales funnel," also known as the buying journey.
At the start of the journey, content writing develops a relationship. It demonstrates your expertise as a veterinary practice or business via your knowledgeable, helpful content. As your audience accepts you as a competent source, they become open to doing business, making them likely to transact. When they reach this receptive mindset, good copywriting can persuade them to act. Successful marketing employs strategic content and copywriting, so knowing which to use when matters for the best outcomes. I'm a content writer/consultant and former veterinary assistant specializing in the animal health and veterinary markets. Do you need help with content or copy? Email or call me at 508-277-4929! I recently posted about how to make your veterinary blog easy to read by writing with shorter sentences. Since short ones are easier to follow and digest, they improve readability. Compact writing doesn't mentally tax your blog visitors. On the other hand, slogging through long, winding text does. Readers will lose patience if they struggle to read and understand your writing. Remember, your blogging goal is quality content, so concise communication is vital. The bottom line is that poor readability creates a bad user experience. And bad experiences drive traffic away from your blog. More tips to improve readability Since readability is essential to a positive experience for your audience, what more can you do to improve it? Allow me to make some suggestions …
A helpful online writing assistant/tool that catches problems plaguing writers and suggests corrections. If your writing gets wordy and long, Grammarly recommends revisions to improve clarity and conciseness. (Such as splitting long sentences!)
This test rates how easy text is to read based on a 100-point scale. The higher the score, the easier it is. The calculation formula looks at the average number of syllables per word and words per sentence. The rule of thumb for easy reading is a score between 60 and 70.
As the name implies, this test scores readability by grade level. For example, an 8.0 score means that an eighth grader in the U.S. could understand the text. The recommendation is to score between 7.0 and 8.0. The Flesch Reading Ease Readability tests guide you in determining if your writing is easy to read. And both tests are included in Microsoft Word under the Review tab on the menu. Oh, and one other thing about readability, it can impact your search engine optimization (SEO). Don't lose traffic with those technical veterinary terms pet owners don't knowYou know that Google and other search engines aim to give users the best information.
And we know that through SEO, Google will give users content based on the keywords they're searching with. But what happens if your blog posts or articles don't include those keywords? Suppose you want to build traffic to your veterinary website. You may be writing articles that include many technically correct veterinary words. But if your audience is pet owners, they most likely wouldn't use that technical terminology in their searches. So the search engines wouldn't direct them to your site. And if users did find your site, they probably wouldn't understand those words or the message you're conveying. This situation defeats the purpose of your blog, which is to offer high-value content. To prevent this, explain technical terms in plain English with words that pet owners will likely use. In short, Google doesn't rank content on readability; its algorithms don't calculate this. But it can affect SEO if your language doesn't match the language users are searching with. Or if technical words pepper your text and speak over your audience's head. From the user experience and SEO perspective, we agree that readability is key! Let's talk about that writing project you've put off; email or call me at 508-277-4929! I'm a content writer/consultant and former veterinary assistant specializing in the animal health and veterinary markets. I dive into the intricacies of writing excellent content so you don't have to! Does your veterinary website include a blog? Besides being informative, the content must be easy to read and understand. These qualities give readers the most value. "Okay," you're probably thinking, "that sounds reasonable. But how do I make the content easy to read?" I'm glad you asked! One way is by keeping sentences short. I touched on this in my blog post, Five quick tips for writing an outstanding veterinary blog, but I'd like to explain more. Length doesn't always mean in-depth Long sentences don't necessarily give more detail. On the contrary, they can be confusing, dreary, and exhausting to read. Mentally taxing your blog visitors with voluminous prose is unwise; they may retaliate by not returning. To show what I mean about a never-ending sentence, read the following. It illustrates how lengthier ones can be a struggle. "It is given as a course of two injections, with the first dose priming the immune system, but producing no physiological effect, and the second dose stimulating anti-GnRF antibody production and consequent suppression of gonadal activity a few days after administration." This sentence… is just long. Breaking it into shorter sentences makes it more manageable. "It is given as a course of two injections. The first dose primes the immune system but produces no physiological effect. The second dose stimulates anti-GnRF antibody production. The antibody production suppresses gonadal activity a few days after administration." The brevity in the rewrite simplifies reading, and your brain doesn't strain to remember the points made. Reining in sentence length can be tricky, though. That's why I use and recommend Grammarly. It's a writing assistant/editing tool that, among other things, highlights lengthy sentences and suggests revisions. But there's another reason for keeping sentences short. Short sentences = less scrolling on digital devices When writing for the web, whether blog posts or web page content, only so much text can display on a screen and even less on a smartphone.
So, keeping sentences brief and avoiding big chunks of text helps your reader avoid endless scrolling. Shorter sentences mean fewer words. And fewer words mean you must be picky about your chosen ones to communicate your point precisely. Remember, for content to do its job, people must understand it to recognize its value. Reading your blog should be enjoyable, not a test of mental stamina. Otherwise, you're writing for yourself. Let's talk about that writing project you've put off; email or call me at 508-277-4929! I'm a freelance copywriter and former veterinary assistant specializing in the animal health and veterinary markets. I dive into the intricacies of writing excellent content so you don't have to! Photo by Fikret tozak on Unsplash You own a veterinary practice, and you've decided to start a blog to stay in touch with your clients. Great idea -- because as a practicing veterinarian, you're in the business of animal health. So why not take steps to help your practice thrive and keep clients returning? A blog can be an effective way to do this. But before you put your fingers on the keyboard and publish your first post, here are some tips for writing an outstanding one. Choosing topics for your veterinary blog As you choose topics, remember that you're writing for your readers, also known as your target audience. And most people read blogs to learn something. Especially pet parents keen on animal health because they want the best for their pets! What you write about should be something that will help them, whether it's the benefits of a particular flea and tick product, the best way to trim nails, or answers to questions you field every day like, "Should I feed my pet a raw diet?" or "Why does my dog eat cigarette butts?" Tone and format of your veterinary blog Blog readers don't want to be pitched, so avoid selling your product or service outright; keep that lowkey. Instead, be personable. Write conversationally with a story-telling approach. Tap into insights from your day-to-day experiences to tell stories that will make your posts interesting. For instance, maybe a recent euthanasia case raised a point you'd like to share. Readers will appreciate your perspective and advice on this sensitive subject; this builds trust. And trust builds relationships. Another thing to pay attention to is the format of your post. Avoid long sentences and big chunks of text; they can be tiring to read. Use headings with paragraphs to break things up, making it easier for readers to skim what's written or jump from one section to another. Depending on your topic, include statistics when possible. Verify the stats by linking to external sources, which is helpful for a few reasons. Give readers more helpful content with external links Linking is akin to citing a reference. It supports your writing and provides readers with additional valuable information. Linking to quality sources inspires search engines to view your post favorably. External links to other relevant sites add credibility to your post. And that improves search engine results. Here's an article explaining external linking best practices to learn more. Help readers discover your blog with search engine optimization (SEO) SEO plays a role in blogging because its practice, when done well, drives readers to your blog. But not just any readers, the right readers. In a nutshell, you optimize your blog and web pages to stack the deck, so to speak, so the people most interested in what you have to offer will find you. Although many steps are involved with SEO, one of the more important ones is choosing keywords. Essentially, the keywords you select for your blog post should be the ones your target audience is googling. And to find those keywords requires keyword research. Keyword research takes time and effort. I could devote a lengthy blog post to this topic, but instead, here's a link to a comprehensive keyword research article. Once you have your keywords, judiciously place them in your blog post, such as in the title and headings, and sprinkle them throughout the content. You don't want to just slap the keywords in there or overuse them. Search engines will be suspicious of this behavior and may view your content as spam. I like to write the post first and then go back and insert keywords. This approach lets you focus on the point of your article without worrying about where to put the keywords. Get your blog post read with a blockbuster title So let's imagine you've just written a gem of a blog post with content sure to please your audience.
How do you get them to read it? With a title that catches their eye and sparks their interest! The title has to inspire, entice, or intrigue so the reader opens and reads your post. Coming up with a blockbuster title is no small feat, so don't treat your title selection as an afterthought. Spend some time thinking one up. And don't necessarily go with the first one that comes to mind. To create an irresistible SEO-friendly title, I use CoSchedule Headline-Analyzer. This tool ranks your title's potency based on phrasing, word count, emotional impact, and more. The higher the score, the stronger the title. Successful titles frequently ask a question, use numbers, and, most importantly, clearly describe the blog post's contents. Nothing is more frustrating than reading a blog post that doesn't deliver. You don't want to burn your audience. So, are you ready to get started blogging? It's an effective way to stay in front of your veterinary clients and build relationships, but it requires time, effort, and patience to produce consistent blog posts that your audience will find and read. Otherwise, why bother? If you'd like help with blogging for your veterinary practice or business, please email or call me at 508-277-4929. I'm happy to assist! |
AuthorSuzanne Quigley - Copywriter Archives
December 2023
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