What Website Copywriters Get Wrong

In 2011, you don’t have to look far to find website copywriters. They’re everywhere. And with such an overabundance of them, you’d think it would be hard for a part time writer such as yourself to make any money at it. But let me tell you–I’m living proof that it isn’t.

Here’s a secret for you: there’s always room for another web copywriter because the vast majority of those offering their services aren’t doing that great of a job.

Don’t believe me? Go to Craigslist and look at ads by copywriters. Or better yet, post that you’re looking for a copywriter and check out your responses. You’ll undoubtedly get quite a few chuckles as you read through the samples. That’s not to be an ass and say I (we) are so much better than them… but let’s face it–like anything else, the web copy industry has gotten pretty watered down.

Many of the copywriters are getting it all wrong. Here’s just a few of the things I see:

• They don’t worry enough about copy length–Look, I’m not one of those guys who thinks your copy has to be a minimum of 500 words to get crawled. But at the same time, I understand that copy that’s too short doesn’t convert as well. And I also understand that copy that’s too long will never get read.
• They do whatever the client says–You have to remember, you’re being hired for your expertise. That means, your clients need to be told if they’re idea of copywriting sucks. Odds are they want you to write copy that focuses on them. Yet we all know that we-we content everyone is so fond of is terrible for your conversions. Attempt to stick by your guns and tell your client to let you do your job!
• They don’t consider keywords–We spend plenty of time talking about keyword stuffing and how bad it is. But how about website copywriters that don’t pay any attention to keywords? The fact is, to be a good web copy professional you have to think about keywords and how to naturally place them in your writing.

Don’t be discouraged! With so many people out there making mistakes, there is plenty of opportunity out there for website copywriters that understand what they’re doing. Press on!