Darrell Cuthbert: Freelance Copywriter
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Samples
  • Rates
  • Contact

Effect of the COVID-19/Coronavirus Pandemic and Resulting Lockdown on my Business

30/3/2020

Comments

 
Picture
Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bancsang/49698370477/
​I’ve had several people ask me lately if I will still be operating during the lockdown, so I thought I’d put out a quick post to clarify my situation.

Because I work primarily from my home office and mostly communicate via online tools like email, Skype, Zoom, WhatsApp, etc. (many of my clients are in other cities or countries), the lockdown has almost no effect on my ability to work – other than not being able to attend face to face meetings with local clients for the time being.
​

Lockdown is a great time to reassess your business and decide what, if any, changes will need to be made to your business model or product/service offering.
 
Use this period to upgrade your website copy, create some new content, generate some new marketing materials or improve your existing collateral (company profile, case studies, white papers, email marketing/drip campaigns, brochures, flyers, posters, social media publishing calendars and content, etc.)
 
Make sure you come out of lockdown ready to roll – while many of your competitors are still trying to find their feet (and get over their Netflix addiction 😊).
 
Please feel free to contact me if you have any current copywriting, content writing, or content marketing needs.

 
Darrell
 
+27 72 225 8074 (call/WhatsApp)
darrell@wordtiffie.co.za
Skype: darrell.cuthbert 
Comments

What are SEO Target Pages and how can they be used to increase Website Traffic and Sales Conversions?

28/5/2018

Comments

 
By: Darrell Cuthbert
As their name implies, SEO Target Pages focus on improving the Search Engine Optimisation of your website, to attract more website traffic, visitors, leads, prospects, customers, etc
As their name implies, SEO Target Pages focus on improving the Search Engine Optimisation of your website, to attract more website traffic, visitors, leads, prospects, customers etc. 

This, however, does not mean that they consist of bland, generic, poorly-written content that is stuffed with keywords in an attempt to game or trick search engine algorithms. 

Instead, they should be well-written, useful, and engaging, with relevant keywords naturally woven throughout the text.


One of the most successful and efficient ways to use SEO Target Pages is in support of product and service pages, but without being directly promotional.
 
For example, a good structure for an SEO Target Page would be:
 
  • First, identify a problem that customers experience or a challenge they face that is solved by one or more of the products/services that your business supplies. Initially, discuss the problem, especially how it has the potential to impact the business in terms of profitability, productivity, safety, risk, etc.
 
  • Secondly, discuss possible solutions to the problem, mentioning a type of equipment or specialised service that could be a solution – preferably without mentioning your company name yet or specific products.
 
  • Finally, show how the product or service you provide is a definite solution and explain why it is a better choice than other, competing, products (assuming it is not unique and there are competitive products available).
 
  • At the bottom of the article, link out to the relevant product page(s), for example, using a tagline like “Click Here to find out more about the Widget XYZ1000 and why it is the best choice for <restate the problem that the product/service solves>
 
NB: Target keywords/key phrases should be based on the problem or solution (or both), with geotargeting if applicable, not on your business name. So, for example:
 
 
Choosing Target Keywords and Key Phrases
 
XZY1000 lawn mower is not a great target key phrase, even though it contains a good keyword, i.e. “lawn mower”. Having a model name too prominent will probably result in Google (or other search engines) classifying the text as promotional/sales material, rather than useful content.
 
Instead of the product name/model number, rather use a benefit. So, some better choices of key phrase would be:
 
  • Affordable lawn mower
  • Efficient lawn mower
  • Easy to operate lawn mower
  • Easy to use the lawn mower
 
or even terms that rephrase a common problem or concern for potential buyers and users, e.g. breakdowns due to poor design or sub-standard materials, or downtime and high maintenance costs. Examples of this type of target keyword/phrase could be:
 
  • Rugged lawn mower
  • Durable lawn mower
  • Low-maintenance lawnmower
 
If the business targets a specific area, or the product is only distributed in certain areas, geotargeting can be introduced by adding a town name, suburb, or region as a secondary keyword, e.g.
 
  • Efficient lawn mower Durban
  • Easy to use lawn mower LaLucia
  • Durable lawn mower KwaZulu-Natal
  • Low-maintenance lawn mower South Africa
 
Of course, main keywords can also be paired with multiple secondary keywords, e.g.
 
  • Low-maintenance lawn mower Johannesburg
  • Low-maintenance lawn mower Durban
  • Low-maintenance lawn mower Cape Town
 
 
How to use Keywords/Phrases
 
With some thought, it should be possible to come up with at least 2-10 keyword ideas for each product or service. Once you have done this, either:
  • Write a dedicated SEO Target Page for each keyword and link back to the relevant product/service page
  • Write an SEO page that combines several similar keywords into a single piece of content, e.g. one listing all the benefits rather than each in a separate article, or a single article that simultaneously geotargets multiple locations
 
Neither of these choices is automatically right or wrong. The strategy chosen will depend on the circumstances, keywords, budget, client requirements etc.
 
By following this technique, you are surrounding each product or service page, that is by nature promotional, with a “net” of primarily non-promotional content focused on gathering search traffic, engaging website visitors, and then sending them over to a sales page – after they have already been interested or “primed”.
 
 
Topics and Intent
 
Before settling on the actual keywords/phrases you will use, do some research into keywords, e.g. search volumes, competition etc. (the Google AdWords tool is good for this), and also think about the intent of users, i.e. how potential customers think and search. Instead of simply targeting a bunch of random, obscure keywords, group them logically into topics or themes that reflect the needs and interests of potential clients.
 
SEO Target Pages are generally kept off-menu:
 
  1. To avoid cluttering up your site’s navigation bars/tabs
  2. Because their primary function is to find people that aren’t already familiar with your business, product, or service, and attract them to your website, rather than to distract people already on the site and interested in purchasing from the product and service pages that are, hopefully, constructed and written in a way that encourages conversion
 
Please note that these are simply some general ideas, SEO Target Pages can be used in many ways, and writing them properly can be quite intricate. If done well, they play a big role in adding more quality content to your website.

You may also enjoy: Why you need to add more quality content to your company website – and keep on adding it

Need Help?

If you need help with creating SEO Target Pages, Product and Service pages, or any other aspect of expanding your business’s online presence and content marketing program, contact me to discuss your content needs.
 
I am a full-time, freelance copywriter and website content writer. I am based in Durban (South Africa), but supply high-quality content to clients all over the country, and internationally as required.

Picture
Darrell Cuthbert (a.k.a. Darrell the WordTiffie)

+27 72 225 8074

​darrell@wordtiffie.co.za

​

Comments

Why you need to add more quality content to your company website – and keep on adding it

14/5/2018

Comments

 
By: Darrell Cuthbert
Search engines, like Google, are always on the lookout for fresh, original, relevant, useful content. Give them what they want, and they will reward you with better rankings and more traffic
Search engines, like the mighty Google, are always on the lookout for fresh, original content that is relevant and useful to your target audience (website visitors, leads, customers), engaging, and well-written.
Give the search engines what they want, and they will reward you with what you want:
 
  • Better search-engine ranking positions (SERPs) – i.e. on which page, and how far down the page, your website pages appear
 
  • More traffic to your website. More traffic = more people looking for the products or services you offer. More website visitors = more potential leads/prospects, that you can convert into customers
 
Improve Your Content
 
Some of the ways you can improve the amount and quality of the content on your website are.
 
  • Rewrite, and expand where appropriate, the content on your website’s exiting static pages (home, about, products/services/offering etc.). Focus on the needs/problems of your customers and how you can solve them rather than being too salesy. Tell the story of your product, brand and business. (If you are starting up a new website, have your initial content professionally written)
 
  • Add extra, detailed product and services pages, e.g. one per product or product line, grouped together under category pages if required
 
  • Create a series of off-menu SEO target pages to “hook” people searching the internet and send them to your website. (Click Here to find out more about what these pages are and how they work)
 
  • Add more posts to your company blog, especially those that contain non-promotional, useful content. If you don’t have a company blog, start one ASAP. Regularly publishing new blog posts is one of the best ways to keep your business’s website fresh and growing. Over time, this will do wonders for the value of your website, from a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) perspective, and in terms of making your website more useful and valuable to website visitors/potential customers​

You may also enjoy:What are SEO Target Pages and how can they be used to increase Website Traffic and Sales Conversions?

Need Help?
 
If you need help with expanding your business’s online presence via a content marketing program, contact me to discuss your content needs.
 
I am a full-time, freelance copywriter and website content writer. I am based in Durban (South Africa), but supply high quality content to clients all over the country, and internationally as required.

Picture
Darrell Cuthbert (a.k.a. Darrell the WordTiffie)

+27 72 225 8074

​darrell@wordtiffie.co.za


Comments

Make Your Content Work This Holiday Season

1/12/2017

Comments

 
By Darrell Cuthbert
Make Your Content Work This Holiday Season
So, we have reached that time of year again when many businesses scale down their activities and staff start taking leave and going away on holiday.
 
At the same time, this is also one of the peak shopping times of the year, so there is still plenty of activity in some sectors of the B2C, retail and related industries. 

​However, many back-office functions and B2B operations come to a virtual standstill at this time of year. This does not mean, though, that your website and social media channels should do likewise.
 
A lot of consumers have more time on their hands than usual, either because they are on vacation or just because things are quiet at work – and for a lot of people that means more time spent online.
 
Aside from consumers, many business owners and managers use the Christmas and New Year holiday season to strategize and think about the year ahead, and this often includes internet searches to see what the competition is up to industry news, and to find information about products and services that the business can make use of to operate more efficiently in 2018.
 
But what if your company website, blog, and social media channels all observe complete radio-silence from mid-December to mid-January? 
 
This type of gap where nothing new is posted can really cause your content marketing program to lose momentum – and lead to customers and potential customers losing interest and moving on to other sites and pages, including those of your competitors.
 
However, keeping a website, blog, and social media accounts up to date seems an impossible task in many businesses, with employees starting to go on leave.
 
Two simple strategies can help though:


  1. Plan Ahead
  2. Automate Content distribution 
 
If this sounds complicated, it really isn’t.
 
Plan Ahead


  • Think about subjects and themes that are topical at this time of year, and an angle that opens up the door for you to link your product or service offering to the subject or theme (in a natural, subtle way – not a spammy, hard-sell, in-your-face way).
 
  • Write a couple of blog posts/articles for your company website using the above
 
  • Write a series of social media posts on the same theme as the blog articles (varying lengths and styles for use on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ etc.), using the articles as inspiration and source material
 
  • Put together some more social media posts that are non-promotional, but also topical where possible (e.g. fun facts about the season, interesting information about general industry trends, comment on relevant third party articles or other material spotted online (Google alerts are a great way to keep in touch with this and find topic ideas).
 
 
Automate Content Distribution


  • Pre-schedule blog posts to go out on relevant dates, assuming your content management system (CMS) allows for this. If it doesn’t, you can either:
    • Save the posts as drafts and diarise the correct publication date. It should only take a minute or two for you, or a staff member) to log in on the relevant day and release the post
    • Publish all the posts before going away, and possibly forward-date some of them manually if your CMS allows for this (it’s a bit of a con as the post will appear online with a date a few days, or weeks, ahead of time – but generally very few people check blog post dates, so it will probably go unnoticed)
 
  • Use a service like Hootsuite or Buffer to pre-schedule social media posts (I use Hootsuite, but that’s a matter of personal preference. I have friends and colleagues that are die-hard Buffer fans, use whichever works best for you)
 
  • Link social media posts to your blog posts or the third-party content you are referring to as relevant.
 
By taking the actions suggested above, you can make sure that your company website and social media accounts keep working right throughout the holiday season – even if there is nobody in the office.
​

© D Cuthbert 2017

​Are you struggling with keeping your company blog updated, or maybe you want to start a business blog, but have no idea where to get quality content to post?
 
A large portion of the work I do consists of ghost writing blog and social media posts for businesses of all sizes, and in diverse industries.
 
Contact me now to discuss your blog and social media content requirements.
Comments

57 Reasons why blogging weekly will increase your company website’s exposure online    

11/11/2016

Comments

 
​By Darrell Cuthbert
57 Reasons why blogging weekly will increase your company website’s exposure online
Search engines, like the mighty Google, use a variety of signals to “score” each website page found online. This score will determine where in the results a website page will appear when a user searches for a particular keyword or key phrase.
Google, Bing, Yahoo and other commonly-used search engines, cache, index and rank URLs*/web pages individually. Although each website has an overall score, the individual score of a page has a big influence on where it will appear in the rankings. As a result, some pages on a website may appear high in the rankings and others much lower down (or even not be ranked at all).
 
*(Universal Resource Locator – often also called the “website address”, e.g. http://www.yourcompanyname.co.za).
 
Many businesses, especially SMEs, have websites that consist of relatively few pages, for example:

  • Home (www.yourcompanyname.co.za)
  • Products and Services (www.yourcompanyname.co.za/products_and_services)
  • About (www.yourcompanyname.co.za/about_us)
  • Contact (www.yourcompanyname.co.za/contact_us)
 
This gives search engines only four URLs to find, cache, index and rank.
 
Having more URLs would give the search engines more to work with, but creating large amounts of static pages can be very time consuming and can clutter up the site navigation menu, making the site hard to use and possibly slowing down page load times.
 
So, what is the solution?
 
One of the simplest and most effective ways to add content-rich pages to a company website is via a built-in blog, or even multiple blogs. In many cases, these are simply labelled “blog”, but alternative names can also be used (and often are), e.g.:

  • Latest News
  • Updates
  • Articles
 
Just because it’s not called a blog, doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t.
 
So, let’s assume a blog is added to the site – this automatically adds one more indexable URL, i.e. www.yourcompanyname.co.za/blog (or /news /articles, etc.).
 
Now we are up to five URLs.
 
Don’t stop there though. It’s time to add content to the blog. Original, useful, relevant information is best for blog posts.
 
I won’t go into what makes a good blog post or the benefits it can bring to your business here, that is covered elsewhere on this blog. For now we will stick to the impact of creating extra URLs.
 
If you blog weekly (the frequency I usually recommend to clients), after one year you will have 52 posts, all with great content for site visitors to read, enjoy and be informed by, and 52 new URLs for Google, and other search engines, to discover, analyse and add to their listings.
 
Assuming the quality of the information and writing is good enough, the bulk of these posts should rank well for their chosen target keywords, and hopefully for secondary keywords as well.
 
Now we have the original static page URLs, the blog header page, and a year’s worth of well-written blog posts;
 
4+1+52=57
 
57 Indexable URLs, all backed up by great content, properly placed and used keywords, and tight, well-written meta information.
 
Which do you think will help your company website more online exposure, 4 pages of indexed, ranked content, or 57?
 
 
Added Benefits
 
Not only does adding 52 blog posts in a year give your business website a better chance of ranking well, it also gives you 52 pieces of content to share on social media sites and to bookmark. This allows you to create a multitude of backlinks that point back at your company site – essentially forming a net to “catch” site visitors, and turn them into prospects and customers.
 
How that works, though, is a subject for another article on this blog – keep your eyes open for it.  

​Are you struggling with keeping your company blog updated, or maybe you want to start a business blog, but have no idea where to get quality content to post?
 
A large portion of the work I do consists of ghost writing blog posts for businesses of all sizes, and in diverse industries.
 
Contact me now to discuss your blog content requirements.
Comments

15 Common Grammar Mistakes People Make Online

3/11/2015

Comments

 
By Darrell Cuthbert

Grammar mistakes, along with syntax, diction and spelling errors, have probably been around as long as there has been written language. It seems, though, that the rise of the internet has made the problem worse.

Maybe this is because less care is taken with writing destined to be displayed on a website page or used as a social media post than if the intention was to print it. Or possibly it is simply a case of people writing for the web that would not have generally been published in the past.

Either way, making basic language usage mistakes in your online content immediately brands you as an amateur writer and makes readers (potential customers) wonder about your lack of attention to detail in other areas.

If you write for the web, or any other medium, do your best to make sure that every piece of content you produce is well-written and as free of errors as possible.

This great infographic from Copyblogger explains 15 of the most common grammar mistakes people make when writing for the web.

Have you spotted any of these grammar mistakes lately, or maybe even made some of them yourself?
15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly
Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.
​© D Cuthbert 2015
Your/You’re, It’s/Its, There/Their/They’re, Affect/Effect, Then/Than, Loose/Lose, Me/Myself/I, Improper use of the Apostrophe, Could of, Would of, Should of, Complement/compliment, Fewer / Less, Historic / Historical, Principal / Principle, Literally, The Dangling Participle
Comments

Using Content Marketing to Grow Your Customer Base in 2015

27/1/2015

Comments

 
By Darrell Cuthbert

Schools have re-opened, most people are back from leave, and the holiday season in South Africa is well and truly over.

Once the excitement and busyness of Christmas and New Year celebrations have come to an end, many people start thinking about their plans and goals for the year ahead. This is especially true of business owners and operators.

No matter what the detailed plans and goals are for the individual company, it is a fairly safe bet that an increase in business, and therefore profits, will feature prominently. The key to increasing business revenue is customers.

This could mean:
  • Attracting new leads and customers
  • Generating more revenue from existing customers, or
  • Both of the above

In the current business environment it is essential that every business informs and engages with its current and potential customers (leads). Many people out there are tired of simply being bombarded with marketing messages and sales pitches.

We live in an information age and most business people, and an ever-growing number of consumers and end-users, have access to enough technology for them to do their own research into a product and find information – good or bad.

It is important that every business ensures that information is freely available for customers. If your business is nowhere to be found online and your competitor’s is, you could be losing potential sales all the time, even though your product or service is actually superior to that of the competition.

A well-planned and executed Content Marketing Strategy is vital for every company, irrespective of size or industry, if it wants to attract more business.

There are two basic elements to the typical business content marketing strategy:
  • The actual content (type, style, format etc.)
  • The way the content is distributed and shared

Examples of Types of Content
  • Company Blog Posts; informative, educational or entertaining. Not simply a disguised sales pitch, but rather written in a storytelling style and with the motive of giving the reader useful, valuable information. How-to, tips and tricks, and “insider information” posts are always popular. Interpreting and commenting on industry developments in layman’s terms is also a great way to build trust and make yourself indispensable to current or potential customers.
  • Static Web Pages; providing more information about your product or service. These should be written in a conversational yet informative style. Relevant keywords and search terms should be worked into the text in such a way that they each appear 2 to 3 times per page. Ensure that the content is well written, accurate and interesting, not simply fluff writing strung around a couple of keywords.
  • Case Studies; real world examples of how your product or service solved a problem for one of your customers. These should be written in a report style and, while it is acceptable to mention the product/service and its application, should not be overly promotional.
  • Press Releases; notifying print and online media about newsworthy events and developments within your business or general industry. Press releases must be written in a generally accepted format, be non-promotional and can be submitted to traditional channels like newspapers (national, regional or local/community based), or to online press release websites. The better of these charge for the service, but there are also some that are free.
  • Social Media Posts, which can be:
         - Teaser comments with attached links to your company blog/website to drive traffic.
         - Shared photos/videos showcasing a particular product or service you offer.
         - Standalone posts intended to stimulate discussion or engagement between your                   business and customers, or customer to customer interaction.

Note: When representing your business on Social Media, it is important to get the balance between friendly engagement, information-sharing, and marketing activity right. Typically, social media users have a low tolerance for companies that only use social media channels as a way to bombard people with sales pitches.

Some Ways to Distribute Content
  • Share on Social Media Channels (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Google+); teaser comment with links to the original piece on your blog or website. Intersperse these posts with non-promotional comments or questions.
  • Share on Social Bookmarking Sites (e.g. Reddit, Stumbleupon, Digg, Delicious). For maximum impact you should share and comment on information from other people or businesses as well as sharing your own material.
  • Create a company board on Pinterest and share interesting, impactful photos; both of your own products and related items that are relevant and interest you. Remember to include a brief but well-written description (important for both users and search engines), and a clickable link back to your company website or blog.
  • Start discussions on LinkedIn that are of interest to customers or other players in your industry. Pick topics that are likely to provoke strong views and link to a relevant article on your website/blog if possible.

© D Cuthbert 2015

Darrell Cuthbert - WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content
Does your business have Copywriting and Web Content needs that you would like to outsource?

Contact Me now to discuss your requirements and how I can help you. 



I am based in Durban, South Africa but write for clients in many countries.


Comments

The History of Content Marketing and its Impact on South African Business

26/2/2014

Comments

 
By Darrell Cuthbert

This nicely put together infographic from the team at curata briefly describes the process, and some of the milestones along the way, that modern marketing has followed in its evolution from the internet bubble of the late 90’s and the subsequent dotcom crash to the current obsession with content marketing.

I was especially interested in two things:


1. The statement that 71% of marketers are increasing content marketing spending. 
I have also seen similar claims recently from other sources. Although the exact percentage differs according to who conducted the research, how and where, the overall message remains the same – the marketing community is placing more and more emphasis on content marketing.

Savvy business people need to realise the importance of this trend and find innovative ways to share valuable content with their customer base. This can be a challenge, especially for smaller South African companies that don’t have a marketing agency or in-house marketing team

2. The section titled Content Overload that states “content marketing trend increases, resulting in too much content.” 

Let me say upfront that I love the concept content marketing because it seeks to gain customer trust with useful information rather than simply advertising and delivering a sales pitch at every opportunity. I both agree and disagree with the statement in the infographic though. I don’t believe there is too much content out there, that would be like saying customers are too well informed. Instead I would say that there is too much low-quality content out there.

However, the increasing popularity of the term Content Marketing has unfortunately led many well-intentioned but misinformed small and medium sized business owners in South Africa to believe that content marketing simply consists of: 

  • Copying and pasting (duplicate) material from other sites, for example those of suppliers, onto their own
  • Sending out blog posts or newsletters that consist of nothing more than pure promotional material
  • Buying badly-written articles at $5 each from content farms that make use of unskilled writers, many of whom are not even fluent in English and lack passion, expertise and experience related to the language
  • Delegating content creation and strategy to a junior staff member, who sees it as just another task and lacks both the business and writing skills and experience to do it properly

Creating high quality, relevant, engaging and original content targeted at your business’s customers and potential customers requires a passion for words and writing expertise coupled with knowledge of SEO (search engine optimisation) and marketing principles and a thorough understanding of South Africa business practice.

This is a task best performed by a specialist web content writer with both copywriting and business experience. If your business does not have or require a full-time content writer then outsourcing is the ideal solution.  

The History of Content Marketing and its Impact on South African Business
Infographic source: http://www.curata.com/blog/content-marketing-history-infographic/

WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

Get in Touch now to discuss your content and copywriting requirements

 


Comments

Content Marketing, the Sport Shop and the Men’s Room - Why the Little Things Matter        

20/2/2014

Comments

 
By Darrell Cuthbert
Content Marketing, the Sport Shop and the Men’s Room - Why the Little Things Matterhttp://freevectordownloadz.com/
A few days ago I needed to go The Pavillion (a local mall) to do some shopping. While I was there I noticed that the payment counters at a sports clothing and equipment shop (Mr Price Sport) had been changed since I was last there, or maybe they were like that all along and I didn't remember.

The counters include a shelf in front of and below the main surface – ideal for placing packets containing other purchases and, I assume, handbags. I had three other packets in my hands and I was reminded of all the times I had struggled with shopping bags while trying to deal with my wallet, cash, card, change and receipts.

The counter design may seem like a small thing but I walked away feeling more relaxed and organised than from all the other shops I visited that day. I would not choose to shop at this particular store based on the counter design only, I go there because I think the quality of the merchandise is generally good and the prices reasonable, but it is a nice added touch.

What does any of this have to do with Content Marketing?

Sometimes the little things count and become a differentiating factor. As an already loyal customer the convenience factor helped remind me that I had made the right choice of where to shop. There are other stores selling sporting goods and clothing in the area but I don’t like their layout and the way they make me feel when I walk in.

Likewise with content marketing. Your business may offer products or services to the buying public that are in many ways similar to those of competitors. One way to differentiate your offering is by the way you tell the story of your brand or company. This includes generating content and sharing it with your target audience. But don’t forget – the little things matter.

A piece of content that is well written, relevant, engaging, original and written in the appropriate tone for the audience will connect with your customer base and make them feel comfortable about doing business with you.

The Flip-Side

On the contrary, a poorly-written piece of copy containing spelling and grammar errors that is written in the incorrect tone and style and fails to make an emotional connection will be more likely to irritate potential customers and subconsciously lead to a lack of trust.

Another quick illustration from my mall visit – inside the men’s bathrooms there are aluminium frames on the walls that contain small advertising posters for a variety of businesses. As I am always interested in how businesses use written content in their advertising I read all of them.

One in particular stood out – but not in a good way. The very first word in the copy contained an obvious grammatical error. I didn’t read any further. No doubt the company concerned had spent a fair amount of money on having this advertisement designed, printed and displayed in one of the largest malls in Durban. To have all of that effort and expense tarnished by an incorrectly placed apostrophe is both unfortunate and entirely preventable.

Once again this shows how the little things matter.

Put Your Money Where it Matters

If you are a business owner please pay special attention to the quality of the content you are using for marketing purposes. Spending a lot of money on design, printing and placement is foolish if the content can’t deliver what the design promises. Invest some money into good quality copy and the impact of the message will be greatly increased.



© D Cuthbert 2014


WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

Go to Home Page

Get in Touch


Comments

Is Content Marketing Slowly Replacing Creative Advertising?

13/2/2014

Comments

 
By Darrell Cuthbert

Content Marketing vs One Way Marketing
Content Marketing – mention this term in most countries and business environments and you will generally get mixed reactions; ranging from rabid enthusiasm (content marketers and writers) to rolled eyeballs and dismissive gestures (traditional marketers), to looks of confusion (business owners that don’t really understand what it is), and varying combinations of all three.

Whether you love it, hate it, or don’t understand it – the reality is content marketing is here to stay. Many large and well-known international brands have embraced it and allocated substantial resources and budgets to doing it right. 

Utilisation of content marketing is not restricted to international brands though. South African companies are slowly but steadily also venturing into this space.

Are the Ponytails Doomed to Extinction?

It is unlikely that content marketing will ever completely replace creative advertising. However more and more brands and companies are moving away from their total reliance on traditional marketing methods and investing varying amounts of effort, time and money into participating in and mastering content marketing.

The marketing and advertising landscape is rapidly changing, driven largely by the widespread adoption of the internet, the popularity of social media channels and the ease which with content can be viewed, commented on and shared by users (customers).

Smart marketers will find a way to blend traditional and content marketing techniques into a single, highly-effective promotional strategy.

Size Doesn't Matter

In order to stay relevant and connect with a younger generation of tech-savvy customers and potential customers all South African businesses, large and small, need to have a content marketing program in place.

One of the advantages of content marketing is that it is accessible to businesses of all sizes and types, from large multinationals with a South African branch office or subsidiary, to small and medium sized enterprises.

Sharing fresh, relevant, original content is an excellent way for any business in South Africa to increase their engagement with and boost the loyalty of existing customers as well as increase the company’s exposure and profile.

This results in more leads, customers and sales.

 
© D Cuthbert 2014

Not sure how to get started with content marketing or need material researched and written for your existing program – Contact me

WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

Go to Home Page

Get in Touch


Comments

How Content Marketing Affects Search Engine Rankings for South African Businesses

7/2/2014

Comments

 
Most big businesses in South Africa have a company website and practice content marketing in one form or another.

In addition more and more local small and medium sized businesses are setting up websites and participating in the online world. However, not all owners of SMEs in South Africa realise the power of a properly planned and executed content marketing program and the impact it can have on their business.

All business owners want more traffic to their website as this is a powerful way to attract potential customers and increase the business’s engagement with existing customers.

Creating and sharing well-written, interesting, relevant content that informs and educates customers is the most efficient and sustainable way to increase a business’s search engine rankings and draw traffic to a company website.

The infographic below (courtesy of Quicksprout) cites some interesting statistics, including:

  • 61% of consumers feel better about a company that has a blog
  • Companies with active blogs receive 97% more leads
  • 90% of consumers find detailed content useful
  • 50% of consumers say content marketing has a positive impact on purchasing decisions
  • 86% of B2C (business to customer) marketers use content marketing
  • 62% of companies outsource their content marketing

If your business does not already have a company blog it is important to set one up as soon as possible and fill it with useful content – ideally by posting informative articles and other material on a weekly basis.

Content marketing works for companies of all sizes and in all industries but is especially powerful as a growth tool for South African small and medium sized businesses.




By Darrell Cuthbert
How Content Marketing Affects Search Engine Rankings

WordTiffie Copywriting and Web Content is a commercial writing business focused on providing high-quality written material to small and medium sized businesses.

WordTiffie is based in Durban, South Africa, and is owned and operated by Darrell Cuthbert – South African writer, blogger and online marketer.

Get in Touch now to discuss your content and copywriting requirements

Comments

    Blog

    Categories

    All
    Business Blogging
    Content Marketing
    Copy/Content Writing


    Subscribe to my mailing list

    * indicates required

    RSS Feed

    Services
    Samples
    About


    View my profile on LinkedIn


Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.