An Interview with Simon Rose – Author and Copywriter Part Three
What’s the difference between good and badly written web copy?
Don’t use meaningless phrase like ‘state of the art’, ‘second to none’ or ‘visit us for all your (insert industry sector here) needs’. A good copywriter will ensure that your site is free of things like this, which appear all too often online. They will include the best online search keywords in order to match your company, market segment, products and services to those customers on the web who match them. The World wide Web is a vast marketplace, crammed with almost unimaginable opportunity, but no one is going to find you by accident. You need to show them the way and the good copywriter will help you to do that, every time. You may also be too close to your product to see what its benefits are. A professional copywriter will help you communicate them effectively and help you build lasting relationships with your customers. People also don’t actually read web copy, but rather scan it very quickly. Consequently, it is vital that you get their attention and hold it. Although you need to include as much information about your company as you can to entice the reader, you also have to make the copy easy to read. Killer headlines and text broken up into manageable chunks will make your web pages easy on the eye. In the online world, less is nearly always more.
Is writing for brochures different to the web?
You can’t simply put your brochures online, because writing for the Internet is very different than in traditional printed materials. On the web, you only have seconds to grab and hold someone’s attention, since people typically only scan pages quickly. However, your site must also provide all the relevant information, yet not get bogged down with too many details. Well-written text can also help improve your ranking with search engines and could make all the difference between success and failure. Potential clients will also appreciate being able to locate what they are looking for quickly and easily, which translates into good customer service.
What else can you tell us about yourself?
I offer a wide range of presentations, workshops, and author-in-residence programs for schools and libraries, which you can learn more about here and I offer study guides for all the books. I also conduct virtual author visits via video using the Skype network, and you can get some idea of how it works from my videos on YouTube. I also offer workshops for adults, both in person and online, as well as online workshops for children, which are proving very popular. I do a lot of work in summer camps each year, some of which you can learn about here. In addition, I work as a writing instructor with home school children, the Calgary Board of Education’s continuing education program, the University and am also an instructor with the National Writing for Children Centre.
Connect with me on my website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or visit my channel on YouTube.