Frequently Asked Questions
- What is copy writing?
- What will effective copy do for my business?
- What's the best-kept secret of the most successful small businesses?
- How do you create a web site that sells?
- What kind of copy works now?
- How exactly does an effective web site work?
- What kinds of projects do you handle?
- What's this going to cost?
- Do you provide search engine optimization (SEO) or web site programming or graphic design services?
- How do we get started?
- Who owns what you write?
What is copy writing?
Copy writing is salesmanship in print. It is a blend of disciplines: anthropology, business and psychology, with language, of course, being the medium.
Its primary purpose is to sell. Its primary quality is impact.
Copy connects with your prospect, tells your branding story, pre-sells your product or service, makes your offer and closes the sale in a way that paves the way for future business.
The best copy out-classes, out-performs, out-sells and out-does the competition. It makes you THE SOURCE for your customers and clients.
What will effective copy do for my business?
Effective copy makes a visit to your web site a memorable and rewarding experience for the reader. It works directly and indirectly to promote your business and make sales.
Web copy engages your readers. It takes them by the hand, leads them through your garden of delights and brings them to your offer eager to buy.
What's the best-kept secret of most
successful small businesses?
The most successful businesses look at advertising and marketing as an investment rather than as an expense.
They understand that the soul of the best business building effort is THE BIG PROMISE.
How do you create a web site that sells?
A web site that sells works on many levels: linguistically, mentally, graphically and psychologically. So, it is built with those elements: language, information, persuasion, color, design, navigation and so forth.
A web site that sells is compelling. It shows them that you know who they are, you know what they want, you have the best offering of all, and they can get their hands on it immediately.
What kind of copy works now?
Effective copy must produce sales-advancing action in the least time possible. The best copy is often a blend of timeless persuasion principles in cutting-edge formats.
Here's what works now:
- Relevance
- Demonstrations
- Comparisons
- Testimonials
- Differentiations
Simply stated, copy is the most sophisticated and precise sales tool available. It is affordable, effective, accountable and it can be tested and tweaked into peak performance.
How exactly does an effective web site
work? Is it subliminal?
Effective web copy engages the reader enough that he or she moves through the site to the offer and buys or decides to come back later. Good copy has staying power, but it is not subliminal.
The principles I employ have been carefully researched and tested. Every word, phrase, image and idea has a good reason for being there.
Over time, good copy will have a stronger effect; different parts of it may capture the reader’s attention at different times. It may even seem to change with repeated readings.
Good copy is written to fulfill the reader’s quest and earn their trust. When it does its job, it makes the sale.
What kinds of projects do you handle?
Mostly, I write for the web: web pages, web sites, e-mail campaigns, short form ads, articles, press releases and so forth.
Over the last 17 years, I've written for:
- Computer users
- Students
- Teachers
- Consultants
- Entrepreneurs
- Sales professionals
- Art collectors
- Do-It-Yourselfers
- Investors
- Homeowners
- Legislators
I also work on proprietary projects such as private newsletters, reports, web sites and ghostwritten books.
What's this going to cost?
Every project is unique. The following list is meant to serve as a guideline for estimating purposes.
These rates are for regular (non-Home) pages of up to 300 words per page.
| Copy Writing | 97- |
| Copy Editing | 49- |
The Home page is all important and I place great emphasis on it. The rates for Home page copy writing and copy editing are 249 and 149, respectively.
These rates are per item.
| Banner Ads | 97- |
| Email Campaigns | 197- |
| Headlines, Taglines | 297- |
| Site Naming | 397- |
These rates are per unit of time.
| Retainer | 49-/month |
| Consulting | 75/hour |
Do you provide search engine optimization
(SEO) or web site programming or graphic
design?
No, but I can point you to reliable professionals for those important services.
The bad news is that all of those services are indispensable for an effective online presence.
The good news is that in the meantime, there are other things that we can do to build your online presence.
How do we get started?
The best way to reach me is at jan@thatgoldenegg.com
Who owns what you write?
Once the terms of our agreement have been fulfilled, all of the copy that you've approved and paid for belongs to you. And your use of it is unlimited.