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| Marnie Hughes - writes words that sell |
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Communication Artistry is a marketing communications company specializing in writing, project management and search engine optimization. Marnie Hughes is a professional writer with over 20 years experience in business and communications. Her specialty is writing for marketing, web and search engine optimization. Andrea Dubravsky: "Marnie, I hear you are planning a trip to Haiti as part of a volunteer team for Healing Hands for Haiti." I've been working for Healing Hands for Haiti as marketing coordinator for almost a year and prior to that I had volunteered in the development of a number of marketing communication items such as the website, newsletter and print brochures. Two months before the earthquake I was able to attend their International Summit meeting in Toronto where I had the good fortune of meeting several members of the Haitian Board as well as some of Healing Hands for Haiti founders. Their energy and commitment to the disabled people of Haiti is so tangible that I was drawn in and continue to want to do more. The work they have done in the last 12 years is recognized and applauded internationally. With almost 9% of the Haitian population being disabled, they are making a significant difference in the lives of so many. My tasks while in Haiti will include gathering information and pictures so that I can continue to draw attention to this organization through communication and raising awareness. I'm using my own website as a fundraising tool for anyone interested in supporting this trip. Andrea Dubravsky: Marnie, you are well known in the Halton Hills business community for your writing skills. Does your ability to write come naturally or is it years of hard work and studying? Marnie Hughes: Writing is a passion that stems back to my childhood. If I didn’t have something to read in my hand, I had a pen and paper. I went on to study communications in college and have become proficient in my craft through years of practice. Writing is a skill that improves with practice so something I’ve written in the past year will look very different from what was written 10 years ago. I’m also committed to continuously improving my skills through extensive reading, research and writing in genres that are new or unfamiliar to me. Andrea Dubravsky: What made you decide to start your own copywriting business? Marnie Hughes: Working from home was the best option for me after the arrival of my second child. With the technology available there was really no limit to what I could do. I took correspondence courses in children’s literature. The ‘switch’ went off for me after reading ‘The Well-Fed Writer’ by Peter Bowerman. His easy, conversational style and detailed instruction on how to be a freelance copywriter made sense to me and was something I felt I could do. I went on to read and research more on the subject then just decided to start a business. Andrea Dubravsky: You are a mother of three, a business owner and a martial arts enthusiast. How does karate fit into your busy life and work? Marnie Hughes: I have been doing karate for over 6 years and am approaching my black belt. There have been pauses in my training due to various life events, but I have always come back to it. Finding a dojo that suited my personality and philosophy was critical to keep me coming back. I have found that with Rampulla’s Martial Arts. The instructors and atmosphere are so welcoming and everyone is very good-natured. Karate is not only a physical art, but it’s a philosophy and lifestyle. I love it! Andrea Dubravsky: Marnie, what is web copy writing and why should businesses consider hiring a copywriter to write their website content? Marnie Hughes: Writing for the web is very different than writing for print. People are always in a hurry and are so accustomed to getting an instant response to every request, particularly on the Internet, that they aren’t willing to sit for long periods of time reading through huge blocks of text. The exception to this would be for those who are doing research and want to learn a lot about their topic from one source. Typically, people read in an ‘F’ formation – across the top, down the left, then from left to right from top of page to bottom. So it would make sense that the most important message you want them to get should be across the top or along the left. That’s why this is where most navigation is located. Breaking up the text into ‘chunks’ make it easier for the readers eye to wander across the page, but still take in all the information. Each ‘chuck’ should be a distinct message and be to the point. There is no room for lots of flowery language. You don’t know how someone will arrive on your site. They don’t always arrive via the home page. Each page must stand on it’s own merits. Every page must have well-crafted copy, appropriate keywords and a call to action. Andrea Dubravsky: What is the biggest mistake you see in other people’s web copy? Marnie Hughes: Lots of websites are focused on selling a product or service. Many spend too much time talking about how great they are that they forget to make the benefits clear to the reader. If they replace the attitude to be one of ‘what can I give to my readers’, they would be much farther ahead. Writing from the perspective of trying to help just one person will help get you on the right track. Andrea Dubravsky: You write for marketing, white papers, and web and SEO. What is the best client result you have seen from your copy writing efforts? Do you have a great story you could share? Marnie Hughes: I don’t know that I have a ‘great’ story to tell, but I have several small successes that have inspired me. One client had a small technology firm and wanted to see what kind of attention he could get with the website alone – no other media or advertising. In just three months this small, 10 page site went to #1 in Google for our chosen keywords. That was with virtually no off-site SEO efforts. It was based totally on keywords. Andrea Dubravsky: I know that you are often hired to write content for fields that you do not work in, without getting much information to start. How do you do that? Marnie Hughes: I’m naturally curious, so learning about a new industry or topic is very interesting to me. When I haven’t received much information I’ll go online and to the library to see what I can learn. I interview the client to get as much information I can about the subject and who the target audience is and try to craft the piece to speak directly to them. Most often I’ll write a lot of stuff about the topic and then edit it down to fit the needs of the project. Andrea Dubravsky: How does writing copy for the web relate to search engine optimization? Are you optimizing the web site when you write copy? Marnie Hughes: Search engine optimization is always on my mind when preparing copy. One of the first things I do is keyword research to determine what the best keywords would be for the project. The client often has some to offer, but usually benefits from the list I provide. This also helps if we’re writing copy for several pages as we want each page to stand alone so a different set of keywords would be incorporated into each page. I also make several recommendations about formatting and anchor text within the copy. SEO is much more than the writing on the page and I make sure the client is aware of that. Good writing is a terrific start, but it’s one component of an overall strategy that is ongoing over the life of the site.
Andrea Dubravsky: As an owner of AD Webdesign I know that a well written website copy and a properly structured web system is the key to high rankings in the search results. To learn more about services offered by Communication Artistry, check out www.communicationartistry.ca
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