In today’s day and age there are a lot of people who are looking for an easy way out; a way to buck the system. And even though there are some areas in life where this is possible, when it comes to web content you do not want to take any shortcuts.

If you are in need of content for your website or blog, you have two options available to you.

1. You can visit a copywriting service website and take advantage of their ghostwriting services. Even though you may have to shell out a bit of money, you will still be getting 100% original, quality content.

2. You can rely on private label rights (plr) articles. There are several sites that offer these types of articles for a monthly fee. The way that they work is quite simple. Every month for a set membership fee you will receive a certain number of articles. This may sound like a good deal, but do you know all of the details? To join one of these sites you will have to pay a monthly fee of up to $100 for some sites; still this may not seem bad compared to hiring a copywriting service. But with plr articles, you will also be sharing them with hundreds of other people. That’s right; you will not be the only one who uses the article.

If you cannot tell by now, each service offers its own level of benefits. But for the majority of people, hiring a copywriting service is the way to go. Listed below are a few ways that a copywriting service is better than a plr service.

1. When you deal with a copywriting service you will be getting 100% original articles that you and you alone will have the sole rights to. This means that nobody else has permission to use the articles. On the other hand, with plr articles you have to share with hundreds of other people. Sure, you may get a lower price but is it worth it? If you get caught using duplicate content on your site you will be penalized and your site may even be shut down. Search engines are aware of this problem, and are cracking down on it very hard.

2. With a copywriting service you will get articles that are written to suit your needs. If you want 10 articles on home based business you can get them. In addition, you can even specify the length and keyword density. But when you work with a plr site you get what they send, and only what they send. If none of the articles suit your needs you are stuck with content that is worth next to nothing.

3. A copywriting service gives you what you want, when you want it. If you need a certain amount of articles on a specific topic within two days you can get it with a copywriting service. At a plr site, you get what they write and they send it when they want. So even though you will save money, what are the chances that you will ever get exactly what you want, when you want it? The answer is slim to none.

As you can see, a copywriting service is almost always better than a membership to a PLR site. If you are in need of original, targeted, quality content seek out a copywriting service that you can rely on.

Copyright 2006 John Thornhill

Having a perfect title, a great auction template, a good price and a well-conceived plan regarding how to handle inquiries and effectuate sales sounds like a recipe for success for any eBay eBook seller. However, there is one component missing. In order to really make one’s sales numbers jump, there is a need for copywriting talent.

Copywriting refers to the writing of sales copy. In the case of eBay sellers, this involves all of the information provided in your auction. This is what potential customers see and read when making their decision on an eBook. In many cases, they can choose to buy that product from a variety of vendors. Why should they choose you? In some cases, they may not be sure the eBook in question is exactly what they want. Why should they buy that eBook? Often, buyers have heard about scams and raw deals in the eBook field. Why should they trust you?

Good copywriting answers those questions for the prospect. It sets them at ease, sells them the product and closes the deal. A seller with a perfect system, the greatest eBook ever and a low price will still find sales difficult without good copywriting within the auction.

How does one develop good copywriting skills? Unfortunately, the answer does not involve a quick or easy solution. Practice and training are usually the source of the best copywriting.

This does not mean that the average eBook seller is out of luck, however. Remember, most of the competition is unskilled at copywriting, making any gain in knowledge on the subject beneficial. Additionally, there are a variety of guides, hints and tips freely available online for those who are interested in improving their copywriting skills.

Don’t expect to master copywriting overnight, however. The process of writing effective ad copy involves writing skills along with an understanding of persuasion and the consumer psychology. What may appear to be simple is actually deceptively complex.

For those who are serious about the eBook selling business, hiring a freelance copywriter may be a great idea. Some successful eBook sellers employ copywriters for virtually every project. Others rely on their expert assistance only a few times in order to get a good idea of how to write sales copy that produces results.

Good sales copy can be the difference between a rousing success and a horrifying failure. Too often, we convince ourselves that our education or life experience qualify us to write our advertising copy. We frequently don’t even realize just how much room for improvement exists in our own stabs at copywriting. This oversight is one of the mistakes an eBook seller can make. As the marketplace begins to crowd, finding ways to improve the performance of an auction becomes essential. One of the best ways to help is by making sure your auction features the kind of copywriting that truly leads people to make purchases.

In part 1 of this series (seen here: http://www.marketingwords.com/articles/articles_subtlechanges.html), we were introduced to Kneelsit.com, an Australian manufacturer of ergonomic computer chairs who was in search of a high conversion rate. After spotting several trouble areas within Kneelsit’s original copy (viewable here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/kneelsit-home-original.html), I set out to rewrite the home page with specific goals in mind.

The Rewrite

I really felt for the users of these chairs. They had back problems and medical issues, trying desperately to find relief. I can only imagine how it must feel to sit in pain all day, every day. And, after seeing so many false claims for other chairs, I could understand how they might be skeptical. So, after reading the new home page copy, I wanted the site visitors to have confidence, to see the difference in the Kneelsit chair and to understand the benefits this chair would offer.

Of course, those in chronic pain were not the only visitors to the Kneelsit site. While they were the primary segment, the audience also consisted of those with mild back pain, those with inconsistent problems or simple fatigue, and those who simply wanted a comfortable chair that wouldn’t contribute to any future back problems. The copy also needed to meet their needs and provide the information they were seeking.

You can see the revised copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/kneelsit-home-new.pdf.

The Headline

The original headline did, in fact, list benefits. It stated:

Superb Comfort, Perfect Posture, Gentle Movement, Natural Balance

However, only one of those benefits spoke to audience members… Superb Comfort. While posture may have been a secondary thought, gentle movement and natural balance didn’t strike a chord simply because of a lack of knowledge. As it happens, these two benefits are important, but the general population doesn’t understand what they mean. It would require educating the site visitors about these two before they would grasp their full meaning. That education couldn’t take place within the headline (not enough room!), so those two benefits needed to be removed.

The headline needed to evoke feelings of trust for the skeptical and a sense of stability for the hesitant. It also needed to provide an obvious benefit – one that would catch the reader’s attention.

Also, because it made sense to do so, I included one keyphrase in the headline. The new headline read:

Ergonomic Chair Design Based On Years Of Research Lets You
Sit For Hours With No Back Pain

The Opening Paragraph

The original copy started out just fine by naming some important benefits, but it didn’t back them up. After pointing out the relief of stress and pain, it went directly into an explanation about the chair’s patent.

The new copy took a cleaner path. It started by pointing out that others (users and professionals) liked the chair, and then it proceeded (in the next section) to explain why.

The original copy tried to educate readers about the importance of continuous movement and natural balance. There is nothing wrong with educating your customers; however, you need to give ample space to do that. Because the visitors had limited information about these two benefits on the home page, they may have been confused or – at the least – unpersuaded.

The new copy held firm on one feature: the swivel axel mechanism. It explained how this helped with customization of settings to fit every body type and more. With minimal education needed, the customer was able to understand that this one, patented feature offered multiple benefits.

Rather than simply listing shipping details for the close of the copy, the new version of the home page pointed out some additional benefits pertaining to quality and stylishness.

As I wrote, I looked for places to use the keyphrases chosen for this page. This was absolutely not a numbers game. My goal was not to use the keyphrases as often as I possibly could. That approach is not SEO copywriting, in my book.

Basing your copywriting strategy simply on the sheer volume of times you can include keyphrases makes the copy sound forced and ridiculous. In fact, on this home page, the keyphrases were only used a total of four or five times. Yet, to the amazement of some, the home page ranks in the top 10 (and often top five) for its chosen key terms.

The Results

Did it work? Did the changes bring out the results we wanted? They sure did! When asked about improved conversions, the owner of Kneelsit.com had this to say, “Our conversion rate has definitely improved since the rewrite… probably by around 35-40%!”

Sometimes, even though you may have included important information in your copy, it just doesn’t do what you hoped it would. Take the time to explore, experiment and test. Replace a headline. Rephrase a paragraph. Subtle changes can often make noticeable improvements in conversions and other areas of business.