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Digg it UP - How to Hire the Right Copywriter: Separating the Winners from the Wannabes
When you reach a certain level of understanding about how the FOREX market works, you become conscious of the huge significance support and resistance levels have.Although the internet is populated with a large collection of strategies and rules on this subject, I always found it difficult to understand what lies beneath and how to reliably pinpoint the exact inflexion level on a chart.This article addresses the subject in my unique and well-known style. I will share with you my findings as well as the optimum approach to them, trying to extract the essential and propose a simple, yet effective way to show a constant profit.The S/R levels are the product of the battle between the sellers and buyers, on their perpetual attempt to
Do they ask questions (see proceeding point) that logically follow your comments? Do they show genuine interest in what you do and how you work? And when you’re speaking, is their body language reassuring? Do you see the kind of eye-contact and body postures that indicate attentive listening? If they’re not really listening to you now, when they’re seeking your business, they probably won’t when they’re executing it.
5) Plays well with others
Ask anyone if he’s a “team player” and you’ll get prompt reassurances of the affirmative. No one will admit to being an arrogant prima donna, so you’ll have to use indirect methods to gauge the writer’s ability to work cooperatively with your team of designers, strategists, product managers and other marketing staff.
Take it as a good sign when a writer
Every day, across the world’s market economies, an epic battle is being waged, but not to earn business.It’s an ego war between a company’s best salesperson and his manager.But let’s change scenes, to put this into perspective.You walk into a martial arts dojo, where the founder, now in his mature years, has made a rare cross-country appearance. The occasion is a test in which senior ranks will be promoted, including several brown belts, and one black belt.This is the only black belt to be elevated during the last two years, and the dojo, in thirty-five years has only forged 20 members of this high rank.So, at a crucial stage in the proceedings, the founder makes a speech, and he says in so many words, “I know most
But it’s awfully hard to look beyond the leather to identify the talent who will really work for you. Too often, the new writer “just doesn’t get it,” cannot cooperate with your other talent, or otherwise simply fails to articulate messages that really resonate with your audience.
Given human foibles, there are no fool-proof formulas for finding winners. But you can take measures -- right at the start of your relationship -- that give you a much greater probability of success. Here are some things you should look for in a writer at your very first meeting:
1) Connects creative work to underlying objectives
Face it: all the samples the writer proudly slides across the table to you are going to look pretty good. After all, your would-be writers cherry-pick their best work and unless they’re truly incompetent (most professionals are not), everything you read is going to be clean, smooth and attractive.
Your job is to dig deeper, to uncover the “why” behind each creative decision evidenced before you. Why was one benefit highlighted over others? Why use a particular catch-phrase? What was the reasoning behind the diction, tone, point of view of the piece? Good writing is never arbitrary, and every writer worth her salt should be able to connect her creative decisions to the underlying objectives of the project and/or the overall strategy behind the marketing campaign. Consider this your opportunity to expose the writer’s thinking.
2) Wears many masks
Writers are like actors -- they must be prepared to assume the voices and mannerisms of people who may be completely unlike themselves. As you flip through the samples, look for variety. You should “hear” different voices -- manifested through changes in tone, rhythm and vocabulary -- appropriate for different audiences. You should be able to guess the target demographic from the copy voice alone. The annual report for investment bankers should sound completely different from the direct mail pitch to porcelain doll collectors.
That’s why industry experience may not be a significant criterion for selecting a writer. If a writer has the chameleon-like ability to match his voice to your audience’s, chances are he can write effectively for your market. If not, no amount of industry knowledge will compensate for the inability to connect.
3) Asks questions -- lots of them
Good copy is built on a foundation of understanding: who your customers are; what your prospects value and fear; how they shop. Also, what your product or service is; what makes it different; what role it plays in the purchasers’ lives. Without this underlying knowledge, the resulting copy may be clever, but it won’t be effective.
The only way a writer can reach this level of understanding is to dig for it by asking questions. Beware the passive writer who nods at everything you say and assures you she has everything she needs to proceed. Instead, look for the writer who pursues your comments with questions -- then follows your answers with further questions. You want a writer willing to do this kind of spade work before writing a single word.
4) Listens well
Your interview should not become a dog-and-pony show for the writer’s talent, limited to star-spangled presentations of beautiful brochures and self-adoring revelations of awards won, honors claimed. Sure, writers should be prepared to talk about themselves and their services. But more importantly, they should be actively listening to you, taking pains to uncover your needs.
Do they ask questions (see proceeding point) that logically follow your comments? Do they show genuine interest in what you do and how you work? And when you’re speaking, is their body language reassuring? Do you see the kind of eye-contact and body postures that indicate attentive listening? If they’re not really listening to you now, when they’re seeking your business, they probably won’t when they’re executing it.
5) Plays well with others
Ask anyone if he’s a “team player” and you’ll get prompt reassurances of the affirmative. No one will admit to being an arrogant prima donna, so you’ll have to use indirect methods to gauge the writer’s ability to work cooperatively with your team of designers, strategists, product managers and other marketing staff.
Take it as a good sign when a writer
Every day we communicate with those around us. At work, as in our lives as a whole, we respond to the information we obtain.Yet, so often, managers waste this valuable information gathering time by telling their own story, instead of listening to others and really hearing.Listening closely is valuable because:-You show real interest in the other person, thus building strong, trusting relationships.You get great information, which can help you gather the ‘intelligence’ you need to the best decisions.Your people will tell you much more, once they realise that you take notice of what they are saying.It enables you to take up other’s ideas and thoughts
Your job is to dig deeper, to uncover the “why” behind each creative decision evidenced before you. Why was one benefit highlighted over others? Why use a particular catch-phrase? What was the reasoning behind the diction, tone, point of view of the piece? Good writing is never arbitrary, and every writer worth her salt should be able to connect her creative decisions to the underlying objectives of the project and/or the overall strategy behind the marketing campaign. Consider this your opportunity to expose the writer’s thinking.
2) Wears many masks
Writers are like actors -- they must be prepared to assume the voices and mannerisms of people who may be completely unlike themselves. As you flip through the samples, look for variety. You should “hear” different voices -- manifested through changes in tone, rhythm and vocabulary -- appropriate for different audiences. You should be able to guess the target demographic from the copy voice alone. The annual report for investment bankers should sound completely different from the direct mail pitch to porcelain doll collectors.
That’s why industry experience may not be a significant criterion for selecting a writer. If a writer has the chameleon-like ability to match his voice to your audience’s, chances are he can write effectively for your market. If not, no amount of industry knowledge will compensate for the inability to connect.
3) Asks questions -- lots of them
Good copy is built on a foundation of understanding: who your customers are; what your prospects value and fear; how they shop. Also, what your product or service is; what makes it different; what role it plays in the purchasers’ lives. Without this underlying knowledge, the resulting copy may be clever, but it won’t be effective.
The only way a writer can reach this level of understanding is to dig for it by asking questions. Beware the passive writer who nods at everything you say and assures you she has everything she needs to proceed. Instead, look for the writer who pursues your comments with questions -- then follows your answers with further questions. You want a writer willing to do this kind of spade work before writing a single word.
4) Listens well
Your interview should not become a dog-and-pony show for the writer’s talent, limited to star-spangled presentations of beautiful brochures and self-adoring revelations of awards won, honors claimed. Sure, writers should be prepared to talk about themselves and their services. But more importantly, they should be actively listening to you, taking pains to uncover your needs.
Do they ask questions (see proceeding point) that logically follow your comments? Do they show genuine interest in what you do and how you work? And when you’re speaking, is their body language reassuring? Do you see the kind of eye-contact and body postures that indicate attentive listening? If they’re not really listening to you now, when they’re seeking your business, they probably won’t when they’re executing it.
5) Plays well with others
Ask anyone if he’s a “team player” and you’ll get prompt reassurances of the affirmative. No one will admit to being an arrogant prima donna, so you’ll have to use indirect methods to gauge the writer’s ability to work cooperatively with your team of designers, strategists, product managers and other marketing staff.
Take it as a good sign when a writer
Most of the Adwords advertisers are not fully satisfied and are often confused. Have you done your keyword research lately? Of course, you have a list of all the keywords and compiled them in to your adword accounts, but what happens next? Most of the terms are not running because the Adword system has rated you with a low score, meaning your keywords list are irrelevant. You must prove your quality and increase your bid so the system will work well for you. To increase your bid, you must improve the quality of your score. This is done by increasing your keyword relevancy. This is the only key in your success to search engine’s Adwords. You should remember that the number one mistake of all the advertisement in their campaign is when they
That’s why industry experience may not be a significant criterion for selecting a writer. If a writer has the chameleon-like ability to match his voice to your audience’s, chances are he can write effectively for your market. If not, no amount of industry knowledge will compensate for the inability to connect.
3) Asks questions -- lots of them
Good copy is built on a foundation of understanding: who your customers are; what your prospects value and fear; how they shop. Also, what your product or service is; what makes it different; what role it plays in the purchasers’ lives. Without this underlying knowledge, the resulting copy may be clever, but it won’t be effective.
The only way a writer can reach this level of understanding is to dig for it by asking questions. Beware the passive writer who nods at everything you say and assures you she has everything she needs to proceed. Instead, look for the writer who pursues your comments with questions -- then follows your answers with further questions. You want a writer willing to do this kind of spade work before writing a single word.
4) Listens well
Your interview should not become a dog-and-pony show for the writer’s talent, limited to star-spangled presentations of beautiful brochures and self-adoring revelations of awards won, honors claimed. Sure, writers should be prepared to talk about themselves and their services. But more importantly, they should be actively listening to you, taking pains to uncover your needs.
Do they ask questions (see proceeding point) that logically follow your comments? Do they show genuine interest in what you do and how you work? And when you’re speaking, is their body language reassuring? Do you see the kind of eye-contact and body postures that indicate attentive listening? If they’re not really listening to you now, when they’re seeking your business, they probably won’t when they’re executing it.
5) Plays well with others
Ask anyone if he’s a “team player” and you’ll get prompt reassurances of the affirmative. No one will admit to being an arrogant prima donna, so you’ll have to use indirect methods to gauge the writer’s ability to work cooperatively with your team of designers, strategists, product managers and other marketing staff.
Take it as a good sign when a writer
Whether you’re a first home buyer, a property investor or you just want a change of scenery, house hunting can be an exhausting and confusing experience … but it does not have to be. With a little careful planning and forethought, it can actually be a pleasure!1. Be realistic: Before you start house hunting, determine your budget by figuring out what you can afford in monthly mortgage repayments. Allow for ongoing maintenance costs, rates, family expenses (such as schooling), holidays, insurances and other living expenses.2. Get pre-approval: If possible, have your bank or mortgage broker obtain a pre-approval for a home loan. This will determine how much you can afford to spend and enable you to make a genuine offer when you do find th
The only way a writer can reach this level of understanding is to dig for it by asking questions. Beware the passive writer who nods at everything you say and assures you she has everything she needs to proceed. Instead, look for the writer who pursues your comments with questions -- then follows your answers with further questions. You want a writer willing to do this kind of spade work before writing a single word.
4) Listens well
Your interview should not become a dog-and-pony show for the writer’s talent, limited to star-spangled presentations of beautiful brochures and self-adoring revelations of awards won, honors claimed. Sure, writers should be prepared to talk about themselves and their services. But more importantly, they should be actively listening to you, taking pains to uncover your needs.
Do they ask questions (see proceeding point) that logically follow your comments? Do they show genuine interest in what you do and how you work? And when you’re speaking, is their body language reassuring? Do you see the kind of eye-contact and body postures that indicate attentive listening? If they’re not really listening to you now, when they’re seeking your business, they probably won’t when they’re executing it.
5) Plays well with others
Ask anyone if he’s a “team player” and you’ll get prompt reassurances of the affirmative. No one will admit to being an arrogant prima donna, so you’ll have to use indirect methods to gauge the writer’s ability to work cooperatively with your team of designers, strategists, product managers and other marketing staff.
Take it as a good sign when a writer
BlueHost and Fantastico go so well together that they lend themselves to all sorts of timeless comparisons: Burns and Allen, Astaire and Rogers, Peanut Butter and Jelly or, more relevantly, MySQL and PHP. BlueHost is the web host, Fantastico is the feature; together, they can help you make your website do all sorts of incredible things.Fantastico (full name: Fantastico DeLuxe) is the leading auto-installer for servers using the cPanel control panel. Blue Host uses the cPanel control panel and therefore BlueHost servers support the Fantastico auto-installer. With Fantastico, you can install scripts onto your Blue Host website even if you’re a total novice -- no setting up of a MySQL database necessary, and no downloading files or changing permi
Do they ask questions (see proceeding point) that logically follow your comments? Do they show genuine interest in what you do and how you work? And when you’re speaking, is their body language reassuring? Do you see the kind of eye-contact and body postures that indicate attentive listening? If they’re not really listening to you now, when they’re seeking your business, they probably won’t when they’re executing it.
5) Plays well with others
Ask anyone if he’s a “team player” and you’ll get prompt reassurances of the affirmative. No one will admit to being an arrogant prima donna, so you’ll have to use indirect methods to gauge the writer’s ability to work cooperatively with your team of designers, strategists, product managers and other marketing staff.
Take it as a good sign when a writer, without prompting, shares credit for a given project with other people who participated. Or openly admits that the driving concept came from someone other than himself. Or describes a project as a cooperative venture and articulates the value of the myriad roles that accomplished it. Conversely, regard the self-serving writer, the one who consistently hoards all credit to himself, with suspicion. Chances are, he’ll make you and everyone who works with him miserable.
6) Demonstrates self-respect
We all want a bargain and no one can fault us for desiring more, for less. After all, everything’s negotiable.
Be careful what you wish for, however. A good writer may be willing to cut you a discount, perhaps in exchange for a guaranteed volume of work, but only the bottom-feeders will bite on rock-bottom project fees. Good writers respect the value of their work and expect to be compensated accordingly. If you insist on making price the most important criterion for selecting a writer, you may end up with a lot of grief you didn’t bargain for.
In sum, it’s not enough to review the resume, client list, samples or portfolio. You need to mind your prospective writer’s behavior in the course of your first encounter. When you see curiosity, respect, intelligence and a healthy ability to listen carefully to others, you’ll find a writer who’s likely to work productively with you.
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