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Business – especially the university-corporate sausage factory pipeline – loves to sound smarter than they actually are, by using esoteric jargon. Repeated over and over, it grates the ears like nails over chalkboard.
In 2024, there was no shortage of innovative and disruptive game-changing jargon – with almost none of it being useful or helpful. Here’s some of the worst that I’ve encountered and most likely, some of you have too.
In one of my favourite boyhood adventure graphic novels, The Adventures of Tintin, the bumbling pair of detectives Thomson and Thompson are driving in circles around a fictional African desert. At one point, a faster car zooms past and Thomson steps out of the vehicle. Bewildered, Thompson backs up their rickety jeep and asks, “I say, why would you step out while we were moving?”
“Moving?” he says, bewildered, “that car went so fast I thought we were standing still!”
Talk to anyone born in Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and standing still is as foreign to them as it is to a shark – if they stop swimming, they literally die.
Literally literally, not figuratively literally, like post-Millennials would say.
Being still in an ever-moving world though, feels like a luxury. For a soloist like us, it’s almost unimaginable.
Read the rest at Flying Solo.
Though business comes and goes in cycles, the power of marketing can’t be understated. Digital marketing opens up new avenues for Australian businesses to reach more people and sell their brand not only here, but overseas as well. As part of any digital marketing strategy, a copywriter should be part of your arsenal of persuasion. So why should an Australian business invest in professional copywriting services? What are the advantages of having an Australian copywriter on call or on retainer?
What you say is how you sell. Investing in professional copywriting services is an investment in your overall marketing and communications strategy. Copywriting services can help your business craft a strategy around digital marketing – every piece of content you post will need some kind of copy to help promote your business or sell your product or service.
Greater reach inevitably leads to higher sales volumes or inquiries. These profits can be re-invested into marketing and copywriting to spur on even more growth down the line.
Did all those words sound like they meant something? If you aren’t a copywriter or work in digital marketing, they can feel a bit confusing. In simple terms, SEO refers to Search Engine Optimisation. This is the art and science of writing copy or text on websites so search engines (Google for the most part) will rank your page higher than other competing pages with similar or identical information. Google displays pages on their Search Engine Results Page (SERP) in order of relevance. The higher your webpage ranks on the SERP for a chosen keyword, the more likely it will be clicked on.
According to a study of 80 million keywords and billions of searches by Search Engine Journal in 2020, 28.5% of clicks go to the organic (non-paid) result in the 1st position. It’s diminishing returns after that: 2nd gets 15.7%, while 3rd gets 11%. 10th spot gets about 2.5% of the clicks on average.
SEO is an investment in increasing this organic visibility by helping your site and pages climb up SERPs for chosen keywords. This is a long-term strategy for growth, as it decreases reliance on Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising and builds your authority as an authoritative and trustworthy source for information on that keyword – and in sales, this is worth its weight in gold.
If you’ve ever read SEO copy, it often sounds like text written by robots for other robots. Sometimes keywords will be “stuffed” into places that make even the most grammatically nonchalant wince. From that perspective, it’s done its job: you clicked on the top link, after all. But here’s where it falls apart in terms of conversions. The copy just doesn’t convince anyone to put their faith in your brand. Something drives them away.
SEO leads the horse to water; but persuasive writing on the page gets it to drink.
Copywriting is about balancing on-page SEO as well as using persuasive techniques to get people to perform an action (I write about calls to action in my blog about email marketing here.) It may be to buy a product, sign up for a service, or simply hand over an email address for a mailing list. These techniques may be straight-forward calls to action (Buy Now, While Stocks Last!) or thematic (appeals to reason, appeals to the hip-pocket, etc.)
Australian businesses need copywriters to help them leverage persuasion as part of their communications in order to drive sales and inquiries. This should be the prime motivator in your marketing – the art of the sale. However, without tailoring it to local audiences, it can quickly go awry.
If you have ever taken a trip abroad – or perhaps lived abroad – you will quickly notice how culture affects a business’ sales approach. When I lived in Atlanta, Georgia it was not uncommon for salespeople, even in shoe stores, to push products on me when I hadn’t asked for them. Once, when I was at the mall having a browse at one such shoe shop, an enterprising young sales associate noticed I was wearing Converse Chuck Taylors.
A pair of my beloved red Chuck Taylors.
I’d barely crossed the threshold of the entrance and he immediately rushed toward me. He knelt down and started buffing my white toe tips with a special polishing product. Before I could tell him to stop, he was rattling off all these benefits, ending the encounter by telling me his name (presumably so he could get a commission.)
This behaviour would be unthinkable in Australian shops.
Australian business needs are different from overseas needs, which means overseas copywriters that aren’t immersed in our culture will find it difficult to replicate or cater to our approach. The “hard sell” is often seen as sketchy or “suss” (we had purchase over that word before Among Us, thank you!)
Copywriting services in Australia require a flexibility and versatility of prose to tailor certain tones of voice and style to their audiences. Corporate businesses will use highly abstract and academic style language, while small businesses may use more persuasive or colloquial language – good Aussie copywriters can deftly sprinkle in some Aussie vernacular as well.
If your copy reads as if it was written by a foreigner, it will come across as inauthentic – which can lead to high bounce rates and poor conversions, even if your SEO is on point. (I mean, ridgy-didge.)
Not all copywriters are created equal – some are more creative while others are more technical (read my post about the differences between them here.) You should choose a copywriter that can understand your business and effectively sell the idea and the tangible result to as many potential customers as possible. They need to connect you to your audience and help clarify your message. Your business may want to choose a copywriter with a particular niche; though hiring generalists (such as myself) may open the door for new and creative opportunities for marketing that your competitors may not have thought of before, differentiating yourself from the pack.
Ultimately, they need to be a part of your team and need to gel with your overall business methods and processes. Unfortunately, not every copywriter will be a good fit; nor will every copywriter want to work with your company for any number of reasons. Make sure to research different copywriters and get to know them as if they were a potential employee; you could build a fruitful partnership that lasts decades!
A copywriter who knows their SEO stuff, is persuasive to a fault, and works well with your company can unleash a wave of powerful marketing on your potential customers!
Leverage the power of an award-winning Australian SEO copywriter at I Sell Words! Contact me below and let’s get started!
Carlos Lara (left) and Jimmy Young (right) from Bootleg Rascal.
Australia has no shortage of solo musical talent: Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Peter Andre (hey, he still counts!) … However, as we groove along and tap our feet to their sublime sounds, we also have to realise that these are musos living off their craft; in the same way an accountant, copywriter or graphic designer lives off theirs.
Living in a fast paced world where news goes in one ear and out the other in a matter of minutes, having solid evergreen content for your business will feel like herding cats - cats who may or may not exist depending if you look at them or not. (Schrödinger’s content, perhaps?)
With some businesses, some truths remain self evident. Good narrative writing, no matter what language you speak, will always need a beginning, middle, and an end. In Accounting, showing people how to balance their books will always be a valuable skill to impart.
So what is evergreen content, and how do you write it for your business?
Evergreen content is content that will be relevant now, tomorrow, and (hopefully) five years from now. Evergreen topics are ones that people will always be interested in and will search for consistently.
Topics based on:
Recent news or current events - X did Y at Z time
Temporary trends and fads
Pop culture
Statistics or reports
Are not evergreen, as the map they are trying to create will not correspond to the real-world territory for very long. There’s nothing more disheartening finding out-of-date statistics when conducting a research project.
Evergreen topics may look like:
How to come up with ideas for your blog
How to write a mission statement
Steps for creating and sticking to a budget
Choosing complimentary colours for your logo
Usually, evergreen topics are highly abstract in nature - they don’t focus on a specific application that may not exist in a year or two - and conversely they don’t try to predict the next best thing. It remains as relevant now as it will five or even ten years down the track.
Evergreen content needs to be thoroughly researched - even if you feel that the topic is “played out,” you can conduct research by looking up already popular articles on the topic. You know you have researched the topic to its limit when you are finding new articles or websites that contain almost the exact same information.
Now that you have your research, it’s time to write the content. Evergreen content is rarely “novel” - but there’s nothing preventing you from putting your own spin on things. Coming up with new ideas for blogs is a broad topic - though you could drill down into a niche such as Finance or Automotive to appeal to a select audience. You may want to produce smaller pieces, or create long-form ‘skyscraper’ content that touches on almost everything there is to know about the topic.
Evergreen content should be aimed at laypeople or beginners. It shouldn’t contain jargon; unless it’s vital to the topic. At any rate, you need to explain what it means and how it fits into the broader subject.
Evergreen content should form part of your comprehensive SEO and content strategy. That means choosing the right keywords, optimising the meta descriptions, having relevant headings, adding links and having good backlinks. It should be authoritative and valuable to others - not a cynical play at boosting your Search Engine Results.
You may be thinking - once I’ve written my evergreen content, that’s it - I’ve painted myself into a corner. I can’t say the same thing on the same topic twice! That may be true, but you can refresh evergreen content by:
Turning it into a video or podcast.
Reminding your audience of the content via social media.
Looking at the “state of” or “trends in” the topic as a follow-up (which unfortunately is not evergreen, but may be useful for others in their research.)
Create case studies based on others who have followed your advice.
Turn your information into an infographic.
Use it as the basis for an email onboarding campaign.
Tailor it for other websites or niches.
I’ve worked with businesses where I’ve written evergreen content on subjects so many times I’ve seen them in my dreams. The information is relevant but tailored for certain audiences. “How to get a car loan with bad credit,” with a little creativity and research can also become “Tips for single dads to get a car with impaired credit” which speaks directly to certain demographics.
That’s up to you - pick something you’re knowledgeable in, something other people will find useful, and start writing!
Looking to get your own evergreen content up and running, written by a copywriter who’s worked with some of Australia’s top ASX 200 companies? Contact me to get started!
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay
Language is thought in action. What does that mean, Tom? I'm glad you asked.
I don't want to crawl too far down a rabbit hole, but almost all of us subvocalise our thoughts. Subvocalisation is that inner monologue we hear when we read or think - you're likely subvocalising right now, reading this sentence. Yes, it's all very meta.
One of the ways we confuse ourselves is to skip the thought bit and think language is action. It isn't. It's just a thought, an idea. Communism the idea didn't kill 100 million people directly, those acting in its name did. (That said, it's still a bad idea.)
When we humans confuse thought with action, we do silly things like compose text messages in our head and forget to actually send them or have arguments against our colleagues in the shower (which we inevitably win.)
The problem with this is our nervous system often doesn't know the difference between what's perceived and what's real. We can think our way into anxiety and depression, aided by complex and repetitive trauma that's located in our viscera - our gut feelings, as it turns out, play a big role in our moods and emotional wellbeing.
This poses a problem for the "talking cure." According to trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk, responding to trauma through medication and talking alone doesn't always work in isolation. I've been on mild anti-depressants/anxiety medication since high school. I can definitely attest to Dr. van der Kolk's assessment. In everyday situations, especially when we're feeling low, it can be attributed to the narrative we spin about ourselves.
Your brain will believe what you tell it is true. The root of depression, as put in a meme, is the result of nasty rumours you tell about yourself. So how can you flip the script, or at least try to?
The first act is to open up and own what you say. If something doesn't feel right, ask someone you trust and talk it out. No, they might not understand. But at least you will get it off your chest. Join a support group, see a counsellor, do whatever suits you best. Always use the "I" statement. Not "you know" or "you know when..." No, I don't know. Own what you say and often the solution will become clear.
Second, journal. Keep a daily (or near enough) journal. Opening up by writing things down is not only good for tracking your own progress but getting clarity on your thoughts.
Truth isn't a convenience, it's a winner's mindset.
Third, tell the truth. Tell it to yourself, tell it to your loved ones, tell it to everyone around you, as hard as it seems. If you say "Oh, I tell the truth 90% of the time..." Well, how do I know I'm getting the 90% or the 10% that's BS? Truth is the currency of business. Hiding things, being dishonest, pretending everything's alright...reality always kicks down the door of fantasy. Always. Truth isn't a convenience, it's a winner's mindset.
All three elements are explained much better in the following books, which I recommend every businessperson read:
A Rational Guide To Living by Drs. Albert Ellis & Robert Harper, Ph.D
The Situation Is Hopeless, But Not Serious by Dr. Paul Wazlawick, Ph.D.
The Obstacle is The Way by Ryan Holiday
Daring Greatly by Dr. Brene Brown, PhD.
It doesn't always work, but it works much better than the alternative.
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521)
"We are blind
to the worlds within us
Waiting to be born"
- Swedish poet and philosopher Tomas Lindberg (also the vocalist for death metal band At the Gates)
This may come as a shock to many of you, but I was never very good at maths.
I took up more time of my maths classes wondering why in British English we pluralise "maths" but not "tax" while in American English they do the opposite. I should probably look that up.
I never saw the point in mathematics as a subject. "We already know the answer to this," I said to my good friend and tutor Shai (RIP 1986-2017). "It's in the back of the book." He smiled and said, "The answer is always there, but it's important we discover it." Mathematics is sort of like time, insofar that a clock isn't "keeping" or "measuring" time but giving us a practical representation of it for our consumption. Numbers, algebra, calculus, etc. is the same. It's giving our brains an opportunity to discover the answer. Because the answer is "always" there.
Not so with the humanities.
When I was in high school, my now favourite book series The Expanse by James S. A. Corey did not exist. At all. There was no process of "finding the answer" to The Expanse and all my imagining or trying to (in maths class most likely) would not produce the same result. It is as individual to the authors Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham as the mole on my head is to me. However it strikes me that the humanities and the sciences is bound by one tether, and that is discovery.
As Lindberg says (before screaming the house down), there are entire worlds within us waiting to be born. This could be the world of Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry, the world of Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, the world of portable digital music by Steve Jobs and his iPod; there are entire alternate realities in our heads that we can project out into the world and make real.
When it comes to almost anything in life, nothing is "real" unless we "discover" it first. When businesses approach me to write their copy, I am giving others an opportunity to make their world real to other people. It sounds a bit grandiose, but the process of using words as a vehicle to help one's discovery is the way our value becomes "real" to the world at large.
Building something and hoping people will come is not discovery. Telling and sharing the world within us with others makes discovery happen.
Have you ever got a link in your email or WhatsApp and got the shock of your life? I did the other day.
A friend of mine linked me to an AI-powered natural language application to Talk To Transformer.
What's that you ask?
It's a machine that completes text for you based on a few lines of input.
Just like The Simpsons archvillain Mr. Burns ordering a thousand monkeys to write the best novel in history, this AI called GPT-2 works on kind of the same principle. It scours the internet as its source, completing sentences, paragraphs, and perhaps one day, entire books as it learns what you need it to say.
It predicts the next word one might have said, much like a predictive text application in your smartphone.
Despite the occasional "Sorry honey, running late for yogurt tonight", machine generated language is not new. Last year, Facebook's own AI developed its own internal language without user intervention.
Australia's very own ReporterMate, an AI-driven journalism program, spat out this article about political donations prior to the Federal Election for The Guardian. The Associated Press also uses AI to help assist reporters with articles.
So it's off to the trash heap for me! Well, not quite.
There may be a time when a machine will write better than I could ever hope to.
I don't think that time is now.
Humans using machines as tools or extensions of ourselves will become more complex and more useful. Perhaps language generators such as these will automate some tasks such as modifying legal boilerplate or updating business information.
I'm not running scared yet; but I am fascinated to see what lies ahead.
As for what Talk To Transformer came up with as an alternative to this post, see below.
Imagine this scenario. You’re at the gym with your good friend, and you wince as you get up from a particularly gnarly stretch. Grabbing your back, your friend tells you, “You should see my chiropractor. She’s great.”
Of course, your friend hasn’t captured this hapless medical professional and stored her in the attic, just in case. But the language around who we trust with our business is that of ownership.
Owning our opinions, choices, and mistakes is an integral part of maturity. It is one reason “I” statements demonstrate that willingness to “own our shit.”
Owning whom we place our sacred trust in is vital to our business experience.
Dear Diary, I feel a bit nervous telling everyone about writing in you. What if they laugh at me? What if they think I’m being precious? Worst of all, what if they ignore me?!
Well, at least I got it out there. I tried my best. That’s all that matters.
Journalling is a time-honoured tradition. So many people that shaped the world jotted down their thoughts for the day, every day (or close enough to it.): Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Alexis de Toqueville, George S. Patton, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, George Lucas, Alfred Deakin, Teddy Roosevelt. That’s some great company, there. Research even tells us that outstanding leadership requires insight, and writing a journal can help achieve that.
That’s not to say journalling will spur you to instant success, of course. But it does give you pause to reflect, analyse, and process where you are and where you’d like to go.
I'm delighted to formally announce my seminar for the Bayside Business Network Seminar Series! Here are the details:
What’s the secret to a great turn of phrase? Can you learn to think different? Or can you Just do it? Can a simple clutch of words turn a brand from meh into I’m Lovin’ It?
Turning Phrases, Turning Heads takes the mystery out of words – business’ most powerful ally and most fearsome foe. Learn simple ways to turn drab prose into clear, concise and dynamic writing. Enhance your business by mastering the basics of rhetoric, persuasion and cutting through to customers (well, metaphorically of course.) Spur your thoughts into intention, your intention into action and your action into success. (I’ll also teach you the term for that rhetorical turn of phrase, too!) Learn the best tips for keeping people on your site, buying from you and coming back for more.
Lapsed writers, nervous scribblers and maths nerds all – you too can coin masterful phrases and turn heads in this fun, engaging and enlightening seminar!
Cost: FREE for members, $25 for non-members.
Andrew W.K. by Jonathan Thorpe, courtesy Metro Times. My "king" of authenticity.
It's been a whirlwind few months at ISW, with plenty of new projects coming in. One aspect they all share in common is authenticity.
Authenticity is hard to come by in this day and age. The paragon of "authentic" media in the face of "stodgy old fossils" is the VICE brand. VICE was founded in Montreal in 1994. VICE was and still is printing a free "edgy" and in your face magazine, satirising and promoting new trends, music and underground culture. By the end of the decade, they had local editions in the US, UK, Australia.
In the late 2000s, they moved into new media, producing documentaries on topics the "old media" found unprofitable. Now they have a weekly documentary series screened on premium cable channel HBO. They're also launching a half-hour daily news bulletin. It was transformed from a locally funded zine into a $915 million (US) digital media empire. Though they've reined in their brash and often controversial style, they've made a killing by staying true to their authentic roots - even if their success is underpinned by commercialism.
Businesses, like individuals, believe they can achieve greatness by "faking it" until they make it. For VICE, being who they are without apology launched them to unsurpassed heights while comparable media companies fell.
Do you strive for authenticity? Do you know a business or company that might benefit from a dose of authenticity? Let me know! I'd love to have a conversation with them.