When to use capital letters in your writing

This blog post has been inspired by a website I looked at recently where whoever wrote the content Overused Capital Letters Big Time. Perhaps this was for emphasis or maybe the person wasn’t aware of what they were doing and assumed what they were writing was correct.  The following example illustrates my point:

‘We have the Tools, Techniques, and Strategies to Substantially increase the Profits of your Business and that’s Guaranteed!’ 

Hmmm, well maybe you have but it’s a bit In Your Face!  I corrected this version and inserted it at the bottom if you’d like to take a look.

Now, there are certain rules that must be followed when using capital letters in your writing, and here they are:-

Always use a capital letter at the start of a sentence and at the beginning of quoted speech, eg:

• The minister said, ‘We don’t believe that such compromise is justified.’

When the quotation is interrupted and then restarted, and if no proper noun or name is involved, the first word of the second part is in lower case, eg:

• ‘We don’t believe’, said the minister, ‘that such compromise is justified.’

In direct address, a capital letter is used to mark titles and honorific names used as a form of address, eg:

• ‘We think, Professor, there are other options.’
• ‘Yes, Minister, that is correct.’

The names of all individuals – real or fictitious – should be given initial capitals in publications and correspondence

Some personal names have a mid-word capital in addition to the initial capital. This is standard for names prefixed with Mc, such as McInnes and McCleery, but more variable for those prefixed with Mac or Fitz, eg:

• MacDonald or Macdonald
• FitzGerald or Fitzgerald

Initial capitals should always be given to names that identify nationalities, races, tribes, clans, the inhabitants of a particular region, the adherents of a particular religion and the speaker sof a particular language, eg:

• Queenslander
• Caucasian
• Christian

Names of organisations

In the full official names of organisations and other bodies such as assemblies and conferences, all words other than articles, prepositions and conjunctions are given initial capitals:

• the Department of Human Resources
• the Academy of Business and Finance
• the Reserve Bank of Australia

Titles and Forms of Address

The official titles of the principals or chief executives of many Australian institutions are capitalised, eg:

• the Prime Minister of Australia
• the Archbishop of Canterbury
• the Minister for Finance

Initial capitals are always used in words that make up a form of address or honorifics, eg:

• Her Majesty the Queen
• His Excellency, the Governor-General
• Mrs Mary Jones
• Dame Judy Dench

Other uses for capital letters:-

Days of the week and months of the year eg:

•  ”the meeting will be held on the first Monday in March”

Names of seasons are usually left in lower case apart from when they are given the human touch eg:

• ‘Welcome to the Winter issue of my newsletter’

Holidays, religious days and public events, eg:

• Anzac Day
• Good Friday

Geographical and political destinations, eg: North America

Topographical features, ie mountains, rivers, valleys, etc, eg: The Blue Mountains

Local Names, eg: the Adelaide Hills

Buildings, structures and public places, eg: Melbourne Town Hall

Historical and cultural periods, eg:

• the Second World War
• the Renaissance

Brand names and related products usually take a capital letter eg: the Ford Motor Company manufacturers a range of cars including the Focus, Territory and Mondeo

The first person singular is always written as a capital letter (something my daughter frequently gets wrong), eg:

• ‘You can say I was wrong, but you’ll discover that I wasn’t!’

Titles of books, periodicals, chapters and articles start with a capital letter. But the extent of capitalisation after that is a matter of house style or personal choice – there is no real right or wrong

Back to my example from the beginning of the post, here is the correct version:-

‘We have the tools, techniques, and strategies to substantially increase the profits of your business and that’s guaranteed!

All I have done here is correct the use of a capital letter for the beginning of a noun.  A noun, or common noun is the word for something, like tool or tower. A proper noun is the name of something, like The Eiffel Tower

If you have any questions or doubts on when to use a capital letter in your writing, send us an email via the Contact Us form!

How to use colons correctly within sentences

Colons and semicolons together with the comma, are three punctuation marks used within sentences to bring varying levels of emphasis or to signify degrees of correctness.

In this post, we introduce the colon and describe how to use it correctly in your writing. 

In general, the colon is a marker of relationship and sequence. It can be used after a clause(a sentence that makes sense on its own) to introduce additional explanatory information, or it can introduce indented material such as a dot-point series, examples, block quotations and questions.

Other useful functions of the colon are to link a title with its subtitle and to introduce formal statements, transcripts and dialogue.

Amplifying, summarising and contrasting…

A colon is used to introduce a word, phrase or clause that amplifies, summarises or contrasts with what precedes it:

• She was angry: the cake had not arrived yet and the party was about to start
• I had two tickets: not enough to take all my friends
• There is only word for it: disgraceful

Series of items

Sometimes explanatory matter is in the form of a series of items. A colon should be used when these items are placed together to the introductory clause or are preceded by the following or as follows:

• Three portfolios were represented: health, finance and defence
• The map shows the following information: towns and villages, roads and railways

In contrast, when the series of items flows naturally on as part of the sentence, a colon is not needed:

• A number of children are at risk, including those that do not eat a diet high in calcium
• The library holds a wide range of books dealing with mental health issues covering subjects such as child behaviour problems, adolescent mental health and dementia in the aged

Block quotations

Block quotations, ie quotations that are set apart from the text, are often introduced by a colon:-

          The media release began:

          In a first for Australian tennis, the government has increased funding to clubs to improve junion player development. This means that more junior players….

Questions

A colon is used to introduce a direct question when the question amplifies or modifies the introductory word or phrase:

• The question is this: who will take ownership of the problem?

A capital letter is needed after the colon if two or more complete questions follow:

• I ask you: How long can this go on? Do you think it’s fair for them to continue to suffer?

However, when the questions are merely sentence fragments, lower case can be used:

• What is the minimum level accepted: fluency in Chinese? knowledge of environmental issues? a degree in Geography?

Formal statements, speeches, transcripts and dialogue

A colon can be used as a stronger alternative to a comma when introducing formal statements and speeches:

• The teacher began: “Parents, teachers and pupils…

A comma is sufficient if the introduction is less formal:

• The Prime Minister rose and announced, ‘Cabinet will make its decision tomorrow’

It is also common to use a colon after speakers’ names in a transcript and in dialogue:

• MEMBER FOR BURWOOD: Thank you, Madam Speaker…

Subtitles and subheadings

A colon is used to introduce the subtitles of books, articles in periodicals, and so on:

• The Environmental Society: exploring opportunities for climate change
• ‘Bank robbery: man arrested’

Questions? Please send them via the Contact Us page. Look out for our next post where we cover the semicolon… Happy writing!

Do you have catastrophes with apostrophes? Tips on how to use them correctly in your writing

The apostrophe is generally used to show the omission of a letter, for example, haven’t, shouldn’t, can’t.

It is also used to show when singular common nouns are possessive where the apostrophe separates the base word from the ending; this is the apostrophe’s most straightforward use and is known as the apostrophe s.

The apostrophe is used to mark plural possession as indicated by s apostrophe.

Other issues with the apostrophe are its use with proper names, with joint ownership, in compound titles and generic phrases and in expressions of time.

Possession and common nouns

The apostrophe is inserted before the possessive s of singular common nouns:-

• tomorrow’s weather
• the company’s policy

Nouns whose singular ends in s are treated the same way:-

• the mistress’s lover
• the platypus’s webbed feet

Plural nouns ending in s take the s apostrophe:-

• the governments’ budget
• students’ answers

In contrast, plural nouns that do not end in s take the apostrophe s:-

• the children’s bedtime
• the calve’s feeding routine

Possessive pronouns do not use the apostrophe s at all. Their standard forms are:-

my, your, his, her, its, our, their

and  

mine, yours, his, hers, its, our, theirs

Proper names

Personal names ending in any letter other than s take an apostrophe s:-

• Jane’s brother
• Murphy’s food
• Mrs Black’s house

Placenames

The names of places, streets and roads in Australia do not take apostrophes, even when they represent possessive constructions:-

• Kings Cross, Mrs Macquaries Point, St Georges Terrace, Frenchs Forest

This practice is also common in the US but in the UK, a name can appear with or without an apostrophe in different parts of the country.

Possessive phrases

A possessive phrase takes the apostrophe on the last word of the phrase:-

• someone else’s bike
• the publisher’s responsibility

Joint ownership or association is shown by placing the apostrophe s on the second of the two “owners”:-

• her brother and sister’s apartment

Where ownership is not joint, each name takes an apostrophe:-

• her brother’s and sister’s voices

Nonpossessive and generic phrases

In phrases such as visitors book, drivers licence and travellers cheques, the plural noun is descriptive rather than possessive. Because it describes an association with the following word rather than any direct ownership, no apostrophe is necessary.

Expressions of time

In the past, an apostrophe was used in expressions of time involving a plural reference such as, eight weeks’ time, two months’ pay, but nowadays, the apostrophe is often left out. However, when the time reference is in the singular, the apostrophe should be used to help mark the noun as singular:-

• the year’s cycle
• a day’s trip

Plural forms

Apostrophes should not be used before the s of a plural word, a common mistake as demonstrated in the following examples:-

• fresh orange’s and lemon’s
• carol’s by candlelight

If you are still in doubt over when to use an apostrophe in your writing, please send me an email via the contact page and I’ll be happy to help.

When to use commas in your writing

The comma is a punctuation mark and indicates the smallest break in the continuity of a sentence.  Despite this apparently modest role, it can enhance clarity in a number of important ways, with one of its prime roles to eliminate ambiguity.

Although some general principles apply, there are a number of situations where the use of commas becomes a matter of judgement and personal preference.  Despite the fact that there are many reasons for using commas, the biggest problem is people tend to overuse them.  Remember that a pause in reading is not always a reliable reason to use a comma.  Before you insert a comma, review your understanding of sentence structure and consider carefully how it is written to determine whether a comma, or series of commas is needed.

The list containing instructions on when to use a comma is long and some of the grammatical terms used requires explaining.  So, to keep it simple, here are some of the more common uses for a comma:-

1.  Avoiding ambiguity…

Consider these sentences:-

“I told them to eat Helen”

“I told them eat, Helen”

The position of the comma gives both sentences completely different meanings

2.  Run-on lists…

Commas are used to separate items in a series or list within a sentence:-

“We need your name, date of birth, address and telephone number”

3.  Strings of adjectives…

In a string of adjectives preceding a noun, commas are usually required only between adjectives of the same type:-

“The tree has large, green, shiny, oval-shaped leaves” (all descriptive)

4.  Coordinate clauses…

Use a comma PLUS a “little” conjunction such as and, but, for, yet, so and nor, to connect two independent clauses such as:-

“He hit the ball well, but missed a home run”

In some short sentences such as the one above, a comma isn’t always needed but if in doubt, include it as this is the the right thing to do

5.  Use a comma to set off introductory elements…

“Running towards the shop, he suddenly remembered he had left his wallet at home”

6.  Use a comma to set off parenthetical elements, as in

“The Iron Bridge, which spans the Murray River, is falling down”

By “parenthetical element”, I mean the part of a sentence that can be removed without changing the essential meaning of that sentence. The parenthetical element is sometimes called “added information.”

7.  Use a comma before inserting a quote in your writing as follows:-

“In concluding his thesis James wrote, “I hope that people reading this document will realise the importance of living sustainably…”

8.  Use commas to set off phrases that express contrast…

“The kitten was cute, but very naughty”

If you have any questions about the appropriate use of commas in your writing, send me an email, ruth@purplechameleon.com.au

How to use exclamation marks in your writing

The exclamation mark or point, is used instead of a full stop at the end of a sentence to provide emphasis. It is used more commonly in informal English than in standard or formal writing, hence why you see it more in creative writing and informal communications such as email. 

In creative writing, they accompany interjections (wow, ouch, oh) but most times, an exclamation mark is commonly used to convey an emotion. Surprise, disbelief, indignation and exasperation can all be conveyed by the use of an exclamation mark:-

- That cannot be true!

- If only he would listen to me!

Sometimes an exclamation mark is used to give emphasis to greetings, wishes and orders:-

- Good evening friends!

- All rise!

Reading a story that overuses exclamation marks is a bit like watching actors shout their lines which can be unpleasant and won’t help you enjoy the experience. It is best to use one exclamation at a time because adding more doesn’t really add any more emphasis to what your characters are saying. The other problem with overusing exclamation marks in creative writing is that they are “telling” rather than “showing” a story as the author is relying on them as a shortcut for using describing words to engage the reader.

The use of exclamation marks in less formal communication media such as mobile phone texting, emails and social media is more prevalent. Here you will see the number of exclamation marks increase depending on the level of emphasis the writer wants to convey. 

Whilst in these situations the exclamation mark is more acceptable, the writer should still use it carefully and keep context in mind. What is an appropriate response to a friend in a text might not be appropriate for an email to a professor or business acquaintance.

You may be wondering - how many exclamation marks are too many?

There is no formal response to this, suffice to say that too many make reading difficult and distract the reader, and as a writer, you do not want to distract the reader. 

Some online research revealed the following, which may help:-

“one exclamation mark indicates the punchline to a joke or a cheery reposte, two or more indicates extreme disbelief or to herald a celebratory/positive announcement. the amount of disbelief or celebration is proportional to the total number of exclamation marks. ” I like this.

Another site came up with this:-

“To help us all get back on the same page, as it were, maybe we can all agree on a way to gauge the appropriate amount of exclamation, let’s call it an Exclamation Scale.

!- Something really important or exciting has occurred is about to occur. e.g. “So excited to see you!” or “Congratulations!”

!!- Something exceptional has occurred or is about to occur. e.g. “So excited to see you for the first time in ten years!! or “Congratulations on scaling Mt. Everest!!”

!!!- A minor emergency has occurred or is about to occur. e.g. “The basement flooded and we need a plumber ASAP!!!” or “Help!!!”

!!!!- A once-in-a-lifetime event has occurred or is about to occur. e.g. “Jane just went into labor!!!!” or “It’s a boy!!!!”

This is good too.

What do you think? How many exclamation marks do you think are acceptable? Or is the sky the limit?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The importance of consistency in copy editing

Editing is as much about consistency as about correctness.  Obviously there will be some forms of expression that fall outside the bounds of normal usage, such as “We is going to the restaurant” but it is rare to find or make such blatant mistakes. When editing a piece of material, sometimes you have to choose between two equally acceptable usages and stick to the same usage throughout the work.

Consistency is a problem for a number of reasons.  The English language offers a multitude of alternatives in spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, punctuation and so on.  It is also changing rapidly by generating new compounds from within and borrowing new words from other languages.  This creates enormous scope for inconsistency in the way words and phrases are written.

In certain situations, it is important to retain consistency.  Here are the most important ones:-

1. In quotations.  These should be used exactly as they are in the original.
2. In hyphenating words that are sometimes used as nouns and sometimes as compound adjectives.  For example, you would use a hypen for the phrase “he sat on the dining-room carpet” but not for “he went into the dining room.”
3. In creating certain compounds.  Some expressions in the English language appear as one word and some as two depending on the context the word is being used.   For example, “I walked to the nearby park” (nearby is used as an adjective) versus “the park is near by my house.” (near by is used as an adverb).
4. In the capitalisation and italicisation of titles

It can be useful to write a style manual which states how words and phrases should be written and provides a guideline on how these rules should be followed.

Small business owners probably don’t have a “style manual” as such but they can create a similar document that can be a useful reference source for themselves and individuals involved in the business to refer to in order to minimise errors and inconsistencies.

Do you have a communication plan for your business?

A communication plan doesn’t have to be just for big businesses.  Small and medium sized businesses (SME’s) can also benefit from producing and implementing a communication plan.

It’s a great tool for planning and organising your communication activities and will encourage you to be consistent in your contact with your target audience.  It will help you to ensure information is shared with appropriate audiences on a timely basis and by the most effective means.

It also enables you to lead the communication process rather than react to events as they come along.  Planning activities helps you to allocate resources and money over a period of time and if you are consistent in your approach, you will have the best results.

So how do I develop a communication plan?

Read more

How to leave a review on Google Maps

This blogpost follows on from my last post about the importance of getting reviews on Google Places and how they can maximise your online exposure.  Click here to view.

Here’s a step by step guide on how to leave a review.  It’s very straightforward and something you can send to your customers so that they have the information they need to do it themselves.

Please note that you need a Google account to leave a review.  If you don’t have a Google account, click here to create one.

1.  Go to Google Maps

2.  Type in the name of the business you want to leave a review for and click search maps

3.  Click on more info next to the business name to verify it is the business you want to review

4.  Scroll down to Reviews by Google Users.  Then underneath, click on Sign in to rate

5.  Sign in to your Google account, or create a new one (see link above).  You’ll then go back to the business listing

6.  At the top of the screen, underneath the business details, hover your mouse over the grey stars next to “Your rating”.  You’ll notice they turn gold as you move across and the ratings change.

7.  Select the star rating you want

8.  In the box below, type the review you want to give

9.  Click publish to finish.  Your review will then appear under “Reviews by Google users”

10.  To see and manage all the reviews you have made, click on My Profile in the top right hand corner of your screen

When writing a review it’s important to:-

• Be informative and insightful.  Make your review specific and relevant to the place you are reviewing and describe what other people are likely to experience
• Keep it real.  People read reviews to learn about real experiences from real people, so be authentic
• Be respectful. Make sure any criticism is constructive.
• Write in style.  Keep it readable and minimise capitalisation and punctuation.  Use good grammar, check your spelling and choose the right length

Google Maps provides a list of useful tips for writing great reviews.  You can view them here.

If you have any questions or would like further information on how to leave a business review, please send me an email via the Contact Us page.

Get reviews on Google Places and maximise your online exposure

A while ago, I wrote a blog post about Google Places and how using this tool is a great way for businesses to get their company listed at the top of Google for free.

Another important feature of Google Places is reviews.  Reviews are important because what a customer writes about a product or service it has received from a business could influence purchasing decisions for others who are shopping around.  Furthermore, reviews are driving search rankings for small to medium businesses in Google Places so why don’t you ask your clients to review your business to help increase your online exposure?  If you are providing good products or services to your clients, many of them will be more than happy to help your business with a review.

I’ll be shortly putting together a simple step-by-step guide that explains how to create and leave a review.  It will contain very specific instructions on where to find the review area on a search result in Google.  The only thing your customers will need to know in advance is that they will have to sign up to Google Places in order to write a review.  I’ll also be providing some tips on writing great reviews which shows you where to begin and what type of information you should include that will be helpful to others.

In the meantime, why not request reviews in your blog?  Or on your website, Facebook or Twitter account?  In fact, anywhere you have an online presence?  You could also send out an email or letter to your top clients and send them instructions on how to create and write a review. 

It’s always a good idea to log who you have approached for a review and then follow up those that haven’t later.  And remember to thank those who do a review.  You could always offer an incentive for them to do so, perhaps by sending them a gift voucher or discount coupon for their next purchase.

If you would like me to email the step-by-step guide on how to create and leave a review, send me a message on the Contact Us page.

How web videos improve your search ranking

I was recently approached by a video advertising company looking for SEO copywriters for their website products.  The company produces high quality video advertising products that are personalised for their clients in any country, language or culture.  What they do is not rocket science as online videos have been around for some time (YouTube is the most well known video sharing website).  But I was curious to know more about the benefits of web videos and how having one on a website helps to improve the site’s page ranking.

Here are a few benefits of web video:-

• it offers a great experience to the visitor as audio and video is much more appealing than just plain text
• visitors (and therefore potential clients) get to see and hear you and therefore become familiar with you and your products and services
• it educates the visitor on how your product or service can help them by showing how it works, which ultimately helps them make a buying decision
• online video helps keep your site “sticky”, bringing customers back time and time again and encouraging repeat business
• sets you apart from the competition
• it’s more compelling and engaging

Embedding video on your site that is hosted at YouTube provides a double benefit.  A well structured site with great content which surrounds the video implies relevance to the video and the relevance helps Google decide what is or isn’t important.

Hosting the video at YouTube also allows the search engines to listen to the audio and gather more information.  It’s possible to have both the video at YouTube and the content page on your site displayed in the same search results.  This tells searchers that your content is probably what they are looking for.

Since the YouTube explosion, video has become a powerful tool for driving traffic to websites.  When a video goes viral, the link to the video spreads and as it is passed, backlinks are created and your site referral goes up.

Google and other search engines like video content because it adds quality, quantity and freshness to a website.  By adding great content and having a well structured website, video enhances SEO of the website helping to increase traffic to the site and improve search rankings.

Remember to choose a great title for your video that is keyword optimised as this helps Google with ranking your site.

Top tips on creating great marketing communications material

Great design attracts attention, presents information in a manner suited to the content and the intended readers and helps to maintain readers’ interest.

Equally important to how your marketing communications material looks is how well it reads and whether the content is engaging, gets the message across and stimulates action.

When deciding how to layout a document, a typical approach for graphic designers is to determine which elements are visual cues and signposts, which are content and which could be attractors.  They then determine for each of these elements the size and position that will promote the product or service in the best way.

Consider the following points when producing your next newsletter, brochure or other form of marketing communication.  They will help you produce a piece of material that stands out from the crowd and gets the result you are looking for:-

• make sure it is attractive – colours, images and faces all command attention.
• content also attracts attention but it has to be the “right” content dressed in the “right” way
• when laying out your page, think about how you can make your subject matter more appealing.  Creating visual interest could involve presenting an odd juxtaposition of two or more objects, colours or images; providing an unusual view or odd detail and enlarging something that is normally small (or making something that is normally large, small)
• content, particularly headlines, needs to be engaging to encourage readers to read more.  People scan information and sift and make choices without necessarily being aware of how quickly they make their selections.
• the need for speed sometimes translates into a call for visual simplicity, brevity and clarity.  Remember that a design doesn’t need to be complex to be attractive
• be mindful of how people read a document when designing it.  Images and illustrative material are generally skimmed first, then captions, then headings and labels and finally the text.  Colour, relative size and positioning are the main determinants for an attractive document that commands the greatest attention
• people have different physiological responses to colour and therefore colour differentiation influences how a reader reads a document.  Eyes are attracted to bright colours first because they stand out more and pay less attention to dark, muted colours because they appear to fade into the background.
• readers are also attracted to larger type size first because it’s easier to read before moving on to the smaller print.  So where you position larger elements has a big influence on how a layout is read.

When deciding where to place content, including visuals and text, it’s important to be mindful of how people read a document.  With printed material, readers typically start at the top left hand corner and exit at the bottom right. 

Readers of a double page spread start at the top right hand corner as they open the page and then sweep over the layout, moving across to the top left to recommence reading and finally exiting at the bottom right.

This reading flow is invariably interrupted by the placement of different items and their colour and size which can force readers to jump from one interest point to another.

If you need advice on how to layout your marketing communications material, send us an email.  We’ve got experts on hand who can point you in the right direction.

Great branding = great visuals + great content

I wrote a blog post a while ago about branding and how important it is in all aspects of your business, including marketing communications, so that you create the right impression.

Your brand is with you all the time: its in your logo, website, brochure, signage - everything to do with your business that is visual reinforces your brand and what it says about you.

But what about the words that are used to describe and promote your business?  Are these also part of your brand?  Should these be any more or less important than the visuals that represent your business brand?

And how do you create a good impression with words?  If getting your branding right means looking good, then the words that accompany any visual need to be:-

• accurate
• clear
• consistent

to enhance it.

Don’t make it difficult to understand the message you are trying to convey.  Use words that enhance and complement your visuals.  Make them “pack a punch” so that combined, the words and visuals that comprise your brand will have the greatest impact and create a professional impression of your business.

Great creative designs combined with accurately, clearly written words about your business used in all your promotions will make your business look good, attract attention and ultimately paying clients.

Branding content inspired by Imageffect.  Words inspired and written by Purple Chameleon Communications.

Checked out your competition lately?

Thanks to the internet, researching your competition nowadays is a much quicker, simpler process than ever before.  Whatever you see, your potential customer can see (assuming they have internet access, of course).  Standing apart from the competition so you get noticed first has never been so important – you want visitors to click on your site, not theirs, right?

I’m quite happy with my site’s navigation and copy and reckon I’ve nailed the SEO.  But the site has been live for nearly 2 years and with competition hotting up in my marketplace and more of them embracing social media and new technology, it’s time to make some changes. 

I don’t have a big budget to do this so every change needs to be carefully considered.  I’ve been checking out competitive websites to see what they’re up to and how they present themselves to see how I compare, and perhaps even for inspiration. 

Now I don’t believe in plagiarism (if such a thing exists for websites), but I do believe that if something works for someone else, there’s no reason why you can’t emulate it.  And if that site has a high Google ranking, it’s more than just the design and content that’s working.

The number of unique visitors to my website increased during October, mainly because I wrote more blog posts and spent more time on social media, so that’s something I’m doing right.  What I now want to do is convert that traffic into more enquiries and ultimately more paying clients: isn’t that what everyone with a website wants?

So if your website has been neglected since it was born x months or years ago, now is the time to dust it off and give it some TLC to make it outshine the competition.  And when you’re thinking about what you can do to make it look and read better, check out what your competition is up to.  If they’ve been hogging the top spot on Google, they’re doing something right and it’s time you knocked them off!

New from Google – Place Search

Last week, Google made some significant changes to its format for local search results, making it faster and even easier to find local information. 

Whereas previously up to 7 local business listings were displayed directly next to a Google Map of the related area, now more than 10 results are displayed pushing organic results further down the page.   Businesses with a Google Places profile now have greater visibility and the opportunity to have a stronger profile.

Google states that one of the great things in their approach to Google Places is that it is easier to find a comprehensive view of each place and that users will find more relevant links on a single results page, making it quicker to find what they want. 

Here’s a summary of the enhancements that have been made and how they appear on Place Search:-

• Local search results organise information around places, hence the name “Place Search”.  Search results are clustered around specific locations to help people make comparisons and decide where to go.
• A photo is included within each listing
• Links to reviews are visible for each search result
• The Google Map is no longer fixed and moves down the screen as you scroll results.
• The Maps link has been changed to Places and you have the option to view Everything or just local results by clicking on Places.

The new Google Places impacts in several ways on local search results:-

- The Google Map has been moved to the right hand side where a paid ad typically appeared resulting in Adwords being pushed further down the page.  This means that Adwords are getting even more competitive and businesses will be vying for a top spot in the pastel coloured Adwords display box at the top of the screen, where the old local listings used to appear.

- It’s now more important for businesses to flesh out their Google Places listing as more information can be displayed.  This includes the regular title, brief summary of the website’s content, a photo, address and contact information, a review snippet from people who have been to/used the business’s services, links to additional reviews on third-party sites, star ratings, overall review count and a link to the Place Page.  And all this information is displayed free of charge! 

If your business doesn’t have a Google Places profile, or if you have one but it needs improving or updating, you can either do this yourself by visiting the Google Places website, or contact us and we will help you.

Maximise your online exposure with Google Maps

Using Google Places is a great way for businesses to get their company listed at the top of Google and provide details on their products and services, for free.  And because it’s free, you’d be crazy not to register - it just takes a bit of time to complete the relevant information which you can either do yourself, or ask someone like me to do it for you at minimal cost.

Below is a summary of the information provided on the Google Places website.  It lists the steps involved in setting up your business on Google Places to help customers find you on Google Maps.  You can include information such as your business name, contact details, opening hours, payment methods, photos and more.  It’s a bit like having a mini website and it’s all free!

Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting your business on Google Maps:-

• go to the Google Places website and sign in to your Google Account.  If you don’t have a Google Account, you can set one up free of charge
• once you’ve signed in on the Google Places homepage click add new business
• fill out the basic information on your business including company name, address, phone number and your website URL
• provide details on what your company does.  You can select several categories that best describe your business, however, one of these categories must be a Google selected category (the one at the top) and the remainder you can either select from the list, or use your own.  I recommend you choose your own as this is your chance to select valuable keywords related to your business, eg ”Graphic Design Melbourne” that users will enter on Google to find you
• select hours of operation
• select the payment options that your business accepts
• add photos (you can have up to 10 max)
• add video, which must be on YouTube and then copy and paste the URL to your Google Places listing
• add any additional information that is relevant to your business, for example parking facilities or whether your business allows pets. 
• preview your listing as it will appear in Google Maps on the right side of the screen which will update as you add more new information.  When it looks how you want it to, click submit at the bottom of the page
• choose how you would like to verify your listing and click Finish.

Once you’ve submitted your business information, you’ll be asked to verify it before it goes live. Google Places offers three ways for you to verify a new business listing, or to verify a phone number or address change in an existing listing.  You can do this by phone, SMS or postcard.

By Phone:  You’ll receive an automated phone call to the number listed in your Google Places account, which will be immediately after you click submit.  During the call, you’ll be prompted to enter a unique PIN into your Google Places account.

By SMS:  You’ll receive a unique PIN at the mobile phone number you’ve entered into Google Places.  Once you’ve entered your PIN, your business will be verified and incorporated into Google Maps within 6 weeks.

By post:  The PIN is sent by postcard to the business address submitted to Google Maps which can take 2-3 weeks to arrive.

Once you’ve verified your account, it shouldn’t take more than 12 days for your listing to appear in Google Maps. 

When your listing appears, you’ll be able to track stats that show the number of impressions (how many times users saw your business listing as a local search result) and actions (number of times users click for more info on maps and the number of clicks to your website).  It also shows the top search queries for which your business listing appeared, along with the number of times users saw your business listing in the search results for those queries.

Google Places is a great tool to get your business listed on Google Maps and it’s 100% free.  It’s perfect for a small business or brand new business starting out and gives you increased visibility on Google for people looking for your type of business in your area.  If you need help setting your business up on Google Places, email me your details and for a minimal fee, I can take care of it for you, saving you time to get on with running your business.

How good is your customer service?

In addition to being good at copywriting and producing marketing communications that meet my clients needs, I’d like to think that my customer service skills are up there too.  It’s the attention to detail and going that extra mile to give them more than they expect that in my opinion is exceptional customer service.  If I see an opportunity for my clients to promote their business at no cost or low cost, I’m in there because I figure that if it means more business and $’s for them, it could mean more business and $’s for me.

On Friday 15 October, a group of ladies in the Ashwood area held a Girls Night In event at Ashwood College to support awareness of and research into women’s cancers.  I asked two of my clients, Tania from Green Room Interiors and Julie from Style & Grace, if they would like to donate something to the event in return for some free publicity.  Of course Tania and Julie agreed and as a result, their business was promoted to over 100 ladies dressed in pink supporting a very worthy cause.

Whether Tania and Julie get business out of supporting the Girls Night In event I don’t know but I certainly hope so.   But I think that the fact that I asked them if they wanted to be involved and coordinated the handling and promotion of their donations with the organisers at no cost, is going that extra mile.

Of course, I can’t do this sort of thing free of charge all the time or I’d be out of business.  But if I see an opportunity that will benefit my clients, I’m in there. 

One of my newest clients, Unreal Parties in Ashburton, runs children’s parties and sells kids toys.  Anytime I’m talking to a parent at my daughter’s school that is planning a party for their child or knows someone that is, of course I mention Unreal Parties.  It doesn’t cost me a cent  but if it brings in business for my client, it could be good for my business.

What exactly is copywriting?

It may seem obvious what a copywriter does but you’d be surprised the number of people who ask me this question at networking events.

The Macquarie Dictionary definition of a copywriter is “a writer of copy for advertisements or publicity releases” which is too specific.    Wikipedia has a better, broader definition.

Today, a copywriter’s skills extend beyond writing just advertisements and press releases.  Although traditionally the objective of a copywriter is to write copy that persuades a target audience to take a form of action (eg for adverts and other sales material), the range of tactical devices that can be used to do this has changed significantly since the arrival of the internet.

A copywriter could be asked to write content for anything from an eblast to a a Facebook message.  Some copywriters have expanded their skills to write web content that is search engine optimised, ie it is written in a way that will help a website to be found by google and achieve a high page ranking. 

Copywriting can appear in a wide range of written collateral including direct marketing material, websites, social media, advertisements, press releases, letters, catalogues, posters, brochures and radio and TV scripts.

Regardless of which format a copywriter uses to convey a message, a copywriter still needs to research and have a thorough understanding of their client’s business, products and services before starting to write.  It can be a lengthy process but is worth the effort to produce satisfactory results.

Great looking website but no SEO

I recently started working in partnership with a new graphic designer who is so busy with website design work that she’s asked me to do the SEO for her client’s sites.  I’ve achieved great results with SEO and have developed a solid understanding of how a website can achieve a high Google page ranking without it costing a fortune.

There are alot of SEO experts out there and I don’t claim to be an “expert” in all aspects of SEO.  I don’t specialise in google adwords or pay-per-click advertising, but systematically work through a process to achieve great results with on-page SEO which involves editing your sites pages so that search engines find you when a user is searching a particular topic.  It’s not rocket science but does take time and patience to achieve results.  

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you have a great looking website that you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on - if no SEO has been applied it just won’t be found by the search engines.

My SEO process is simple but effective.  I research keywords and identify those that are relevant to your market and that users are likely to enter as a search term.  I write a description and a list of keywords that are incorporated into your page content in a natural way that sounds like a person has written it, not a computer – being a good writer certainly helps with this!  I then write Page Titles and Heading Tags (H1) and regularly review your website to see if it is being found for your target keywords.

It’s simple, cost effective and gets results.  The process can be applied to any website, large or small.  Check out the Services Page on my website for further details.  The prices will be increasing soon so if you need my help, I suggest you get in quick!

If your website is a few years old now and missed out on SEO when it was originally designed, or if you have a new site that isn’t achieving results, email me your details and I’ll give you a brief analysis on how it can be improved.

How good copy editing can turn a brochure around

I recently received a request from a lady who is a teacher at a Chinese Language & Culture Training (CLCT) business to copy edit a a brochure she had written to promote her chinese language and culture training courses.  

Chinese is her first language and even though her English is very good, she needed help to improve the brochure’s content and include more selling messages which would appeal to her target market - corporate companies and business owners, to encourage them to use her services.

The expression “lost in translation” came to mind when I started this project.  Even though the brochure wasn’t literally translated from Chinese to English, it was obvious looking at the “before” version that it had not been written by someone who spoke English as their first language. 

When promoting yourself to the English speaking corporate market, creating the right first impression is important.  If your brochure doesn’t convey a professional looking business because it contains poorly written content, that could immediately eliminate any chance of success.

I hope that the revised brochure helps my client generate interest in her training courses because there is a very clear niche for her services.  Anyone doing business with China should learn at least basic Chinese, partly out of respect and also because it will help you establish great relationships and build trust, key success factors when doing business with the Chinese.

To view “before” and “after” versions of the CLCT brochure, visit the clients page.

12 timeless writing tips from literary great Mark Twain

I received an email last week from Online Universities promoting a blog post on their site which I found interesting and thought I would share with visitors to my site.

The blog post lists 12 writing tips the literary great Mark Twain offered to writers in his lifetime that still hold true today.  Click here to read the blog.

Read and enjoy!