Copywriting News - Good News For Copywriters - Copywriting Services In Greater Demand Reveal New Statistics

There has never been a better time to be a freelance copywriter according to business2community.com - Wolverhampton copywriting service, Write House, investigates.

Write House, Wolverhampton, copywriting service. Copywriting news.

Annual salaries and employment opportunities are up in the copywriting industry. Recently published figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that the average hourly rate for a UK freelance copywriter is currently £16.02 per hour. Compare that with the current UK minimum wage of £6.50 per hour, and copywriters certainly earn significantly more. 

The surge in demand for copywriting services has been attributed to cost cutting measures implemented by businesses. According to various sources, companies are moving away from employing ‘in-house’ copywriters, with a preference for employing a freelance copywriter on hourly or fixed price rates.

However, there is no statistical evidence to suggest that the ‘in-house’ copywriter is becoming obsolete. Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron, states: “The ‘in-house’ copywriter is still considered a valuable asset. After all, a copywriter that has been with a company for 10 years knows the product/service inside-out. They know what copy works for their company.”

He added: “The freelance copywriter market simply offers a fresh approach, but there’s no reason why the two can’t go hand-in-hand. I’m a full-time copywriter, but I’ve used many freelance writers and always found the experience refreshing.”

According to business2community.com the demand for authors and copywriters is expected to grow by at least 6 per cent between 2014 and 2020 and in fact, many commentators believe they will see an increase in full-time salaried copywriting jobs. They expect freelance writers to use freelancing as a platform to land full-time employment.

Many people are attracted to freelance copywriting, despite the competitiveness involved. However, the monetary returns are very alluring, with the potential to earn a significant sum as a freelancer. This is because freelancing enables a copywriter to determine a niche, set their own rates and establish a service that grows to a point where they can outsource work whilst bringing in a profit.

Freelancing has become a big market in Britain, and not just in copywriting, but writing appears to be the market which everyone believes they can apply themselves to. However, this is not always the case. The freelance copywriter market is competitive, in some cases ruthless, and requires persistence and a thick skin to navigate your way to success.

Yet, the signs for 2014, and the foreseeable future, are promising for the UK freelance copywriting industry with a number of upward trends expected to shape the sector over the next decade.

Wolverhampton copywriting service, Write House, provides content for websites, articles, press releases, blogs and white papers on a local, national and international scale. Need a quality copywriting service at a competitive price? Contact Write House today – www.writehouse.co.uk

Write House Copywriting News - London Academy Imposes Ban on Use of ‘Urban Slang’

Urban slang terms like ‘coz’, ‘ain’t’ ‘innit’, ‘like’ and ‘bare’ have been banned by the Harris Academy in London in a bid to improve English at the educational institution.

As the academy looks to crackdown on poor English skills, beginning a sentence with the word ‘basically’ or ending a sentence with the word ‘yeah’, has also been prohibited.

The school has already begun to display signs around its corridors showing a comprehensive list of banned words and phrases. School corridors at the Harris Academy will no longer be littered with phrases like ‘you woz’ and ‘it so ain’t’, in a move that has been welcomed by Labour MP, David Lammy.

The Harris Academy is one of 27 academies and free schools located in and around the London area. The academy is sponsored by the Harris Federation and is situated in south London.

Whilst David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham, does support the move he is bemoaning the fact that a number of other phrases are not featured in the list, drawing particular attention to the phrase ‘sup blood.’

In a lengthy statement from Mr Lammy regarding the action taken by the Harris Academy to eradicate the use of poor English, he said: “I believe this to be a great idea. Speaking slang is fine in a social setting but a school should be a professional, educational environment and if part of that means banning slang then that’s fine by me.”

He continued: “Too often I see young people going into job interviews or writing cover letters without being able to use correct English. Any attempts to change that should be encouraged.

Not many employers would tolerate their staff using words like ‘innit’ when speaking to customers or clients, so the school is right to try to discourage the use of this language in classrooms.

Given the huge levels of youth unemployment we are experiencing under the current Government, it is more important than ever that schools do what they can to prepare students for working life, and teaching good communication skills is a vital part of that.

I think it is fairly obvious to most people that anyone who goes into a job interview with a good grasp of the English language will have an automatic advantage over someone that doesn’t.

The issue here isn't about slang itself, but about the context it is used in. Language is an important part of any culture, and young people will always have their own slang.

But young people need versatility; using slang is fine in some situations, but the ability to also speak good English is absolutely crucial in any workplace, and it is something that every school should be teaching its students.

Those saying this is an attack on culture are completely missing the point: no one is saying slang is bad, but simply that it shouldn’t be the only way that one is capable of communicating.”

However, the move has also received widespread criticism with many sceptics arguing that such rules are simply not enforceable. 

Copywriting News | Apprentice Runner-Up Abolishes Apostrophe Use

She gained acclaim by reaching the final of the 2013 series of ‘The Apprentice’, earning the respect and admiration of Lord Alan Sugar. However, Luisa Zissman’s Twitter followers were left mortified when she revealed her poor grasp of grammar.

Astonishingly, Zissman’s confession led to a barrage of criticism from her mass Twitter following after she posted an appeal for help on apostrophe placement in the title of her new cupcake business venture.

Her Twitter post read as follows: “Can you all help me out as I'm crap at grammar. Is it bakers toolkit or baker's toolkit with an apostrophe?! X.”

In response, one startled Twitter user replied: “You're kidding, right?” whilst others mocked her and questioned how she ever managed to reach the final of the prime time, BBC ONE show.

There were those that were willing to help however, informing her that it should read Baker’s Toolkit, or Bakers’ Toolkit, depending on the number of intended bakers.

However, despite the helpful advice Zissman went on to enrage ‘grammar geeks’ by declaring that she didn’t care about ‘grammar rules’ and she liked the way it looked with no apostrophe present at all.

She said: “I like the look of bakers. Would it be terrible to stick with bakers?”  

In a reply from one Twitter user, Matt Adams, he said: “You can't change English grammar even if it does look better on logos!”

Zissman retorted: “Think I'm going to!!”

To which Matt replied: “But why?! Why deliberately make a mistake in the title of your business for no good reason?!”

Zissman’s bakery business is set to launch towards the latter end of 2013 and will sell baking supplies online. It would now appear that the company name will be launched, minus an apostrophe it seems. Could it be a recipe for disaster?

Tell Write House your thoughts; leave your comments below… 

Write House, West Midlands, provides a comprehensive range of services that will help your business to increase its prominence including copywriting, proofreading and editing services, social media assistance and media consultancy services.

MarketingProfs Issues Report on the State of Digital Copywriting

Leading Marketing Hub, MarketingProfs, has issued an in-depth report detailing the challenges that marketers and content creators face when it comes to digital copywriting, Write House can reveal.

According to the report a high proportion (60%) of marketers and content creators state that a ‘lack of understanding about what good copy is’ represents the biggest challenge of digital copywriting.

Other challenges affecting the production of good digital copy include: work overload/lack of staff (55%), finding skilled writers (51%), meeting SEO requirements (44%), input from stakeholders (40%), lack of writing guidelines (37%), insufficient time to check copy (34%), and no copywriting training (31%).

Other key findings from the report, titled ‘The State of Digital Copywriting’, which was compiled following a survey of 365 marketers, copywriters, content editors, content strategists and consultants, predominantly based in the UK, revealed the following:

Copywriting Activity

• 74% of respondents check and proof copy before it goes live
• 58% use language and style guidelines
• Only 32% have a standard content structure format for their writing
• Just 19% train all their content creators in web writing

Source: Marketingprofs.com

Workflow

• 52% of respondents write copy on demand, in response to business needs
• Just 18% roll out copy according to a content plan, and only 9.8% always use a creative brief
• 43% have, on average, 1-2 stakeholders who need to sign off on a key piece of web copy, and 42% have 3-5 stakeholders
• 42% of time is spent creating content, and the rest is spent planning, delivering, and governing it

Source: Marketingprofs.com

Measurement

• 56% of respondents measure the effectiveness of copy by unique visits or page views
• 48% measure effectiveness by looking at conversions
• 20% aren't measuring the effectiveness of their copy at all

Source: Marketingprofs.com

Write House, Wolverhampton, understands that the majority of responses within the research came from marketers (20.7%), followed by copywriters (10.6%), content editors (9.8%), consultants (3.9%) and content strategists (3.6%).

Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron, commented: “The report gives copywriters and marketers valuable insight into the habits of copywriters and a glimpse into the state of digital copywriting as a whole. This information will enable the Write House copywriting service to improve its own standards therefore, the research is welcomed.”

Write House News | Google Glum, Microsoft Miserable | Companies Bemoan ‘Poor Profits’

You would think that Google would be ecstatic with a 16% increase in profits over the last 12 months, particularly in the grip of an economic recession. Well apparently not, finance analysts for the technology giant are bemoaning a shortfall in profits despite making $9.7 billion (£6.4 billion).

Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron, comments: “Well it’s just staggering there are companies that would give anything to still be in existence, to bemoan profits of $9.4 billion signifies one thing only, greed.”

Microsoft followed suit, bemoaning its own shortfall in profits despite raking in $4.5 billion during the second quarter.

Write House understands that both companies have experienced a fall in share value of about 4% as a result of the profit announcements.

Despite Google’s profits experiencing a 16% increase, the company was disappointed to miss out on predicted profits forecast by analysts.

The catalyst behind Google’s profits – advertising revenue - was also up by 15%.

In a statement from Google Chief Executive, Larry Page, he said: “As we adapt to mobile advertising our bottom line as suffered a hit.”

In an official statement from Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron, he said: “The opportunity to make billions does not present itself to everyone and I think it’s a little short-sighted of two globally recognised companies to publicly moan about a shortfall in ‘profits’ when just $1 billion of that money could solve a number of the world’s issues, in my opinion it’s disgraceful.”

In need of a copywriting service? Contact Write House today.  

Write House Copywriting Services Social Media News | Pinterest Launches Localised French Version

Write House, Wolverhampton, understands that social media solution, Pinterest, has launched a localised edition of its website in France. This move represents the first non-English version of its site.

Whilst the French edition offers language assistance in search and other copy-heavy areas of the site, the primary goal of the French site is to offer a targeted local community experience for users across the French nation.

In a statement from Pinterest executives, they said: “The platform will feature content from French domains and pins with French-language descriptions more prominently in search and on category pages, as well as pins from local users.”

Write House founder and copywriter, Daniel Waldron stated: “This is a significant step for Pinterest as they look to expand in the social media market. The concept of introducing a localised version of the site is a unique and fresh approach.”

To promote the launch, Pinterest sent a group of representatives to Paris in order to raise awareness of its new venture. Write House also understands that the San-Francisco based company has partnered with over 300 blog copywriters, freelance copywriters and other copywriting professionals, to produce guest posts and promote the site via its ‘Pin it Forward’ campaign.

Write House provides a comprehensive range of services that helps businesses to increase their prominence including copywriting, proofreading and editing services, social media assistance and media consultancy services. 

Write House Copywriting Services News | Copywriting Could be Hereditary says Research

Write House Copywriting Services, Wolverhampton, has learnt that copywriting could be a hereditary art form. Investigations undertaken by researchers from Yale and Moscow Universities have identified significant traits that run through families known for their writing skills.

Some examples include Kingsley and Amis, the Brontës and the Waugh family. The research uncovered that there is a scientific ‘link’ that leads certain family members down the same career path as other copywriters within the family.

In a statement from Write House Copywriting Services founder, Daniel Waldron, he said: “I can’t identify with this personally in my immediate lifetime, but maybe my family tree would identify where my copywriting prowess originates from. However, this is very significant research as it may inspire other copywriters to pursue a writing career as did their immediate and historical ancestors.”

Research into the phenomenon led to them testing the theory. Hundreds of children aged eight – 17, along with their parents, were asked to produce written material focusing on particular themes. The finished articles were monitored for originality, plot development, quality, sophistication and creative use of prior knowledge.

Researchers also took into account family levels of intelligence and how they functioned. With all this data taken into consideration, they identified the inherited and environmental aspects of creative copywriting.

The findings revealed a modest, but statistically significant proportion of familiarity and a heritage type element to creative copywriting.

Write House provides a comprehensive range of services that helps businesses on a local, national and international scale to increase its prominence including copywriting, proofreading and editing services, social media assistance and media consultancy services.