When I lived in Seattle, football wasn’t a big deal. Sure, a few folks were loyal followers, but you could ignore the whole scene. Occasionally we’d see a headline about a big win. Matt Hasselback was known for his generosity to the community; he’d come to Seattle Storm games and throw t-shirts.

Fast forward to Philadelphia. Here the city buses flash encouragement: “Go Eagles!” People hang signs in their windows. Even people who don’t know the difference between a down and a disaster will be able to tell you how the Eagles are doing.

So I keep coming back to my favorite metaphor of Internet marketing. If you’re pressed for time and want to create a compelling online presence, you need to bring a team together – or you can hire someone who will create the team for you.

But who should be on the team? And what positions should they play?

Often business owners expect the web designer to win the whole online marketing game single-handedly with color, design, traffic and navigation. The truth is, if your website were a football game, the content would be the quarterback and the design would be your offensive line.

On the football field the quarterback calls plays and makes sure the ball gets down the field to score points. The job of the offensive line is to make sure the quarterback gets through, unharmed, without interference.

On your website, your designer’s job is to make it easy for visitors to read your copy. Just as good linemen protect their quarterback, your web designer makes sure your graphics support your message and your site is easy to read. Your copywriter calls the plays:

How do you identify your niche so you know how to reach them easily (and motivate then to take action on your offer)? Which pages get featured on the main menu bar? What metaphors and stories will frame your content?

Once these critical decisions have been made, your web designer can implement the technical and visual components of your site. Some copywriters will even guide your designer and manage the entire project, just as a football quarterback is the coach on the field.

If you’re a time-pressed professional who wants to become an online superstar, check out the next FREE Cat Chat: The Content Multiplier.

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As a time-starved business owner, you might find yourself struggling to write an ezine, an e-book and a handful of articles…not to mention creating videos and audio podcasts.  Even if you’re a good writer, it’s tempting to think, “Wouldn’t it be nice to hire someone to do this? A ghostwriter to chase away the ghosts of unfinished work?

Let’s consider 3 ways to get the job done painlessly.

(1) Ghostwriters complete the project from start to finish. You never see their names on the final product. In fact, your contract establishes that your Ghost was writing “for hire,” i.e., you own all the rights to the finished product.

Good ghostwriters don’t come cheap. For published books, they can get 50% of the advance and royalties – sometimes more. After all, they get no glory. Often they can’t list your project on their resumes and you won’t give them testimonials. That’s the whole idea: they’re invisible! So they must be compensated for the lack of track record. They’re known by word of mouth.

You can hire low-cost ghostwriters at eLance. But you have to develop the assignment, write an ironclad contract, and hope your ghostwriter actually wrote what she submitted, rather than helping herself to the Internet smorgasbord. Talk about being haunted.

(2) Editors take your work and create good products. Ideally, you’ll write everything you need and you hire an editor to check spelling, tighten the prose, repair grammar errors and polish.

Good editors also don’t work cheap, but for straight spelling-and-grammar, you can easily find help. And often hiring an editor can be a wise investment. You may get lucky with a virtual assistant who can edit, proofread and produce your publication.

(3) Copywriters create sales letters, web pages and sometimes press releases, ezines and e-books. Good copywriters will insist on obtaining strategic information so they can write to your target market, stressing your unique advantages.

Like ghostwriters, copywriters actually create your message. But we’re usually more than a shadowy presence: most business owners are proud to tell the world they hired a copywriter.

You may feel that you spend as much time working with your copywriter as you’d spend writing your own copy, although the result will (hopefully) be far more effective and professional.

Actually, you’re using your time wisely. A copywriter forces you to assess your strategy and actually write out success stories, target market descriptions and a benefits-features list. Most of us (even copywriters!) tend to skip these steps when writing our own copy. We’re usually sorry afterwards.

To write ebooks faster, check out Jim Edwards’s book, E-book Secrets Exposed.
Click here.

And for a fast and friendly website, join the Website Express.

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I just finished an express website for Eimear McAllister, a former barrister who’s now coaching with EFT tapping. Eimear didn’t have a site and knew she needed one. Using the new program I just offered, she is now up and running. This coaching included the heading you see here, which she chose from several presented from a designer at fiverr.com.

Eimear (pronounced EEmer to rhyme with “beemer”) didn’t have additional images; if she did, we would have incorporated them. We can easily change the width of her main text column, change the website to a 2-column instead of 3, and a lot more.

Here’s her site – from zero to this one:
http://freedomfromprocrastination.com

And if you’d like a site like that for yourself, check out the Website Express.

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“What is one thing we don’t know about you … something that would surprise us?”

When you attend live seminars and networking events, you may get asked this question. Sometimes I say, “I am a huge fan of WNBA basketball.” These days my answer is something like, “I’m taking classes in improv. One item on my bucket list is, “Perform stand-up comedy in at least 3 venues.”

Philadelphia has a lively comedy scene with lots of classes and energy. This term I’m taking a class in sketch comedy writing. Now, given that I am a professional writer, you’d think I’d be a natural. But actually my first attempts are more likely to provoke a mild frown than a hearty laugh.

When it came time to turn in our first assignment, I knew I wasn’t being funny … but I had no idea how to make my sketch funnier. What I did bring to the table (literally) was a lifetime of writing. I know that first drafts can be horrific … but if you don’t write a first draft, you won’t have a final gem. I know that when you’re stuck, the best thing to do is share, talk and get reactions from other people.

Sure enough, my classmates were polite enough to keep a straight face (not always a good thing in a comedy class) when my turn came to present. And they did give me some great ideas for our second assignment – a rewrite. Our instructor – a comedy pro – knows the rule: writing is 10% idea and 90% rewriting. And you don’t invest too much of your ego in a first draft.

So … how does this story relate to website copywriting?

All too often I meet with clients who are terrified to take the first step to create a website. “It’s got to be just right,” they say. Or, “I know just what I want … ”

The truth is, when you need a new website, or when your site is so old it’s doing you a disservice, it’s better to get something out there. I’m not suggesting you create a sloppy or ugly site on purpose, but I do know some high-earning professionals who have websites that would make a grown designer cry.

Let’s get real: if you’re a time-starved professional (like most of my clients) you don’t have time to get involved with a huge project. You’re wise enough to avoid throwing huge sums of money at the problem. If you wait till you’re ready for that perfect website, nothing happens. You miss opportunities, leave money on the table and feel stressed about one more thing hanging over your To DO list.

It’s like that advice we get tired of hearing: Half of success is just showing up. When you get a good-enough website out there, you’ll start to get reactions. In fact, you will look at your own website differently; sometimes you will be inspired to change your offerings or your business model.

You will find many alternative ways to create that website. It’s important to avoid getting locked into a service that’s fine for a stop-gap measure but forces you to start over as you grow.

To respond to this need, I created a new Express service. You get good copy and (if you like) a sturdy platform that expands as your business grows. Learn more here.

This month I have room for just 2 more business owners. And as a special, when you sign up for this service, you get access to my next workshop: Copywriting For Your Services Page

That workshop starts Tuesday. You can take advantage of a discount when you sign up here.

It’s part of my 3-module workshop on writing your home, about and services pages. You get discounts on recordings of the previous 2 modules when you sign up now.

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