Complete Digital Copywriting

Do you want to create powerful digital copy for web, email, social media and blogs? Join us on this practical, two-day training course and you will learn how to grab attention, drive traffic, convert sales, stimulate loyalty and enhance your reputation just by using the right words in the right places.

Benefits to you and your employer

Benefits to you:

You will learn to:

• Understand how an audience reads, interprets and interacts with digital media and how that differs from print
• Produce persuasive digital copy whether you're responsible for writing, editing, repurposing or evaluating existing work
• Understand the theory behind successful digital content for web, email, social media and blogs
• Create copy that will be found by search engines and attract more traffic to your website
• Use copy and content to generate more return on investment

Benefits to your employer:

By the end of the course, you will know how to use the right words in the right places in order to:

• Understand how an audience reads, interprets and interacts with digital media and how that differs to print
• Be able to write persuasive digital copy for web, emails, social media and blogs
• See how to effectively edit and repurpose offline content for digital
• Understand what search engines really look for from your keywords and phrases
• Know how to use your copywriting skills to drive more traffic to your website and social media activity
• Write more successful email copy
• Know how to create more return on investment (ROI ) for your web copy, email campaigns and social media content
• Have a digital copywriting toolbox to give you competitive advantage in a crowded market
• Have set up a new blog, learnt how to write and promote successful blog. posts and made the most of your blogging opportunities with minimal effort
• Have a strong grasp on the different social media copywriting opportunities
• Have a strong grasp on what NOT to say on social media
• Be confident in using your social media copy to win business, create advocates, drive revenue, build relationships and raise your campaign’s profile

Who should attend?

The Complete Digital Copywriting course is designed for marketers or managers with responsibility for – or interest in – writing, editing and repurposing digital copy for:

• Websites
• Email campaigns
• Social media
• Blogs

This will include:

• Offline copywriters
• Digital copywriters
• Clients
• Agency account management
• Agency account executives
• B2B marketers
• B2C marketers

Programme outline

The Complete Digital Marketing course will empower you with the digital copywriting insights and practical skills that you need to get the most out of your web, email, social media and blog content.

This course is also available as two separate and independent courses: Copywriting for Web and Email and Copywriting for Social Media and Blogs.

Here is the programme outline for this course:

Day one

Introduction to writing for digital channels

• How do readers ‘see’ digital content?
• The 'skim' factor
• Skimmers and scanners v longer readers
• Web usability research and what it means for effective writing
• Mobile – where else your customers and audience might read your copy

Get to it: Analysing the digital content hall of fame and shame

Breaking down the brief

• Getting started with a digital mind-frame
• Importance of key words and phrases
• How to sell digital copy
• Making the most of each medium – websites, emails, ads
• What will work, where?
• Checklist for effective web writing

Get to it: Isolating keywords and phrases from the brief and writing web headline/strapline copy

Expanding the content for web pages

• How SEO affects digital content – where else will your headlines appear?
• Getting people to the page and extending their user journey
• Which words are the most important on a web page? And why?
• How do you want your audience to react and interact?
• Understanding ‘call to action’ the digital way

Get to it: Developing copy for websites

Making emails and email marketing campaigns work harder

• Who reads marketing emails?
• Who doesn’t? And why?
• Getting the subject line right
• Not getting sent straight to spam
• Effective email copy
• Golden rules and cardinal sins
• Key email do’s and don’ts
• Test test test – what to test and why
• Measuring success

Get to it: Writing better email subject lines and lead in text

Editing and repurposing content for digital channels

• Key points to consider when repurposing or editing content
• At what stage digital content should be considered
• Quick wins with little effort
• When copy alone is not enough... Making sure enhanced content is working just as hard for you.
• Key editing do’s and don’ts
• How to start incorporating the day’s principles within other digital copy opportunities

Get to it: Editing and repurposing a piece of web contentGet to it: A personal list of digital do’s and don’ts and a plan for the future

Day Two

Introduction/recap on writing for digital channels

• Where blogging and social media sit in the marketers arsenal
• How do they affect SEO?
• Why do they need to be written in a different way to websites and print copy?
• Brief intro/recap on digital usability and your audience/brand

Blogging: What makes a great blog?

• What is a blog?
• Dialogue, not a conversation
• Top 5 content rules for a great blog
• Top 5 cardinal sins for a great blog
• Where to find blogs, where to promote blogs, existing blog examples

Get to it: Finding and exploring blogs in your market.

Individual Exercise: Create a new blog in Wordpress

• What else is out there?
• Name your blog and create a template
• Write your first posts
• Add images and video

Taking the blog further

• Links/blogrolls/tag clouds etc
• Dealing with comments
• Stimulating comment

Get to it: - updating your blogs, stimulating comment

Social Media - think strategically, not tactically

• What is it you want to achieve?
• Recap the potential benefits
• Where is your audience?
• What are they doing and what do they expect?
• How will you measure success?

The key players: Facebook and twitter et al

• What do they each offer
• What do their users expect
• How could they work for you
• Key competitors
• What do you need to think of from a writing point of view?

Get to it: Social media rogues gallery

Using social media for search

• How does that work?
• The importance of your words and phrases when other people are searching
• Making the most of the #tag/RT/lists

Getting the tone right

• Top 5 things to remember when writing for social media

Get to it: writing for different social media scenarios

Dealing with comments and feedback

• commenting and dealing with comment – tone, phrasing, reaction

Get to it: comment scenarios

Group Summary of the day:

• Create a personal list of digital do’s and don’ts
• Identify future training requirements

Training course tutor

Becky Bocchetti is a digital marketing and content strategy consultant, journalist and web editor. She specialises in training marketing, commercial and editorial teams on a variety of topics including writing for digital, search engine optimisation, commercial digital content, digital advertising, blogging, community, cross-media content and social media

Her track record with the award-winning weddingguideuk.com and the joint multimedia venture Vizzavi preceded a move to broadcast, as an interactive producer for BBC Radio 2, before joining London Zoo, where she launched their first e-commerce site, gaining recognition with an Enjoy England Award for Excellence, and also winning the Tourism Website of the Year.

Becky is also one of the speakers for the IDM Certificate in Direct and Digital Marketing.

Delegate testimonials

"A great overview into a fast-developing area. The course has been useful in ways I didn't imagine and I can't wait to get into the office and start putting the learning into practice. Thanks Becky, easily the best course I have been on in a very long time. Highly relevant with genuine actionable learning."

Richard McGowan, Straumann

"Becky is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about all aspects of digital copywriting. She manages to keep a two day course continuously lively and engaging."

Anna Powell, Taylor Wimpey

"It's been a really useful day and I've got lots of ideas to take back with me. Thank you."

Katherine Smith, Royal College of Music