How to write a great contact us page for your website

Clients often ask us why the Contact Us page is in our standard website copywriting package. Surely, they say, it’s “just” a place for their phone number and email address. This is so wrong… Your Contact Us page is the point at which your prospect can take action or disappear at the last minute. That…

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Why your website needs a lead magnet

The vast majority of first-time visitors to your website are on a research mission. They’re not ready to invest in your product or service. They won’t email, call or download. They’ll come and they’ll go without your knowing who they are.  That’s why you need to give visitors a reason to tell you who they…

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How to write a great LinkedIn profile

Wondering how to write a LinkedIn profile? You should know that what makes a great LinkedIn profile is different from what makes a great resume or CV. Recruiters use LinkedIn, but LinkedIn is more than a repository of resumes: LinkedIn is a powerful networking tool. A great LinkedIn profile can help you develop relationships with…

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How to develop your unique selling proposition (quickly)

Online USP course

In layman’s terms, a unique selling proposition (USP) describes your business, product or service as the solution to a problem your ideal customers know they have. Ideally, your USP express that value in a way that is specific to your company, product or service. A good USP should boil down to one sentence that’s easy…

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This Ikea “trick” will save your LinkedIn profile

When I say “Ikea”, do you think about the revolutionary thought that helped make Ikea a $57 billion company? No, you don’t, and that’s what this “trick” has to do with writing a winning LinkedIn profile. Ikea grew from a simple thought—how much cheaper it would be to make, ship and sell furniture if the…

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Writing landing pages that convert

Updated 24 June 2021 Direct response copywriter Steven Lewis talks to an audience at Fishburners about how ad money gets wasted and the secrets of copywriting a landing page that converts. Download the slides Taleist’s landing page copywriting course Details of the landing page copywriting course discussed in the video are here. Transcript of Writing…

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1 Facebook ad, 90 words, 3 copywriting techniques

The Facebook post in this picture is fizzing with copywriting technique. First, the copywriting calls out what the customer really wants, not what the product actually is. The customer reading this Facebook ad wants to share an activity with the kids in the school holidays; learning how to bake sourdough is a means to that…

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Using proof to increase your conversion rate

Proof explodes conversion rates

Updated 19 June 2021 The #1 thing that will improve your conversion rate is PROOF Most copywriting says things without proving them. As a result, the copywriting converts poorly. Anyone can say they’re “passionate about customer service”, and thousands upon thousands of lazy businesses say exactly that. But the business with the enviable conversion rate…

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Anatomy of a flawed landing page

This is a case study of a landing page with poor copywriting. In the video, I break the copywriting down to show how the conversion rate could be improved. Facebook served me an ad for a product that caught my eye, so I looked at the product’s landing page. The landing page is a great…

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How to write a perfect press release

Updated 19 June 2021 This is a book-length blog post about writing a press release (seriously, it’s for sale on Amazon), I recommend you download the free PDF to read at your leisure. Shortly after I published this book, the University of Sydney picked it up as required reading in its Master of Strategic Public…

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Why you need a Language Well™

How did I describe that last time? What did I call that again? What did I say the service was good for? It’s frustrating when you know you’ve already found a great way to say something, but you can’t find the old email. So what do you do… Coming up with new copywriting every time…

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How to write case studies that sell

Every month, a local real estate agent drops a flyer into the office mailbox. The flyer comprises a list of addresses and sale prices. The real estate agent calls this a list of “case studies”. They’re not case studies. What she’s printed is a list of facts. The list isn’t even the case study’s cousin-once-removed,…

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Internal communications challenges? Create Knowledge Volunteers

Knowledge Volunteers are employees who actually WANT the information on offer in your internal communications. That’s exactly what you need when you can’t make employees read emails, visit the intranet or turn up for lunch-and-learns. You work in a large organisation and you have something you want employees to know. The problem in large organisations…

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How to write a press release [Infographic]

Updated: 25 April 2020 This “how to write a press release” infographic accompanies the second edition of my book How to Write Perfect Press Releases. The book, which has been read around the world, is now available free. Although Taleist no longer offers public relations advice, we’re making the infographic available here to celebrate the…

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3 Crazy Exercises Guaranteed to Improve Copywriting

3 crazy writing exercises

Want to write emails, blog posts and websites that grab attention and persuade readers to act? We’ve turned a business book, an old court case and a diplomatic incident into three crazy writing exercises. 1. E is for empathy Writing is all about the reader. That means you’ll always write better when your first thought…

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Psychological Trick that Earns Thousands in an Hour

This psychological trick earns Byron Shire Council thousands of dollars on the first Sunday of every month… Without speaking, the drivers of the cars in this picture convinced each other to make the same mistake. How? When we pulled up at Byron Markets, we couldn’’t believe our luck: a rockstar parking space opposite the entrance…

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