jump to navigation

Say hello to my blog’s new look – the SEO-optimised Copyblogger theme for WordPress May 12, 2009

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising , 4 comments

Update 20 June 2009: It was getting very time consuming tweaking the Copyblogger theme’s style sheet – the fonts were too big to enable two or three columns easily. Now I’m using Prosumer theme. It’s 3 columns by default – working better in Firefox than Internet Explorer. Almost everything does, anyway.

Warning: Geeky post ahead. If you’re an out-and-out ad person with no interest in blogs, templates and themes, go have a coffee instead. This post is pure blog-talk.

Something recently went terribly wrong with my blog’s Google indexing. All the posts were showing up with the same blog title, not the post title. So, every result from my blog showing up in Google would say “Journalist and copywriter….etc.” with the post content relevant to the search showing up only in the result description.

Readers who are into SEO can understand my utter shock. For someone who’s Google’s first result for his targeted keywords, this is the worst nightmare ever. Many sleepless nights were subsequently spent tweaking code, deactivating plugins, rebuilding and resubmitting sitemaps. Nothing seemed to work to get my post titles back on Google.

After twaeking bits and bobs, I finally took the big step and changed the theme to the SEO-friendly Copyblogger theme. That worked!

I got all my posts titles showing up very well – which means good news for relevance in search engine indexing. I like the font and type size of the posts – easy on the eye. And, as opposed to my previous theme, Copyblogger’s ‘Comment’ link on posts is better placed for readers who want to comment. Cool!

Two trade-offs though.

I lost all the comments on my bio page – more than 180 of them. And the theme’s side bar only seems to allow run-on text even if I put line spaces, it’s a narrow bar. Will have to spend more time tweaking the template now. One more thing to add to my skills – CSS coding here I come!

Anyone else facing this problem – with Google replacing their post titles with their blog title, even though the relevant posts shows up in search results?

Jobs in advertising and IT vacancy in Abu Dhabi based advertising agency in UAE May 6, 2009

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising , 21 comments

At a time when redundancies are rife in Dubai and around the world, it’s always a good feeling to let people know of job openings.

Many friends have lost their jobs in advertising in Dubai in recent months. Abu Dhabi is less affected and I met a young and ambitious Abu Dhabi based agency currently building up their team from traditional creative people to digital specialists.

Here are the job vacancies available in this new advertising agency in Abu Dhabi – if you feel you have what it takes, email me your CV at farrukh_copywriter(at)yahoo.com

(more…)

If you can write words, does it make you a copywriter? May 2, 2009

Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising , 8 comments

Copywriting is not about stringing together fancy words. It’s about establishing and staying true to a brand’s personality that resonates with its target audience. It’s about persuading prospects with words. It’s ‘salesmanship in print’, not greeting-card poetry.

Copywriting is hard work. Being a good communicator is a basic minimum skill a good copywriter must have. Being able to convey his point across in words, powerfully and memorably, should come easily to him. Researching companies, getting inside the mind of prospects, talking the talk of the consumer should be part of the ace writer’s arsenal.

A copywriter’s words become the brand’s voice, and every brand deserves its own distinct voice – a great copywriter knows how to make that happen. A good copywriter knows his products and brands as well as he knows his readers. And of course, he knows how to spell.

This post is dedicated to my readers, regulars and newcomers, who have their own ideas about what makes one a copywriter. And it was prompted by this ‘long copy’ I received as a comment completely unrelated to the post.

No doubt you are looking for some one who is trained in writing copies.
My training comes out of the hands of masters —members of American Writers and Artists Institutef—located in florida,Marina Del Ray.
Most of the copies I provided are flaw less. I am very grateful for the informatuion and efforts I recieved from this institution.
Those masters— Kieran Daugherthy,Bob Bly,Michael Masterson,—are unique in the whole world.
The AWAI is the only place in the world that offers such course.
I believe by my heart that you will not be disappointed having me assigned writing you copies or any other forms of writing.
If I recieve necessary and related information—to whom I am writing, purpose of writing, how long it should be,etc.— you will get the prompotion earlier than you expect so there will be enough time for revision, if revision needed.
If you happened to be interested to give me a try,do not hesitate to call me or writing email.

“It matters not how streight the gate
How charged with punishment the scroll
I am the capitain of my soul
I am the master of my fate”

What advice would you like to give to the writer of the comment quoted below? You’re welcome to post your feedback in the comments section for the benefit of this writer?