Potty-mouth copy seems to be making a bit of a comeback these days. It used to be taboo, except for the occasional well-placed damn. Writers would not have thought about ever including the gasp-inducing f word in their sales copy at one time. Now? Everybody and their mother are using impolite colloquialisms like they are the only words in the English language.

Earlier today, I came across a marketing and public relations agency in New York with the tagline: “We’re Responsive AF.” Uh, OK. Can I just say the AF part didn’t compel me to click on their contact us link to ask for more information? I wish I could tell you this was a one-off but it’s not. I have sadly experienced quite a bit of this kind of boldness in copy lately. From sales ads and email pitches to hero statements on websites.
​
I would be lying if I said this impressed me. It doesn’t. The few times I’ve gotten an email in my inbox with an expletive in the subject line, it’s gone directly to the trash. This is one of them (see below). I’m not even going to block out the name of the person who sent it. If he’s confident enough to send this to my email inbox, then he should be confident enough for the entire world to critique it. 

​Maybe I’m showing my age by objecting to this kind of “edginess” in advertising. Or maybe I simply believe tossing out every cuss word you know is not the best way to be bold in your copy. 

There’s no doubt about it. Swearing elicits some strong reactions in some people. Whether you applaud it or cringe every time someone uses it, research has some interesting things to say about the psychology behind curse words. Some evidence points to swearing as a sign of intelligence. Some suggest it’s a great way to relieve pain and stress.

Why do profane words upset some of us and make others of us giggle out loud? Profanity has a direct line to our emotional sides. If you grew up in a household where swearing got your mouth washed out with soap, that negative connotation likely has stuck with you throughout the years. On the flip side, living with people who swore loud and proud provided a sense of normalcy in using words others consider taboo.
​
As with many other words in the English language, intent plays a large part in whether a swear word is perceived as offensive. Some profanities could be interpreted as discriminatory or sexually harassing. Brands do not want to cross that line in their quest to sound bold or edgy. 

Before we can determine whether swearing in copy is offensive, we must ask ourselves what communication goals cursing achieves. Are we trying to be funny? To fit in with the crowd (or target audience, as it were)? Display physical aggression or manage stress?

According to Routledge and CRC Press – a leading publisher of knowledge-based materials – there are four main reasons why people swear.

• The expletive function. Curse words are uttered in intensely emotional situations to express emotions like anger, fear, or frustration.
• The abusive function. Using swear words helps add insult to injury to deliberately name-call or slight another person.
• The social function. Swearing in a social setting is the most common use of profanity to display a sort of solidarity with other like-minded individuals.
• The stylistic function. Using expletives to express disapproval, exasperation, or surprise can be quite effective, which may be why some copywriters choose this approach. It’s a risk, however, if the target audience does not share the writer’s belief that the words are necessary to convey the message.

A recent discussion in one of my copywriting groups on social addressed this issue. Most of the older and more seasoned writing veterans said they were not fond of using profanity in their copy and would avoid clients who wanted it. Most of the younger writers fresh on the scene thought it was no big deal to toss about vulgar verbiage in everything they crafted.
​
One of the most popular arguments for doing so was that it appealed to millennials. Millennials prefer online communications that show emotion. Plenty of marketing research backs this up. They also respond to authentic and honest branding. Does that automatically mean cursing in copy is cool with them? At least one body of research calls that theory into doubt. Including profanity in shockvertising may not achieve the desired effect. In fact, non-swear word versions of the same ads that used expletives led to better recall among millennials. You’re better off using humor in your copy because 38 percent of millennials love a good laugh. 

To swear (in your copy), or not to swear? That is the question of the hour. Here is a handy guide of the pros and cons of each side of the argument to help you decide.

Euphemisms can be a better alternative to outright swearing in your copy. We can all probably think of some examples of this that we’ve seen. One that immediately comes to mind is Fuddruckers. The folks who branded this company knew exactly what they were doing. Other examples of linguistic creativity in names and marketing copy include one of my all-time favorites, “shut the front door.” 

I know how I feel about potty-mouth copy, but I am not going to push my methods on others. What I will do is offer a final word of advice on how to approach cursing in your writing. If you choose to use cussing in your copy, there should always be a purpose behind the shock value. If you use profanity just because you can, it can dash any hopes you have of sounding edgy.

Whatever language you ultimately choose for your copy, make sure it reaches your target market with messaging that appeals to their demographic.

Happy wordsmithing!  

Picture it. Sicily, 2021.

Nah, just kidding. I only wish I was somewhere that exciting (or in an episode of Golden Girls, either would be awesome). Where I really am is perched in my favorite office chair, slurping my morning tea as I start my workday. I’m clicky-clacking away on my keyboard as I pour out my soul in my latest quest to produce quality content for a client. I’m on a roll. I’ve hit my stride, and nothing can stop me now.
​
Well, almost nothing.

Ring, ring. It’s my cell phone. I quickly glance at the screen, see who is calling, and make the judgment that I can call them back later. They don’t leave a message, so I continue in my assumption that it’s not a priority. Right now, I must focus on my work.

Ding-dong! It’s my cell phone again. This time, I have a text message. I glance at it quickly, seeing that it is from the same person who just called me. I read it quickly and again decide it can wait and go back to writing.

Beep boop! You guessed it. It’s my cell phone again. This time, it’s an email. If you guessed that it’s from the same person who just called and texted me, you would be correct. For the third and final time, I decide the person can wait. I know who it is. I am certain it is not an emergency after seeing their text. I need to focus on my work. I go back to writing.

Ring, ring! Ding, dong! Beep, boop! Call, text, email. Call, text, email. The cycle repeats ad nauseam.

Bleepity, bleep, bloop, blip! No, that’s not the sound of my phone. That’s me, censoring out my not-E-for-everyone response to the same person repeatedly interrupting my workday. By now, I’ve lost my writing groove and am struggling to recall what point I wanted to make in my copy.
​
I know what some of you are thinking. Why didn’t I just answer the phone? Well, if I did that every time my phone notified me of a call, text, or email, I’d get nothing else done all day long except answering it. And 99.99 percent of the time, it’s not urgent.
I know what some others of you also are thinking. Why don’t I just turn my phone off during the workday? That is never a good idea. The last time I completely silenced my phone, I missed an emergency phone call about a family member having a medical emergency. So yeah, I don’t do that anymore. I spend the day quickly glancing at messages during scheduled times and reply as needed. That works for most people who find it necessary to contact me during the workday who do not already have a scheduled appointment. For the repeat offenders who make me want to toss my phone out into the yard, it requires a little more grace. 

The instant gratification nation
If you’re honest about it, you probably have experienced something similar. People are too impatient to wait for you to respond. They call. You don’t answer. So, they text. You don’t answer. So, they email. You still don’t answer. Instead of them taking the hint, they repeat the process until they get the result they desire. They get rewarded for their irritating behavior and you end up frustrated. You may even risk missing a crucial deadline because you couldn’t concentrate on your work.

I don’t blame the person. I blame technology. Apparently, I’m not alone in my finger-pointing. Numerous studies in recent years have concluded the same thing: technology makes us impatient. One such report suggests people grow frustrated after waiting 16 seconds for a website to load. In the grand scheme of things, 16 seconds is not a long time. Reading these studies gave me greater insight into why most businesses suffer from high bounce rates on their websites. People simply lose patience.

I get why technology makes people forget that patience is a virtue. That doesn’t mean I accept it. I’m a Gen-Xer. When I was a kid, we still had rotary dial phones with cords. Heck, it took more than a few seconds just to dial a number. You’d select the first digit, wind it around, then wait for the dial pad to come back. You’d repeat that again until you dialed all the digits to complete your call. (If you weren’t a patient person, dialing a rotary phone would certainly cure you of that). If a person you were calling didn’t answer that was the end of it. Back then, most families still didn’t have answering machines, so you couldn’t even leave a message. You assumed they weren’t home and tried again later. What you didn’t do was continue to call them, over and over, until someone answered. You found something better to do with your time.

Now, we have these handy little digital devices we shove in our back pockets that make it easy for people to literally stalk us. No matter where you are or what you are doing, they can reach you. Heck, it’s not even safe to take a bathroom break without the expectation that you’ll still answer calls and texts. Call me crazy, but there are just some experiences I don’t care to share with other people.

Technology has ruined our patience, and that is not a good thing, my friends. Not a good thing at all.

Reversing the instant gratification urge
Hurry up and wait. No, really. Forcing yourself to resist the urge for immediate satisfaction is the number one way to become more patient. I didn’t just make this up. Science says so. Practicing our patience makes us happier. No, really. The more we practice waiting, the better we’ll get at it, and the more enjoyment we’ll get out of life. Who knew?

Here are some other effective strategies for tolerating delay without freaking out and losing your mind:

• Accept your circumstances. Whether it’s a work project or a relationship problem, not every disaster in life has an immediate solution. Resist the urge to instantly resolve whatever issue you’re facing. Accept your circumstances, realize there’s nothing you can do about it in the moment, and move on my friends. Remember, tomorrow is another day.
• Build your tolerance. You know what I like to do when I’m feeling particularly impatient? I punish myself. No, I don’t force myself to stand in the corner until I can admit I was naughty. I force my hand by doing things like letting people jump ahead of me in line at the grocery store or waving to the other guy at the intersection to go before me. Sure, it might make me late for my next appointment. But delaying gratification is the only way to build your tolerance for waiting.
• Count to 10 and take deep breaths. My mom used to tell me this when I was a kid. A lot. Like most kids, I didn’t have the best grasp of my emotions and could go from a smiling child to a raging bull in 10 seconds flat. Now, counting to 10 and taking deep breaths is all the rage. I believe the buzzword for it these days is mindfulness. Counting to 10 forces you to redirect your thoughts, and taking deep breaths helps you focus on your thoughts and physical sensations. 

These things work, I promise. I do them all the time, which is how I keep my sanity in my personal and professional lives.

Patience is a virtue
If you’ve read this far, CONGRATULATIONS! Take a moment to give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. You have more patience than the average person (since this was more than a 16-second read). Thomas the Tank Engine was right, my friends. Patience is a virtue. Practice it, and it will serve you well in life. 

​Check out the (insert name of copywriting course here)! It is on sale for today only! For just $29.99, you, too, can learn how to turn copywriting into a lucrative side hustle!

​Sound too good to be true? It is.

If I had a dollar for every advertisement that I saw online promising to turn copywriting into a lucrative side hustle, I would not need to work. Ever. Again. If you get the feeling that these kinds of ads irk the living snot out of me, you are not wrong. For starters, I guarantee you that there is not a course out there that can teach you how to "side hustle" your way to building a copywriting empire. Sorry, but no. That is a secret you keep all to yourself as not to spur a bunch of competition.

Also, any writing program that claims you can work from the beach should immediately be tossed in the trash. Reputable copywriters will tell you they do not set up shop at the beach. For starters, all that sand and saltwater is not great for electronic devices. Second, becoming a top-rated copywriter is not a day at the beach. Copywriters who make the coveted six figures these programs promise work long hours and dedicate ample time to every customer they serve to ensure their satisfaction.

Copywriting is not a side hustle, my friends, and I am going to tell you why.

What the heck is a “side hustle” anyway?
If you have been paying attention to economic news lately, you have likely heard terms like gig economy and side hustle tossed about. Confused? Let me break it down for you.

Gig economy refers to a labor market consisting of short-term contracts and freelance work. Think Uber, GrubHub, and Instacart to help visualize the concept. Those are not the only kind of workers in the gig economy. There are other contractors (I hate the word freelancers, so not going to use it) who provide a variety of professional services. These folks all fit the definition of a gig worker since they have shunned the traditional 9-to-5 for something that suits their lifestyle and their skills.
​
Gig work is not the same thing as a side hustle. Gig workers usually forgo any kind of traditional employment. Side hustles are any type of job a person takes outside their regular full-time employment. Side hustlers are people who have jobs with benefits but choose to pursue their passion “on the side.” Keep in mind that some employers restrict their employees’ ability to work a second job. Their reach extends to side hustles. Make sure yours is not one of them before you spend your time and money launching a side gig that lands you in hot water with your employer. 

Why copywriting is not a side hustle
Now that you understand what a side hustle is, let me explain why I get so riled up when people suggest copywriting is a great side hustle.

If anyone could write high-quality copy, there would not be so many businesses and other organizations out there hiring copywriters to help them. Writing is hard. No matter how many $400 courses you buy trying to side hustle your way to six figures as a writer, you still may fail miserably. That is what none of those courses tell you. They just want your money, so they sell you on a dream that simply is not the reality for most people.

There is another reason copywriting is not a great choice for a side hustle. Most people who engage in side-hustling do so to start their own businesses and eventually leave their full-time jobs. If this is your goal, it can be difficult to reach it in the copywriting profession. Why? Well, to put it bluntly, to truly make it as a copywriter, you must devote all your time to it. You cannot do that if you are working a full-time job. That is the quickest way to Burnoutville, my friends. It takes time to build relationships and network with prospective clients. You are fooling yourself if you think you can do that well and still put in 40-plus hours a week somewhere else. Before you know it, you will begin to feel like a hamster running on a wheel as fast as you can but never getting anywhere.

Clients deserve better
Think about it. What if during your next visit to your hairstylist, she kept pausing in the middle of your cut-and-style to answer emails or calls that had absolutely nothing to do with the job at hand? Or you hired a contractor to fix your leaky roof, but it took him more than a week to patch a small hole because he kept stopping so he could handle calls for his side gig. It would probably make you feel unvalued, amiright?

No matter how well-intentioned you may be, your side hustle eventually will creep into your primary job. What ends up happening is neither your employer nor your side-hustle clients are getting your full attention. Your clients deserve better.

The side-hustle solution
Solving the side-hustle problem is easy. If copywriting is truly your passion, and you have the skills to be successful at it, then give it your full-time attention. Build up enough of a cushion in savings at your current full-time job to leave it entirely within one to two years to pursue copywriting. You must be disciplined and work hard at building your brand. Will it be scary? Hell yes. Will you work your backside off until you feel utterly exhausted at the end of each day? Absolutely. Trust me when I say it will be worth it.
​
Need more tips on how to pursue your copywriting passion? Reach out to The Write Reflection™ to discuss the best strategy. 

Someone I had worked with a few years ago contacted me out of the blue last week, espousing their disappointment over the flat sales for their new eCommerce business. They had a great idea, but their momentum fell flat one week after their official launch. I spent the better half of an hour digging for more details in a quest to help get their newest endeavor back on track.

Truth be told, this client was not experiencing an unusual struggle. Achieving sustainable growth with an online business is hard work. In fact, 22 percent of eCommerce businesses fail within their first year.  eCommerce is not as easy as it looks. You can have the most innovative products on the market and still not attract customers.
​
There are several reasons why eCommerce websites fail. Here are just a few:

• Poor design. With platforms like Shopify, creating an online brand and selling your wares is easier than ever. These drop-and-drag sites help novice users quickly design a website for their online business. The problem with using these kinds of free sites is that they can be awkward in their design.
• Clunky checkout process. Nearly 70 percent of online shoppers abandon their carts and leave eCommerce sites because of a frustrating checkout process. In the age of Amazon and other online retailing giants, customers have become spoiled on free shipping. Not offering it is just one of the things that can turn them off about the online check-out process.
• Lack of search engine visibility. This is a big conundrum for most online businesses. They invest in a website, go live, and then become disillusioned when no one wanders onto their pages to buy anything. Customers cannot buy your products if they do not know they exist. Here is where free trafficking tactics can help.
• Missing marketing plans. eCommerce businesses that launch without a solid marketing plan in place will falter quickly. Digital marketing is more than investing in a few paid ads on social media. Dropping all your money and effort into paid ads does not produce solid results. Online businesses need a marketing strategy that goes beyond paid advertising.

Now that we have identified some of the biggest stumbling blocks to a successful online business, how do we overcome them? Here are some surefire tips for tackling these issues while boosting your visibility and sales. 

Ditch the poor design
A poorly designed eCommerce site can cause potential shoppers to flee in a hurry. Information overload is one of the biggest faux-pas online business owners commit. Trust me when I say more is not necessarily better. Cramming too much information onto a single page will cause visitors to bounce faster than Tigger on his way to a picnic with Pooh.

The only thing worse than too much information on a page is low-quality graphics or an over-abundance of them. Flashing gifs, colored backgrounds on top of other colored backgrounds, and low-resolution photos enlarged until they are super fuzzy do not make a great first impression. Not everyone is an artist or a graphic designer. Consulting with a person well-versed in graphics can help with avoiding this pitfall and is worth the investment.

Pop-ups also annoy visitors to your site and make it difficult to navigate to pertinent information. I’m not saying you should never use pop-ups on your site. Use them sparingly and do not program them to continue to emerge until visitors take you up on whatever you are offering. If they must keep closing a pop-up box every time they navigate to a new page on your site, they will abandon your page.

These are just a few tips for designing a more user-friendly eCommerce site. I can get into more detail with online retailers interested in improving their sites.

Streamline the checkout process
To say consumers have become spoiled with free shipping over the years is an understatement. They don’t just expect it, they demand it. Online businesses that fail to offer this perk will find online shoppers committing cart abandonment and taking their dollars elsewhere. There are ways to incorporate the cost of shipping into product pricing so that you aren’t losing money on free shipping. Somewhere in the back of their minds, most customers know this happens. Still, there is something about seeing a $0 next to the estimated shipping costs line during checkout that makes them giddy.

Other ways to streamline your checkout process:

• Allow guest checkout. Never force customers to open an account and input a bunch of information to do business with you. Some consumers prefer not to store their information with an online retailer. They may run in the other direction if you force it.
• Deploy mobile payment options. Apple Pay and Android Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, and Venmo are just a few of the mobile payment options you should permit on your site.
• Show progress. If the checkout process involves more than one step, display a progress indicator so customers know how close they are to completing their transaction.

Embrace traditional outreach strategies
As of the writing of this blog, 1.8 million online retailers were operating in the U.S. alone. If you add in global eCommerce, the figure jumps to 7.1 million. That is a lot of competition, which is why online business owners must go the extra mile to help themselves stand out from the crowd. One of the most trusted and relevant ways to build brand authority is with quality content. Whether it is a blog offering tips about how to use your products, or a weekly podcast to discuss the state of the industry, providing value-added tools for your customers boosts engagement and encourages brand loyalty.

eCommerce SEO tactics also draw eyeballs to your site. Take the time to use relevant (and unique) keywords for every page and every product on your site. Yes, it is a lot of work to do this, but the effort is well worth the reward.

Create a top-notch marketing strategy
There is more to marketing your online business than taking out a few paid ads on Facebook or other social media platforms. Investing randomly in advertising does not produce fruitful results. Sometimes it propels your eCommerce site into a death spiral from which it cannot recover. Claiming your Google My Business account and tapping into influencer marketing are just a few of the marketing strategies that convert leads into loyal customers. Working with a marketing professional is the best way to craft a plan that takes your unique selling proposition and goals for growth into account.

Crushing your eCommerce goals
Ready to crush it online? Do you dare to think big and ditch those limiting beliefs that stand between success and failure? Reach out to The Write Reflection™ today for more tips on how to go from eCommerce newbie to online sales sensation. 

Write Reflection brand enthusiasts who have followed my blog for a while know that I normally write about helpful copywriting tips. Other times, I feature fellow creative people doing awesome things in this space. Today, I want to use my platform to warn my fellow copywriters and other professional services providers about a sneaky swindle making the rounds. Scammers have put a twist on the age-old check-cashing scheme trying to trick service providers out of their hard-earned cash.

The perpetrators tried to pull their ruse on me last week. They picked the wrong person to try to cheat. Thankfully, I caught on rather quickly to their con. During my investigation into the matter, I discovered that other hard-working copywriters and service professionals like myself were not so lucky. Some of them lost thousands to these dastardly crooks. I want to make sure it does not happen to anyone else, so I am putting those con artists on blast. Right here. Right now. 

The con: overpayment for services
Their approach started out like any other prospective client reaching out to discuss my services. A gentleman calling himself Albert Zepp sent me an InMail request on LinkedIn, asking if I was available to handle a research article for his company. I thought nothing of it because many of my current clients have contacted me through LinkedIn. It is, after all, a professional networking site. After exchanging a few messages about the job requirements, I forwarded my standard contract. Like all service professionals, I require an upfront deposit before I get started. I discussed my fee with Mr. Zepp and he agreed to overnight it to me since he needed me to get started ASAP to meet his tight deadline.

The next day, a UPS delivery driver stopped by with my advance deposit from the client. When I opened the envelope, I discovered the check was for nearly three times the amount I required from the client. That was my first red flag. The second thing I noticed was the check was issued by an HOA in Georgia that had nothing to do with the client who was ordering the work. That was my second red flag.
​
One red flag I could have brushed off, but two? My reporter’s instincts kicked in. I spent the next several hours investigating everything I could about this supposed Mr. Zepp and the organization that allegedly had issued the check. I discovered two things: Mr. Zepp was a real person (at least on paper), and the HOA was legitimate. Still, I had a nagging feeling. So, I tracked down a number for the HOA and called them. The person who answered the phone was exasperated the minute I explained why I was calling. No, she did not know this person who contacted me, and yes, this was some elaborate check fraud scheme in which her organization also was a victim.
There is a saying that the worst thing you can do is try to con a con. Here is a new warning for scammers out there. The second worst thing you can try to do is con a former reporter. 

The investigation: a reporter follows her gut
Once I knew I was dealing with an elaborate ruse to steal from me, I got a teensy bit angry. I work hard, as do most small business owners. I do not work this hard so that some schmuck can steal from me and my family. According to the person from the HOA, more than a dozen other service professionals had called her with similar stories in the last month. Some of them cashed the check and found out the hard way they had been swindled. What if like them, I had cashed this check and started to work, only to find out later the check was fake when it bounced?
​
Once I knew what I was dealing with, I started to dig a little deeper. The first thing I did was call the local police to report the attempted fraud. Although they really cannot do anything about it, I wanted it on record in case I need the police report later. I also reported it to the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. All these things combined help get the word out to law enforcement across the country about this scam. I also reported it to LinkedIn’s Help Center. A LinkedIn representative acknowledge my report was received and sent this response:

After reporting the incident to all the proper authorities, I tried to catch the fake Mr. Zepp up in a few more lies so I could provide the HOA with some ammunition for their police investigation in Georgia. I sent a new message to him, letting him know he had sent me too much money. I was expecting him to tell me that I could cash the check and then write him a return check for the difference. That is a common check fraud scheme known as an overpayment. The fraudster sends you too much money (on a fake check) and dupes you into sending them a legitimate check back to refund them for the overpayment. When he replied, he instead said his partners wanted me to work on two stories, so they were sending advance payment for both. He urged me to cash the check so we could get started. I suspect at some point he would have eventually canceled the project and asked for his money back, trying to fool me into sending him nearly $5,000 in legitimate funds. I will never know for sure because I have blocked the fake Mr. Z from communicating with me further.

As of the writing of this post, I still am trying to track down the real Mr. Zepp. According to what I have found online, he appears to be a certified public accountant in the Philadelphia area. Let me be clear: I do not believe for one minute I was interacting with the real Mr. Zepp on LinkedIn or via email. I have a hunch someone has hijacked his persona. If it were me, I would want to know someone was using my name in the commission of a crime, so I will continue to do my best to locate the real Mr. Z and let him know what has happened.

How to spot a fake check
If you are wondering how I knew it was a fake check, I am going to let you in on some secrets about how you can tell so this never happens to any of you. Fake checks can be difficult – but not impossible – to spot. Scammers go to great lengths to pull off their heists. Banks and other financial institutions process them all the time without noticing the signs. They use the names of real people, organizations, and even financial institutions on their fake checks. Sometimes, they use real checks that belong to real people who were victims of identity fraud. Those kinds of losers are even worse than the ones who print fake checks on their home printers.
​
It often takes banks weeks to figure out a check is not legit. In the case of the check I received, it was made out for $4,870 even. Why? Well, here is another secret I will let you in on: scammers know that banks process checks under $5,000 and make them available in the depositor’s account within five days. Federal regulations require it. A person is more likely to fall for the ruse if they can see the check “cleared” and is posted in their available balance. By the time you and the financial institutions realize that hefty check was not real, you are on the hook for the total amount. 

Here are some other tell-tale signs that check you are holding is not the real thing:

• Bank addresses and logos. All authentic financial institutions have street addresses. If the check you hold lists a post office box number in the address of the issuer, that is your first clue it is not real. Logos also may appear blurry, as it is likely the scammer copied them from online. Let me put on my graphic designer hat for a minute to explain why. That logo you see online for your favorite organization may look clear when you view it on your screen, but if you try to right-click and save it to your computer, you will find the resolution is poor. What that means is if you try to reprint it or increase its size, it will appear blurry. Businesses do this to keep people from stealing their logos and using them for nefarious purposes.
• Check number. If the check is missing a number in the top right-hand corner, that is a clear signal it is fake. All financial institutions require a check number at the top. If there is a number at the top, you need to compare it to the MICR line on your check. The MICR line is the string of numbers in the funny-looking font at the bottom of the check. The last four digits should match the check number. In the case of my check, the scammers put the numbers there, but they put them in the wrong place.
• Edges. Take a good look at your check. Most legitimate checks have at least one perforated edge. If all the edges look and feel smooth, that check likely was printed on someone’s home computer.
• Routing numbers. All financial institutions require routing numbers on checks. They are in the MICR line. Legit routing numbers have nine digits. No more, no less. Even if you see nine figures where the routing number should appear, check them on the Federal Reserve Financial Services website to verify they belong to a real financial institution. Even though the BB&T Bank printed on my check is a real financial institution, the routing number used in the MICR line was not theirs.

Why do people fall for fraudulent check scams?
It is not hard to understand why businesses fall for check fraud scams. They are eager to attract new customers. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to these cons because they are looking to grow their brands. Waving large checks in the faces of business owners who may be struggling to survive post-pandemic makes it even more tempting.

When the fake Mr. Zepp tried to scam me, I could have simply moved on from the experience and considered myself lucky. After a few days mulling it over, I decided to shine a light on what this unscrupulous fraudster tried to pull on me in the hopes of sparing others the kind of financial ruin falling for these kinds of schemes can cause. I also am cooperating with the HOA in Georgia to supply them with any information or resources that may prove beneficial in tracking down this loser so he cannot do this to anyone else.

Be careful out there, friends and followers. Not everyone wishes you well and there are plenty of con artists looking to make a quick buck. Do not let the money that lines their pockets be yours. 

Oscar Wilde once espoused that, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”  That may be true, but that does not make it any easier to see someone outright stealing your hard work and passing it off as their own.

Academics are all too familiar with this practice. It happens to them frequently. They spend hours researching topics and writing original theses, only to have an unscrupulous person swoop in and take advantage of their efforts without so much as a well-earned credit.

You know who else gets their stuff lifted a lot online? Copywriters. I do not mean someone borrowed our ideas and reworked them into their own brand voice (although that is kind of annoying, too). I am talking about full-on, outright plagiarism. The word-for-word, not even embarrassed they were too lazy (and unimaginative) to come up with their own stuff, kind of plagiarism. And man, that burns.

What is plagiarism?
It is difficult to believe that people do not grasp what plagiarism means. Yet, I find myself explaining it to some of the most educated folks sometimes. There is no such thing as borrowing something you have seen online. You must – let me say that again for the people in the back – you must give credit to other people’s hard work. Taking someone else’s ideas and passing them off as your own is plagiarism. At least that is how my good friend, the Oxford English Dictionary, puts it.

Plagiarism is a little more complex than that, so let me break it down even further so there is no chance of misunderstanding. There are several types of plagiarism. The two that most apply to my blog today are direct plagiarism and mosaic plagiarism.

Direct plagiarism is self-explanatory. Someone has copied word-for-word information from another source without giving attribution. This kind of plagiarism can involve a few sentences, a paragraph, or entire web pages of content. I once had someone take a piece of my original poetry and claim it as their own. Word. For. Word. To say it was infuriating is an understatement. Some professionals have had entire websites full of copy directly plagiarized by competitors because their content ranks well in search results, and the rival wants to achieve the same outcome. It is difficult to fathom people do not know what they are doing is wrong. Yet some feign ignorance when caught red-handed in the act.

Mosaic plagiarism is the term for using direct phrases from someone else’s published work and failing to use quotations and properly attribute the information. Another way mosaic plagiarism occurs is by using the exact wording of an original author and substituting their words for synonyms. In the writing business, this is known as “patchwriting.”

Content farms are famous for this kind of plagiarism. I am sad to say that some basement-bargain copywriting services are guilty of this as well. They hire writers and pay them quite poorly to regurgitate copy on a variety of topics for clients. It is just one more reason why if you need quality online copy, you should consider working with a reputable copywriter. You risk your reputation when you pay for cheap, subpar work that likely is guilty of mosaic plagiarism.

Does copyright law apply to online content?
You bet your bottom dollar it does. Whether it is an image, a video, a logo, or a blog post you crafted, once you post it online, it becomes a “work” that falls under the protection of U.S. copyright law. It does not matter where you post it online. Social media accounts and personal or business websites are all protected by copyright laws. Once you produce content and post it, it belongs to you and cannot be used or reproduced without your consent or attribution to its origins.
​
Yet, that does not stop people from stealing online content ad nauseam. That brings me to my next tidbit of helpful advice on what to do when you catch someone helping themselves to your hard work. 

Stopping plagiarism in its tracks
Now that you know U.S. copyright law covers your online work, what do you do when someone has borrowed your words or other creations without your permission?

The first step is to send a letter on official letterhead from your favorite lawyer. If you want to be scary and effective, take the time to have your business attorney – or one familiar with copyright laws – draft it for you. Yes, it may cost you some moolah to do it, but it is well worth the expense. The letter should clearly state the content in question and advise the offender they must remove it, or you will consider your legal options. Most times, this is enough to scare the pants off plagiarizers. Other times, they just ignore you. When that happens, you must follow through on your threat or risk further victimization. Your attorney can discuss how to proceed with a potential lawsuit for copyright infringement.

Another option you can take (if you want to avoid the expense of a lawsuit) is to report the offender to Google. If the content they have swiped is from your website, reporting them to Google can get them banned from search results. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, you can file a complaint and request Google intervenes to remove or penalize a website using your stolen copy. Google’s data analytics capabilities can help prove when copy was placed on your site and when it appeared on the suspected plagiarizer’s website.

Here is one more remedy you can seek that sometimes earns a major payoff. Contact the offender’s website hosting service. ICANN|LOOKUP is a great resource for identifying which website hosting service a website uses. Simply enter the website URL where your content is duplicated, and the registration data tool produces information on the registrant. Reach out to the domain host once you have that information and ask them to remove the duplicate content. Sometimes they will go as far as to take down the entire site.

Will plagiarism hurt my SEO ranking?
This is a common concern among my clients who have discovered their digital content was stolen. Thankfully, someone else’s sticky fingers do not hurt your SEO ranking. Remember when I said earlier that Google can tell when your content was drafted and posted? That handy skill is better for more than just going after plagiarizers.

When Google’s web crawlers notice two different sites with the same wording, it prompts further evaluation. Since Google can see which site launched first, the offender is automatically penalized for copying your content. Your website always will rank higher for the keywords. Sometimes Google goes the extra mile in its punishment and refuses to rank copycat websites at all.

A final word on digital content thievery
Living in the digital age has its advantages. Information at our fingertips with a few keystrokes is one of them. That advantage also is a disadvantage because it makes it a lot easier for people to lift your work and pass it off as their own.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to prevent someone from stealing your stuff. The best you can do is keep tabs on your copy and take swift action against anyone who dares “borrow” it without your express permission.
​
Need help drafting original copy to keep your brand an authority in your niche? Contact us today to schedule a free consultation. New clients enjoy a 25 percent discount on their first order with The Write Reflection. 

AI content writing is not a new thing. Up until now, I admit that I have not given it much thought. The AI content marketing tools I had seen before now did not really intrigue – or worry – me. I had zero fears of my livelihood being replaced by a nameless, faceless automaton that cranked out copy at a customer’s behest. Most AI-powered content marketing tools were inferior to the quality copy a human trained in wordsmithing could produce. I would go so far as to say most of it was laughable nonsense. Anyone who would pay for it was wasting their money, in my humble opinion.

Flash-forward to now and using AI for content marketing is becoming a hot topic among my fellow copywriting professionals. Some, like me, debate the value of using them. Others fear they are just one AI-generated piece of content away from losing their jobs. I think the truth of AI content marketing tools lies somewhere in between.  
What is AI-generated content marketing?
Since Alan Turing first posed the question, “Can machines think?” in the 1950s, man has been obsessed with artificial intelligence. AI has advanced the medical and industrial fields, to name just two of its profound impacts. Digital marketers started leveraging AI-powered content marketing tools as far back as 2017. According to the 2020 Salesforce State of Marketing Report, 84 percent of marketers admit to using AI. This is a 186 percent increase from the number of marketers using AI in 2018. Most of the AI tools marketers use focus on data collection and analysis. There were no specific data available for the number of copywriters who use AI content marketing tools to assist with their writing tasks.

AI tools for content marketing
AI copywriting tools use natural language processing (NLP) to spit out copy. If you are wondering what the heck NLP is, no worries. Let me explain. NLP is nothing more than the automatic manipulation of our natural language patterns for both speech and text. When NLP works as intended, it bridges the communications gap between humans and computers. The goal is to help computers understand – mimic, even – the speech and language patterns of humans.
​
Most AI tools for content marketing work like this:

• A copywriter decides on the topic and scope of content needed. This includes information such as whether it is a blog post, a social media post, or an email marketing campaign. That information, along with other parameters like keywords and suggested points, are fed into the AI.
• An AI content marketing tool then takes those guidelines and generates copy. Some work by scanning similar content available on the Internet, while others rely on a built-in knowledge base of sample copy.  Quality AI content marketing tools should never produce content that is plagiarized from another source.

Just like not all copywriters are created equally, not all content generators produce awesome copy. Some are downright awful at the material they output. Different content generators also have different strengths. Some are excellent at helping you come up with catchy headlines and titles, while others are super helpful at producing lists of content ideas based on a topic. Choose one that matches your needs for the best results. 

Real copywriters dish on AI content generators
What do real copywriters think about AI content generators? Some leverage their power to increase their output and the number of clients they can serve. Others refuse to use them, citing a lack of quality and mediocrity in the content produced.
Yker Valerio of Bon Vivant Caffe uses Conversion.ai to improve content quality and boost his writing process. “It’s like having a writing partner. A weird writing partner, but productive nonetheless.” He said he has tried a few other AI content generators but prefers Conversion.ai.  

Kyle Vine, the marketing director at CKLU Radio in Ontario, Canada, said he had the privilege of meeting the person who runs the IBM Watson program for AI a few years ago at a conference. “I discovered that (AI) can be good for proofreading, but the main way it can be good is with speak.ai or other apps that transcribe speeches to use for SEO applied to your copy. Otherwise, I’ve found there aren’t many options to use AI in copywriting because it’s 75 percent experience and word flowability. AI comes in with the last 25 percent for tiny things just to suggest better SEO/conversion words in my experience.”

Archana Karthikeyan from The Marketing Vogue has used AI copywriting tools for about four months. The benefit is that it sometimes helps her with a new direction for her writing if she is experiencing the dreaded writer’s block. Another advantage is it can help save her time during the writing process. The biggest drawback is it is written by AI, not a human. She and her team have discovered facts need to be rechecked any time the AI program she uses creates content to ensure accuracy.

My personal experience with AI content marketing tools is mixed. Like Valerio, I have found Conversion.ai to work well for generating titles and content ideas. I am not as impressed with its other content. Depending on the topic, it can be clunky and needing a human touch to make it more readable.

I also am beta testing a new AI writing tool now that is not very impressive. In a recent topic I gave the generator for a sales description I was writing about stand mixers, it generated this gem: “The item is circular, about six inches across. It has a lid.” Factually, the tool is correct. Stand mixers are circular and have lids. Does knowing that make me want to buy one? Nope. This was an epic failure.  Another time, I asked the tool to generate a direct and adventurous headline for an article about first-time surfers in Australia. Here is what it gave me: “Surfing is a fun and easy sport to learn.” Once again, I do not consider this a success. While the statement is true, there is nothing adventurous about it. The tool still is in the early stages of development, so these results are expected. I will not mention it by name in this blog, but I will provide a more detailed review of it once the beta testing phase is over.

How copywriters can leverage AI tools
While I respect their opinion, I do not understand copywriters who fear AI-powered content marketing tools. I personally do not think AI will ever get to the point that it will totally replace humans for writing. Humans must teach AI software how to be more, well, human. Computers only know what we teach them. The success or failure of AI content generators rests on the capable shoulders of copywriters like myself willing to serve as teachers to AI.  Computers do not understand – nor can they convincingly mimic – brand voice or persona. Humans are very much still needed to finesse any copy an AI produces to improve engagement and tone. My fellow copywriters can breathe a sigh of relief and embrace AI as a teammate rather than fearing it as a competitor.
​
Need help humanizing your content? Reach out to The Write Reflection today to schedule your hassle-free consultation to discuss your needs. 

Case studies are an effective way to add value to your brand. You can “toot your own horn” by doing what any product or service should do best: solve a problem.

If you have a website, consider adding a section dedicated to case studies. Then, populate it with the best examples of why your brand is the best at what it does. The U.S. is the largest advertising market in the world. Businesses spend an average of $253.6 billion each year on advertising and marketing. Case studies provide one of the best returns on investment of all content marketing strategies. Not all case studies are created equally. You must know the tricks of the trade to turn a case study into a lead conversion tool.

What is a case study?
Case studies are an advertising and marketing strategy businesses use as a value-added proposition. Convincing case studies meet the following criteria:

• They clearly explain the brand’s product or service.
• They demonstrate how the product or service solves a problem or fills a need.
• They communicate specifics of the brand’s added benefit.
• They state a reason why the brand and its products and services are better than its competitors.

Case studies need to include more than flashy graphics and buzz words about your brand. Never confuse a well-constructed case study with press releases or advertisements. Case studies feature the customer’s journey. The focus must remain on the customer. Your brand is just a sidekick along for the ride. Whatever bold claims you make in the case study, you must back up with data that support proven results.

Some companies – and their marketing experts – become preoccupied with “staying on brand.” They focus too much on their brand voice or messaging matrix and forget to leverage the power of storytelling in their case studies. All they accomplish is to bore their target audience and make themselves look self-centered.

Case study advantages
Building trust in your brand is harder than it looks. Yes, having a great product or service – coupled with amazing customer support – is one of the best ways to keep people coming back for more. How do you convince someone who has never experienced your products, services, or stellar customer service to give you a try? This is where case studies provide an advantage.

Consumers have smartened up to fancy sales pitches and flashy graphics on social media. It takes more than these old tricks of the trade to convince them your brand is the solution to their problems. Ratings and reviews from previous customers carry weight, but even those are easily manipulated. Effective case studies provide tangible proof your brand does more than talk the talk.
​
Building brand trust is not the only advantage of an effective case study. Here are a few more worth noting:

• They assist your sales team. Like pitch decks, a selection of case studies to draw from provides your sales team with ample evidence of your brand’s value. After making initial contact with a prospective lead, your sales team members can follow up with an email providing links to case studies that support their sales pitch.
• They engage your target audience through storytelling. Great copy is about telling a brand’s story. Make no mistake, every business has a story to share about a time it helped a customer solve a problem. Case studies go beyond a customer testimonial by creating a hero’s journey for your brand that guides an audience through every stage of a buyer’s journey. Put simply, it makes your brand more relatable.
• They establish your brand’s authority. Factual claims and statistics are tangible evidence. Your target audience easily can verify if your case studies are based on fact or fiction. Producing thought-provoking and insightful case studies establishes your brand as an authority. 

Writing an effective case study in 5 easy steps
Now you know what a case study is and why you must include it in your content marketing strategy. Next, I will talk about the five steps involved with writing an effective case study.

Step #1: State your case
Case studies must leverage the power of storytelling, which means featuring a compelling angle. Not sure how to do that? Take a deep dive and investigate how your customers are using your products or services. Chances are, you will find someone using your brand to solve problems you never knew it could fix.

Step #2: Get relatable
Make sure whatever angle you choose for your case study is one that is relatable to most of your target audience. Think about what it is that helps you connect with a good story. On some level, you must connect with the story’s protagonist. The client featured in your case study is the protagonist. Find something about the client that makes your core audience root for his or her success with your product.

Step #3: Tell the tale
Some marketing pros insist they are telling their brand’s story. The problem is, they forget how to tell a story the right way. Think back to your high school English class. (Sorry, this is probably as painful for some of you as doing math is for me. Stick with it. I promise the payout is worth it). If you will recall, you learned that all good stories have certain components:

• An introduction of the main character.
• An inciting incident that launches the main action in your narrative.
• A rising action that introduces the conflict the main character faces.
• A climax point where the main character must face their hardship.
• A falling action where the main character finds a solution to their problem.
• A conclusion, where the main character actively engages in the solution and reaches a resolution.  

When writing a case study, you must remember to show, not tell. Use examples and strong imagery that will help your target audience deepen its connection with the protagonist. When your main character wins, it creates a euphoria for your target audience, encouraging them to back your brand.

Step #4: Just the facts
Telling a story does not mean you rely on anecdotes to prove your case. Case study best practices encourage using cold, hard facts to back up your claims. Just because you are using storytelling techniques does not mean you should be weaving a tall tale. Make sure any data or statistics you use to support the case relate to the protagonist’s challenges.

Step #5: Support the journey
Every good story has a hero. I know what you are thinking: this is the part where my business swoops in and saves the day. Well, yes and no. Your brand is not the hero in the story. Think of yourself more along the lines of a supporting character. Your business is there to assist the real hero of the story. Humility is an incredibly effective marketing strategy. It allows for meaningful connections between your brand and its core audience and shows empathy. When you practice humility in case studies, you can increase your credibility without being obnoxious.

Case study formats that work
The final step in creating an effective case study is in the graphic design. This is where a copywriter designer is a valuable asset to have in your corner. They can craft a compelling story for your case study and design it in an eye-catching manner that gets – and keeps – your core audience’s attention.

There are no hard and fast rules for formatting your case study. From infographics and webinars to interview formats and brochure styles, your case study design should fit the content. Ready to get started with your first case study? Contact me today to get a 25 percent discount on your first order that includes content creation and graphic design for the case study of your choice. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder affects one in every 11 people in the U.S. That means you likely know someone who is struggling every day with the devastating effects of PTSD.

June is National PTSD Awareness Month. Spreading awareness about PTSD is not something I wait for other people to do. For those who do not know, one of my dearest friends is in his 17th year of living with PTSD. Together, we wrote and published Wars End With Me, the story of his ongoing battle. I met Pat Strobel in 2002 when I was working as a reporter at a daily newspaper in his hometown of Butler, Pa. When he deployed to Iraq in February 2003, my editor tasked me with chronicling Pat’s service in the pages of the newspaper. Every few weeks, as Pat had time, he would send me some photos of himself and a quick update on what it was like living – and fighting – in an active warzone.

Less than seven months after he was deployed, I received a call to tell me that he was seriously injured when his convoy came under attack in Fallujah. The physical injuries and emotional trauma Pat suffered that day forever changed him. For the last 17 years, Pat has struggled with PTSD. It has complicated his personal and professional life.

Three years have passed since we first published his story. What better way to catch up with our readers, who have joined Pat on every step of his journey? I reached out to Pat who, as always, is willing to share the most personal moments of his life in the pursuit of helping others with PTSD. What follows is a progress report and encouragement for others with PTSD to keep fighting the good fight.

Going Dutch on PTSD
Shortly after our book launched in December 2018, Pat was offered a three-year assignment as a director of maintenance. The catch: he would serve out the stint in the Netherlands, overseeing a Dutch workforce performing maintenance on U.S. Army pre-positioned stock. His new job was part of a partnership between the U.S. and Dutch governments. Pat was tasked with teaching former Dutch military personnel with mechanical backgrounds how to perform maintenance on U.S. Army equipment.

“That director of maintenance job was short-lived, because my boss was unexpectedly reassigned, and someone needed to step up,” said Pat. That someone was him. “I assumed that role, and that’s when the job became really challenging.” His new job required a little bit of finesse and a lot of political correctness. “And good communication skills to keep major political incidents from cropping up,” Pat added.

The last job Pat had in the U.S. before taking on this new assignment prepared him well. His biggest responsibilities there were contracts and negotiations. Those skills came in handy when he had to mediate between the U.S. Army and the Dutch government over a stalemate on the fine details of the working relationship.

Serving as a mediator was a new experience for Pat. He had served with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Carson, Colo. during his active enlistment. He was the guy who fixed all the equipment, to put it simply. Fixing people was never his skill set. Until now. “I used to be the fist-pounder on the table,” he said. “That kind of behavior doesn’t work with the Dutch people. They are very laid back and not easily rattled. I had to learn how to be a real mediator. It gave me a whole new perspective on dealing with my PTSD.”

Family ties
Leaving his family behind for three years was the most difficult part of taking the new assignment. It was an unfortunate negative that he worked around because, as Pat puts it, he needed a reset. He made it home just twice – with an additional visit in the Netherlands from his wife – before COVID-19 hit and locked everything down. With just two months left on his current assignment, Pat said he is eager to return home for good.

One of the good things that happened with his family involves his son, Josh. For those who have read Wars End With Me, you know that Josh enlisted in the military (much to Pat’s dismay). He did not want his son to suffer the same way he had and believed the stress over his son’s decision was a trigger for his PTSD. After a few years as a Corporal in the 101st Airborne and several deployments to Africa, Josh Strobel now has a full-time position with the Iowa National Guard.

The new role removed him from active duty in the Army, which has made Pat extremely happy. “It’s one less thing for me to worry about. I don’t have to wonder where he’s at. Once I’m home, I’ll get to see him all the time. If I could have done what he’s doing, I would have. I didn’t even know that active guard existed when I joined the Army.”

A different kind of therapy
One of the downsides of his three-year stint in the Netherlands was the lack of access to his usual therapy for his PTSD. Working with the Dutch, Pat said, was an alternative form of therapy. Before his new assignment, Pat struggled a lot with angry outbursts because of his PTSD. He has mellowed out and attributes his attitude adjustment to Dutch influence. “The Dutch really have shown me that life shouldn’t be so competitive. Everybody is playing music. Everybody is happy. It’s just a different mentality.”

The Dutch do not feel pressured to perform at work the same way Americans do, Pat noted. Screaming and banging his fists on the table when things were not going as planned did not motivate them. It forced him to find a new way to lead. He discovered presenting them with metrics about their job performance compared with others doing similar work (who were more efficient at their tasks) was the best inspiration. “They taught me so much about leadership. I tried to shape my leadership style around their ethics because, at the end of the day, I was trying to extract as much talent from them as I could. Knowing what motivates workers is the key to effective leadership. That, and a lot of patience. I’m definitely learning a lot of patience,” he said, laughing.  

Lessons learned, anger burned
The last three years had their fair of challenges, but Pat is thankful for the experience. “There was nothing but success stories here. That’s what I liked about this place. Getting back around maintenance – grease, oil – it was good for my morale and good for my PTSD. I was starting to doubt myself before I came here. Coming here and separating myself from all those things was almost therapeutic.”
​
Pat said his new attitude will help him better manage his PTSD and his job opportunities once he returns to the U.S. “I don’t know where the perfect job is or if there is such a thing. What I do know is this job I have now has taught me that I just need to shut up and color.” 

Long-tail keywords are a “must-have-it” for boosting your SEO value online. If you are saying to yourself “long tail what nows?” let me explain. Keywords are what Google and other search engines use to help you find what you are looking for online. There are two kinds of keywords: core and long-tail.

Core keywords are focused on the topic of a website. If you provide a product or service, your core keywords would describe that product or service. Let’s say you are a mechanic specializing in imported automobiles. Your core keywords would be something like, “mechanic imported autos.” Anytime someone types in any combination of those core keywords into a search engine – if you have optimized your website correctly – your listing will come up as a match.  

Long-tail keywords are more involved. They consist of phrases instead of a few core words relating to your business or industry. SEO copywriters understand the benefits of working long-tail keywords into everything they write for their clients. It is something many have done for years now. As a rule, there is less competition for long-tail keywords than core keywords. Let me illustrate this with an example about a local doggy doo-doo yard cleaning service. Long-tail keywords that would work well for this niche include: “Is there a business that cleans up my dog’s poop” and “cleaning up my dog’s poop from the yard.” The key to crafting a successful long-tail keyword is to think like a consumer searching online.  

Long-tail keywords benefits
Now that you know what long-tail keywords are, let’s talk about how they benefit your online content. To make a long story short, if you are not including long-tail keywords as part of your SEO strategy, you are missing out on a valuable tool for directing new traffic to your sites.  There are four key reasons why you must embrace long-tail keywords.

1. They have lower competition
   Ranking organically in search engines is hard. Dang hard. Anyone who tells you otherwise has no clue how SEO works. Unless you have an extremely niche business, there is a lot of competition out there for core keywords. Long-tail keywords account for more than 80 percent of online searches in the U.S. Failure to include appropriate long-tail keywords in your online content is a missed opportunity for driving quality traffic to your brand.
2. They have a higher conversion rate
   Consumers spend, on average, 79 days gathering information before making a purchase. When someone is just beginning their research, they are more likely to use core keywords. They are unsure what, exactly, they want or need. Customers who are ready to buy tend to use more specific search parameters. An example is someone ready to hire a home improvement pro. When they are first beginning to look, they might use core keywords like “home improvement costs” to start budgeting. When they are ready to hire, they turn to long-tail keywords like “affordable contractors near me.”
3. They are user-friendly
   I already alluded to the fact that long-tail keywords are how most people search the Internet. If you want the answer to a burning question – “How do I paint my own living room?” – that is what you are going to type into a search engine. Search giant Google recognizes the user-friendliness of long-tail keywords and rewards online content that uses them efficiently.
4. They provide context
   Most SEO strategy focuses on what excites Google since it is the king of search engines. With 86.6 percent of the global market share going to Google, it is a wise move. If your content is stuffed with core keywords without much context, Google will not favor it when generating search results. Long-tail keywords help consumers make more sense of the information they find online by putting it into perspective. Long-tail keywords can help describe your products or services more fully, including your service area. You can appeal to your target audience better using a combination of core keywords and long-tail keywords that represent your brand.