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Incorporating Your Keywords for SEO

Prospective clients sometimes ask, “Do you include SEO keywords in your content?” The answer is “Yes, we do.”

First and foremost, we write for humans and not for robots, but we understand the impact of SEO on site visibility and standing, which is why we work with you to identify keywords that promote your message and can help you gain traction with search engines.

As professional writers, we recognize the words that drive particular industries, and even before we begin working with you, we’re already paying attention to the language that’s dominating the sale of products and services online, because we write in these spaces every day.

Your specific language comes out in our meetings and conversations, which we often record and playback, and through our research in your industry. When you request content through our online portal (Nectar), you also have the ability to include the specific keywords you need in our forms, to help us deliver content and titles that perform best for SEO.

Over time, thanks to our subscription model as a long-term writing partner, we will recognize more keywords you can use and help you be consistent.

So, call us or write us at HeadStart Copywriting. We’ll be happy to talk more about how we incorporate your keywords for SEO included in our main offering, Copy-as-a-Service.

Photo credit: rawpixel.

How We Interview Subject Matter Experts

Sometimes, a big part of creating great content is interviewing someone else.

Whether it’s a formal interview for a case study, or speaking with someone to craft an in-depth blog or article, HeadStart offers three interviews per month with the people in your network. They may be a team member, someone on your leadership team, or a customer – anyone with the details so we can write what you need.

Here’s how clients can request a piece with an interview:

Send your outline/interview questions by email, or through our web portal, Nectar, and let us know an interview is required.
We will reach out to schedule a recorded call on our conference line or make other tech arrangements with you. Recording the call helps us capture the exact phrases to craft the content and match the brand tone and style you want to achieve.
That’s it!

The official rules:

Copy-as-a-Service includes a 30 minute phone interview with one (1) subject matter expert (SME) per piece up to three (3) pieces per month. Three (3) additional SME interviews are available for an additional flat fee per month.
An outline/questions (a brief) is required before the interview is booked.
Calls are recorded on HeadStart’s conference line to capture insights, tone and style, whenever possible.
Fees apply if the call is rescheduled except for emergencies.
Turnaround times start after the interview has taken place.

photo credit: LaunchVic CivVic Labs Showcase via photopin (license)

A Free Resume Template

We’ve all had to get out there and “go fishing” for a job at one time or another! And often when it’s not our own choice.

In 2008, I helped rewrite resumes in the evenings after work. It was the only thing I could do that was practical and helped me give back to co-workers who were losing their jobs.

So fast forward to 2020, I wanted to provide a basic resume template for all of you who may need a free one. I tried to make it easy to use (in Microsoft Word) and based it on my own tips. So, here you go, a free resume template!

Do you want to review all of our resume tips? We have written a resume tips blog post.

I hope this proves to be helpful whatever your situation, and take care out there.

photo credit: www.ilkkajukarainen.fi IMG_0037 via photopin (license)

Our Top 5 Tips for Websites

Putting together a great website will always include the same things: copy and design.

So, obviously, as writers, we have something to say about this!

While planning your website project or refresh, here’s what we recommend as our top five tips:

Build navigation tailored to your customers’ journey. One item in the wrong place can cause confusion. Be a student of other websites before creating your navigation and do not just bow to what Google recommends. Planning your website navigation will be the key to all the pages that follow. Choose basic words for your menu and don’t make your audience guess what you mean. Ask someone outside of your company to find something on your website if you really want to test this effectively. When you follow the “less is more” mantra, your customers are more likely to find what they need.
Make some pages “sticky” versus a basic “brochure” style. Social media keeps us coming back because there is always something new to discover. Do you have items that keep people coming back? Having an active blog can help but what other elements can you provide? Maybe an industry trends section? What items can you provide as an aggregator of industry content for your audience?
Put humans first. People relate to people, not products and features. Can you keep your team updated on your site, introduce your team, add a chat feature? How about Employee interviews or pictures of a diverse group of people using your product? Dedicate one aspect of your website to showcase your your team’s expertise. You will find that these pages will get shared more often and this strategy can also help with recruiting.
Add a “call to action” on every page. A beautiful photo is a beautiful photo. But if you don’t encourage a visitor to contact you and give them a reason to do so, you have lost a potential sale. People are persuaded by words and phrases if they are interested in what you have to offer. Give them an easy next step. People always appreciate knowing what the next step is.
Write the copy first, before creating the visual design. I know we are little biased in this tip but if you know what you want to say, the designer can craft your design more easily. It may also reduce costs because you realize you may not need all the pages you thought you did. Also, writing the copy out first will help inspire your designer because they can use the message to create their design (instead of guessing what content you want). We understand that the design is the fun part and it typically gets most of the attention. So let us know if you try our technique.
(Bonus Tip/Rant) Phone numbers are still a thing. Yes, you want to protect your people from being recruited away. Yes, you may not have the funds for a customer success department or a help desk. But a basic thing you can do is encourage people to contact you and provide a phone number. There are many services that can automate this for you but generally, people want to know that they will reach a human being.

photo credit: Kaptain Kobold One Click Or Two? via photopin (license)

How to Achieve Laser Focus

Many people ask me how I have found laser focus in my life and my business. So I have listed some of my “daily mantras” to inspire others.

There is no real secret, only daily decisions that can create lasting life changes.

Some of these daily mantras may not apply to you and that’s okay. Use them for inspiration to think about the daily decisions you want to make to create change in your life.

These continuously help me to keep my laser focus:

Say no (more than yes)

Saying yes, without taking the time for serious consideration, has led to major consequences in my life! Now, when I have an opportunity or option that doesn’t align with what I need to achieve in general, I think about it and usually decline in the most gentle way possible. Sometimes I don’t provide an explanation, and if someone presses for an explanation, I let them know it’s not something aligned with my goals this year.

In business, I have learned how to say no to specific initiatives and projects to keep steering us in one direction, towards one purpose with one message. This has helped me create transformation instead of chaos. Suprisingly, it has also helped me save money to help the business thrive in tough times.

Create small rituals

It’s not enough to encourage good habits. Rituals ensure success and they turn into habits. For example, if I do not have the nightly ritual of chopping up vegetables or other small chores, I end up doing things ad hoc and I am more likely to disrupt established routines (and set me up for mini-failures in preparation).

In business, rituals turn into processes and checklists that we use as a team to ensure that everything we need to get done, gets done.

“Today equals tomorrow”

This means that the small decisions I make today will impact tomorrow. This is very helpful in maintaining my weight. An item I eat today will impact how I feel the next day. Do I want that feeling physically/emotionally? And sometimes I am able to say yes when I make good choices.

For the business, strategic decisions I make today will impact the success or failure of the company tomorrow – so what do I need to do now? Every day?

Delegate

This is a hard one because people may be on their own or in a situation where they have to do what they can themselves. For me, I started with a delegation mind-set even when I couldn’t delegate work. This helped me save money to pay others eventually and document ideas for when I could hand it off to someone else.

For business, Jocko Willink wrote in Leadership, Strategy and Tactics: if a leader wants to be in charge of everything, then he or she should try to be in charge of nothing. He means you should empower your team and build processes so you really aren’t needed for anything other than strategy. This is what scales companies. I always examine what tasks I am doing and how I can put someone else in charge, so I can do my best work.

photo credit: Wonderlane Lama guiding His Holiness Dagchen Rinpoche, Kathmandu, Nepal via photopin (license)

Susan’s Top Productivity Tips

Work when you are energized. You will simply get more done. If you can’t make your own schedule based on your energy levels, schedule calls and meetings in the early and mid afternoon to push you through to early evening when people usually re-energize. For further reading about this, read When, by Daniel Pink.

Put someone else in charge of your calendar. if you have a lot of bookings. A human touch can go a long way and you won’t get over scheduled the way technology has a tendency to do. If you can’t delegate your calendar, set “office hours” when people know you will be available to take a call. It can reduce the number of bookings you may need to organize.

Keep like with like and consolidate. All notes in one notebook, all files with other files, all tasks in one software program. The more you can’t use the “like with like” mantra, the longer it will take to find things, eating into your day. While keeping like with like, work on reducing and consolidating touch points – for example, can three mailing lists be put into one? Are people using five different software programs when only one is needed?

Talk instead of type. You will get written content out faster overall, even for basic emails. I use Dragon and on a Mac, you can hit fn twice to use its voice recording feature after enabling dictation. And the most recent edition of Word for Mac has a dictation feature built right in as well.

Change small things in your environment. Is it easy to play books and podcasts while you work in your kitchen? Is your gym bag packed at night and in your trunk so you can go to the gym in the morning? Are there healthy snacks or chips near your desk? Is your Instagram icon out of your immediate sight line? Can you keep your phone across the room while you work? What small changes can you make that have a big impact on your productivity? For further reading about this, read Atomic Habits, by James Clear.

Use lists. From Amanda Spencer on our team:

If I just have one or two things to work on, I’ll simply list them as separate tasks, but when the work starts to get busier, I’ll often break up tasks into several sub-tasks: initial planning, write a draft, edit and revise, etc. Ticking off completed tasks is very satisfying, and approaching work in this way helps ensure that I’m not leaving everything until the last minute!

Use timers. From Stephen Kotowych on our team:

I’m all about timers. There’s the pomodoro technique. But mainly what I like is timing how long specific tasks take. Since I tend to do similar things for clients (blogs, social, etc.) over time by watching how long on average those kinds of things take me I have hard data by which to estimate how long a project will take and block out my time accordingly. That way I (ideally) don’t get overwhelmed and don’t make unrealistic promises of when I can get stuff turned around.

Re-read and recharge. From Susan Taylor on our team:

I re-read emails every morning to make sure I’ve not missed anything from the day before. I also need to get away from the computer and get fresh air – having the dog to walk really helps and with just a 20 minute change of scenery seems to be the best medicine to recharge!!

photo credit: barbourians I bought an egg timer via photopin (license)

Interview with BMO: A HeadStart Case Study

Marsha Toomey is a content marketer in the financial services industry at BMO. We asked her about her experience working with us.

Why did you decide to sign on with HeadStart?

Our team was looking for new voices. We wanted a new eye on content that could be written for wealth, more specifically for financial investments. We decided to go through HeadStart because the business model really suited what we were looking for at that point.

We had a lot of topics that we wanted to cover, and after meeting the team and knowing what our agenda was for this initiative, we thought it was a really good fit. We also felt that the writer assigned to our account had the lens for financial services that could capture the kind of content that we were looking for.

How has HeadStart’s subscription model changed the way you work?

Before experiencing the subscription model, our articles were being written on an ad hoc basis. We would do a brief and get billed for every article individually. So I really liked the HeadStart subscription model because it allowed me to be less restrictive.

It was more flexible in the sense that I had multiple articles that I needed written, and I was confident that I could get all of them done without having to be selective.

What do you consider the top benefit of working with HeadStart and why?

It’s very timely. Having that three-day turnaround and being able to have the content quickly really benefited us in terms of the timelines for my content calendar. I think it was the biggest benefit.

I was already confident in the work I was seeing from our assigned writer and the topics that were being covered, but the timely fashion really helped speed up processes on our end. Sometimes you experience internal roadblocks, so having the actual content written faster is really helpful.

What would you tell others about the client experience with HeadStart?

I’ve already been talking about you to other lines of business! I think the experience has been great and really efficient. Everyone was friendly and helpful when I had questions. The briefing process went smoothly in the sense that I didn’t really feel that I had to explain things a lot.

Once the brief was in, I knew I could expect quality articles to come back. The overall experience has been fantastic.

photo credit: Stefan-Mueller.pics (Thanks for 3Mio views) Maid of Ace via photopin (license)

What Does HeadStart Need to Write a Piece?

When we write for you, our goal is to exceed your expectations and avoid revisions. How do we do that? Together.

And we really only need a few things from you to ensure you get what you want, consistently. Here are some options on how we work together to build a brief:

Email Us. More than anything, we need a sense of what you want, and the best way to get that is for you to offer a few bullet points outlining the piece. Be as specific as possible and write down key points in the order you would like them to appear. Include a working title if you can.
Use our Basic Forms Provided on “Nectar.” You can also send us requests through our private content portal, Nectar. Nectar allows you to fill out a variety of basic forms that prompt you for bios, blogs, press releases, social snippets, etc. We get notified and you get a copy of what you sent along to us. Nectar also allows you to see what we are writing for you and when it will be delivered.
Arrange a Call. Sometimes, a call works best to describe what you’re looking for, especially when you have multiple pieces. A call can be the most time efficient for all sides and we record the calls to ensure we get the details and capture your tone of voice.

How Much Information?
The more detailed you can be in your outline, the more the final piece will exceed your expectations, and the less likely we will have revisions. It’s as much about clarity as quantity. So, if you can be crystal-clear about what you want, you’re likely to get it, and we can always jump on the phone to talk about it for a minute or two.

Over time, as we write for you, we’ll come to know what you want and how you want it, but it always helps to have a clear outline. All of this is about making your life easier and delivering the kind of content you want, and by building a long-term relationship with us, you won’t have to keep explaining yourself over and over to freelancers.

Photo credit: Nick Morrison at Unsplash.

Up Next? “What’s Involved in HeadStart’s Onboarding Process?”

Free Activities to Keep the Kids Learning

We have been doing some research for free, fun and educational activities for kids while school is on pause. While HeadStart is a virtual company by design, some of us now have children around!

Happily, there are great resources available for parents who suddenly find themselves juggling work and kids. We have narrowed the list and chosen a few of our favourites to share with you. All of these are free!

Online Activities for Kids

Khan Academy is a non-profit organization with the mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. The site offers daily schedules and free courses for students ages 4-18.

E-learning for kids is also non-profit organization providing free, fun, curriculum based quality primary education to all children worldwide:

Kidsactivitiesblog.com has compiled an exhaustive list of education companies that are offering free subscriptions.

(Started today!) Listen to books for kids – free from Audible!

Pitso.com offers free STEM activities for elementary school kids.

Scholastic is offering cross-curricular learning experiences for kids to do on their own or with their families.

Edhelper has daily workbooks parents can use for at-home teaching.

The Government of Canada offers lesson plans, videos and more to help youth learn about science and technology, including an ‘Ask a Scientist’ option. They also have a Kids’ Stop Page with activities and games about Indigenous peoples culture, history and languages. CBC Kids and PBS Kids offer free, online educational games and exploration videos for kids.

For your junior astronaut, the Canadian Space Agency and NASA offer free online activities, books, podcasts and other content:

Virtual Field Trips

We can’t physically visit museum or art galleries with the kids, but many locations are offering virtual experiences to enjoy from our home computers. Want to introduce your young artist to Van Gogh or Monet? Google Arts & Culture has partnered with over 500 global art institutions to open their doors to the public virtually.

For the animal lover in your house, zoos around the world are offering virtual visits. The Cherry Brook Zoo in Saint John, New Brunswick is providing a virtual field trip every weekday morning at 10:30 on its Facebook page.

The Calgary Zoo has introduced live broadcasts from the hippo habitat every Thursday on the zoo’s YouTube channel.

Keeping Kids Active

Whether you live in an apartment, condo or house with a garden, keeping the kids active is key to healthy living for the whole family. Participaction offers tips and games for walking with young kids while Today’s Parent has ideas on how to keep kids active indoors when there is little space.

photo credit: Steve A Johnson colored pavement chalk via photopin (license)

Privacy Policy

Varty Group Management of Client Information Policy

Varty Group Inc. o/a HeadStart Copywriting

HeadStart Copywriting is committed to the proper collection, use and storage of the business information provided by companies with whom we interact.

Business Information we collect:

Business name
Address of business (Head Office or the office location of the user)
Name, title, email, and business phone number of client user
Name, title, and email of executive signing officer responsible for contract
Types of products/services the business supplies
Content marketing strategy (when available)
Accounts payable contact name(s) and email addresses
Business preferred method of payment and payment platform

The business information is for the following purposes:

Communicating with and determining the needs of our clients
Providing products, services, and information to our clients
Managing our relationships with clients
Meeting any legal or regulatory requirement; and
Such other purposes consistent with the foregoing purposes.

Consent:

Provision of the business information is implied consent.

How your Business Information is shared:

To provide our services, we disclose your Business Information to our operations staff and independent contractors with whom we have signed agreements with embedded confidentiality clauses.

The information is stored on secure project management software we use, as well as in a secure cloud storage platform.

Except in the circumstances described below, we will not disclose your Business Information to third parties without your express consent.

The circumstances where the use and/or disclosure of Business Information may be justified or permitted or where we are obliged to disclose information without obtaining your express consent. Such circumstances include:

Where required by law or by order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or other governmental tribunal.
Where we believe, upon reasonable grounds, that it is necessary to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of an identifiable person or group.
Where it is necessary to establish or collect fees; or
Where it is necessary to permit us to pursue available remedies or limit any damages that we may sustain.

We will periodically review our records to identify Business Information that is no longer required for the reasons it was collected. Such records will be either destroyed or anonymized.

Protection of Business Information

We endeavour to maintain appropriate procedures as to prevent any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, or modification of Business Information. This also applies to our disposal or destruction of Business Information.

If any employee of ours misuses Business Information, this will be considered as a serious offence for which disciplinary action may be taken, up to and including termination of employment. If any individual or organization misuses Business Information we provided, this will be considered a serious issue for which action may be taken, up to and including termination of any agreement between us and that individual or organization.

We audit our procedures and security measures from time to time to ensure that they remain effective and appropriate.

Visiting Our Website

A visitor to our websites (headstartcopywriting.com, vartygroup.com, copyasaservice.com) is not required to reveal any individually identifiable information, such as name, address, or telephone number, nor is such information collected passively by electronic means.

In order to access and use certain services offered on our site, a person may need to provide certain Business Information. Such information is collected when an individual voluntarily completes an on-line membership application form, signs up for our mailing list or completes an online survey. This information is collected, used or disclosed in a manner consistent with this Policy.

We may from time to time use cookies and Google Analytics to collect anonymized data regarding visitors to our website. This information is used internally to better serve visitors by helping us to:

Manage our sites.
Diagnose any technical problems.
Improve the content of our website; and
Improve the services we offer more generally.

Click here for more information on how Google Analytics collects and processes data, click here: http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/

Evolving Practices

This statement is in effect as of July 1, 2021. We review and revise our privacy practices and this Policy annually or when applicable laws are updated or enacted. In the event of any amendment, the amendment will be posted on our website. Policy changes will apply to the information collected from the date of posting to our web site as well as to existing information held by us.

If you have questions about your Personal Information or this policy, please contact our Privacy Officer at write@headstartcopywriting.com.

Author: headstartAdmin