What I now wile away the hours looking at when I should be writing

So, been living in Malta for two weeks now and loving it. Still feels like summertime here and I have a beach (of sorts) on my doorstep. Only problem is I have to constantly fight the urge to jump in a taxi and go exploring when I should be switching on my laptop. So I’m already having to make a few adjustments to the way I work.

For anybody else thinking of packing a bag and working from another country, here are a few tips you might find useful:

Buy a laptop – An essential piece of kit for the nomadic, remote writer. Even if you’re working from home, being able to change your location (even if it’s just a different room) can help kick start your creativity and break through writer’s block.

Setup remote data backup – Services such as Mozy (free up to 2GB) can be setup to automatically backup important files on your laptop throughout the day. Perfect for when you need to access Word documents from an internet cafe or if, heaven forbid, your laptop gets stolen.

Setup an online number using Skype – It’s now possible to have a phone number, which appears like a landline number, you can use to make and receive calls on your laptop. It costs £11.50 for three months and enables you to receive low cost calls from anywhere in the world. Just be careful when dialling out – calling landlines costs less than peanuts but calling mobiles abroad will munch through your credit.

Upgrade to a smartphone – For times when you’re away from your laptop or can’t get internet access a smartphone can keep you connected to clients. Being able to respond to emails and phone calls from wherever you are helps ensure projects don’t grind to a halt because you’re still strolling around the old part of the city.

Be aware of time zones – In Malta I’m one hour ahead of the UK, which means I have to be ready to receive work calls and emails later in the day than I normally would. On the plus side, it gives me an extra hour to have another read through that article I promised would be in their inbox first thing.

Keep track of your hours – It can be tempting to go exploring during the day when you’re living in a foreign city. But this can eat into your writing output if you don’t make up for it later on in the day. I find recording the hours I work and setting myself daily targets helps me to stay on track.

Become a paperless office – If you’re used to sending out paper invoices consider switching to PDF. PDF Redirect V2 is a free application that enables you to create PDFs from Word, Pagemaker and many other programs. Emailing PDF invoices, rather than posting them, also means you have a record of when they were received and can send instant reminders.

Setup internet banking – Internet banking enables you to keep your accounts up-to-date and to track your expenses without having to rely on someone back home sending on paper statements (although you might still need them for your end of year accounts).

Check your tax obligations – And whilst on the subject of accounts, make sure to check what your tax obligations are in a new country. In the EU the general rule is that you pay tax in whichever country you spend more than six months in. If you’re spending, say, four months in three different countries it’s a good idea to speak to an international consultant. Tax evasion is a minefield best avoided.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

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Back in my cubicle days I used to dream of escape and jetting off to foreign shores. I’d already spent just over a year traveling around Australia and SE Asia. But that just whetted my appetite for seeing more of what’s out there.

A few years have passed since then, and whilst I’ve left my cubicle I still have yet to dust off my backpack and do more globe trotting.

Well, that could be about to change.

In a few week’s time I’ll be flying off to live in Malta for a few months, initially on a trial basis to see whether living abroad harms my ability to secure new clients.

But should I be able to carry on attracting enough work, I’m hoping Malta is the first of a few pins I can stick in the map.

One of the big attractions of freelancing had been the dream of being able to work from far flung places and fit work around my lifestyle.

If everything goes to plan, it’s one dream that could become a reality.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

Whether you call it business blogging, content marketing or engagement, giving away free content is a great way of building trust and credibility with info hungry web surfers. Google seems to like it too.

It has taken a while for awareness to spread (I’ve still got a drawer full of business blogging leaflets from a Milton Keynes exhibition two years ago), but this year I’m finding more people are getting clued up on the benefits of weekly articles for boosting their online profiles.

The latest place to find words written by me is the bda (Buckingham Design Associates) website. My current contributions are:

Print dead in ten years? Only if we run out of tree

Mobile Marketing: Do You Want to be a Temporary Intruder or a Trusted Friend?

Over the next few months I’ll be covering various topics on print, mobile and digital marketing. So if these areas are of interest then hopefully you might consider subscribing for an added weekly dose of marketing news and tips?

Otherwise fear not, because the Crucible is still high on my list of weekly duties for a variety of reasons:

• Helps with my daily workout of 500 words a day
• Gives me an outlet to write freely, and get as carried away with my metaphors as I want
• Enables me to network, question views and get feedback from other writers and marketers (my post on whether Indian writers used a different structure and syntax to Western writers has a particularly active comments section)
• Helps with my Google ranking (although I’m still stuck in the darkest depths of graveyard listings until I’m forgiven for changing my domain name)

So to all my loyal subscribers who listen to my weekly sermons on the evolving role of the internet copywriter, please be assured that I’ll be posting at The Copywriter’s Crucible for the foreseeable future.

As well as copywriting, marketing and self promotion tips, you’ll gradually be hearing more from me about the direct marketing world. So stay subscribed Crucible fans, because there’s plenty more to come. And hopefully I’ll see some of you over at the bda blog as well.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

They often say that moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do, and I think moving domains isn’t a lot better and I hope I haven’t lost you all along the way.

Ever since Google started indexing my blog as my home page, I’ve been steadily heading towards re-branding my copywriting business with my blog name. To complete the transition I’ve now not only updated my stationary but also my domain.

‘The Write Words’ was a bit generic and I’d always wanted a name that was unique and had a story behind it for whenever I handed out business cards. Mine is simply about how I discovered blogging as a marketing tool and how it took over the branding of my business.

Although it has involved a little bit of pain (all my apostrophes have changed to ‘’’ ?!), I thought moving to a .com domain was also necessary for long-term growth and to try and establish more of a global presence, crucial for my plans/dreams of swapping my laptop bag for a suitcase.

I’m still breathing into a paper bag at the thought that I might have lost my 300 loyal subscribers in the process, but here’s a brief checklist for moving your blog to a new domain with hopefully the minimum of pain.

Ten steps for moving your WordPress blog to a new domain

1. Backup your MySQL database, preferably using the phpMyAdmin panel in your web hosting account as I had no luck uploading using WordPress database plugins.

2. Create a new MySql database and upload the copy of your old one. You might have to compress your database if it’s over 8 MB or (as in my case) contact your web hosting company to upload it for you if your browser keeps timing out due to the size.

2. Backup all your WordPress plugins, theme files and anything else you’ve manually edited.

3. Download the latest version of WordPress and upload to your new domain.

4. Upload the wp-config.php after editing the details to reflect your new database information along with your theme and plugin files to the relevant directories.

5. Go to yourdomainname.com/wp-admin/install.php to complete the installation and then yourdomainname.com/wp-login.php to access your WordPress dashboard.

6. Update information that relates to your old domain address e.g. email address.

Now here’s the clever bit:

7. Download the Moving Your Blog plugin and upload it to your old website and activate it. Go to the plugin’s options and enter your new domain address. Click Ok and now every visitor, link and search engine spider will be seamlessly redirected to the corresponding page on your new domain without any painful page reloading or alarming redirect screens.

Now here’s the tricky bit, which I don’t yet know if it has worked:

8. In Feedburner edit the feed URL with your new domains feed address. Then click on the option to delete it and select the 30 day redirect option. In theory this should automatically redirect all your subscribers from your old feed to your new one.

9. Update your blogs email subscription box and Feedburner button with your new feed’s HTML code. You’ll also have to update Technorati, which unfortunately means losing your old ranking.

10. Light a candle and pray to whoever you hope is listening that Google doesn’t banish you to the sandbox for duplicated content and that your subscribers can find their way to your new location.

So hopefully these ten steps should save you some of the time I spent hunting for answers and guidance for each stage of the process, and the comment section is now open for questions.

Depending on whether this post reaches you, hopefully I’ll soon be able to edit steps 8 and 10.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

I decided to award myself a week off at Christmas to spend time with the family, which then grew into a fortnight when I became a victim of the flu outbreak that’s crippling the country. Working from home hasn’t equipped me with the toughest immune system, and the week away would have left me dangerously exposed.

I was bedridden for a week, with barely the energy to change the TV channel. But I’m pleased to say that I’m now back to three meals a day and watched enough brain draining daytime TV to keep me at my desk for many years to come.

Whilst I might have barely had the energy to warm up soup, I was still able to keep a keen eye on my website’s stats. The impact of my recent redesign certainly seems to have kicked in, with swarms of potential clients pouring over every easily found page, whilst deciding whether to give this young chap a shot at sorting out their copy.

Well, I’m now booked up for the next couple of weeks and visitors just keep on coming. So hopefully I can keep the ball rolling and my keyboard busy for the rest of the year.

In 2008 my aims are simple:

• Write more.
• Read more.
• Add direct mail and sales letter writing to my portfolio.

I also intend to carry on banging my drum on the need to invest in useful, valuable content to anybody who’ll listen.

So, I’d like to wish a Happy New Year to every one of my readers. And let’s make this the year when businesses really start to appreciate the value of well written words.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

I’ve recently been hearing more comments on using WordPress to build an entire website. I’ve always kept an ear open for these sort of discussions because my blog is where people will land when they search my key phrases, rather than on my business website (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m one of the top sites in Google for ‘copywriter’).

Well, I’m pleased to announce that The Copywriter’s Crucible is no longer merely a blog but an entire website, with its own individual home page.

I bought the ‘Revolution‘ theme from Brian Gardner (one of the best wordpress designers around as far as I’m concerned), which I’ve customized to reflect my own branding and business requirements.

Now when people arrive looking for a copywriting service they’ll be greeted by a more professional looking home page and (hopefully) won’t immediately click away because they think they’ve been misdirected to an online diary.

Having a WordPress based website offers numerous advantages over something I’d stapled together in Dreamweaver: it’s easier to update, it provides an RSS feed to help drive my marketing, improved SEO, commenting functionality for visitors and an endless supply of plugins to keep it motoring along at peak performance.

I think everybody should, by now, be in agreement that static websites are dated and inadequate for marketing online. With my new template design, I intend to prove why you need a constantly evolving web presence if you want to attract visitors and convert them into customers.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

Regular readers will know all about my search for a blog format that will satisfy both blog readers and business visitors. I might be attracting plenty of potential customers through the doors, but they’re not finding what they are looking for and promptly leaving.

For the latest reincarnation of The Copywriter’s Crucible I have switched from the popular Cutline theme to a three column layout called Vertigo by Brian Gardner. I chose the new theme because I think it looks more professional and allows me to communicate much more information above the fold, which should hopefully improve my sales proposition.

I now have room for a full blog feed, details explaining to visitors where they are and some nice comments I found on other sites (thanks Ponn Sabra at Empowerwomennow.com, Sara Scott at Smallbizpod.co.uk and DIB Marketing for your generous words). I’ve placed the comments above the fold not just to feed my own ego, but to build trust with visitors – independent recommendations are marketing gold.

I’m a lot happier with the new look and the early indications are promising, with some business visitors making it all the way to the contact page before leaving. There’s still some tweaking to be done, but I think I now have a much more professional looking shop window with a clearer path to the checkout till.

Let’s just hope my business visitors think so to.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

The festive season is now over. I can finally check myself into a detox programme and ponder on what the new year has in store.

2006 was a fairly major year in the redirection of my career. Towards the end of 2005 I had realised that being a cog in the corporate machine was not for me. With little more than an English degree, and a hastily assembled portfolio, I cleared my desk and took the plunge into the world of freelance copywriting.

Have I regretted losing the regular pay cheque for living by my wits and wordprocessor? Not once. But then I haven’t had to start worrying about paying for my next meal just yet. Hopefully 2007 will be a year of growth for The Write Words as the internet writers market starts to mature.

Over the course of 2006 I had to learn a lot as well as work out my own area of expertise. Writing brochures and leaflets went out the window as I concentrated on the imminent business blogging explosion I had read so much about.

So far this explosion has yet to detonate in the UK. Many marketers still fail to see the value of engagement compared to the steady barrage of one way advertising they are accustomed to. But the stats continue to pile up with online marketers becoming ever more vocal in support of the engagement philosophy. The Copywriter’s Crucible intends to at least be a standard-bearer, if not quite a herald, in the movement’s army.

My prediction for the next year is that the proliferation of forums and places for people to vent their opinions is making business owners anxious. The fear of negative comments will force them to realise that static brochure websites are no longer adequate for managing their profile online. Then the added opportunities of a more fluid online presence will become apparent; websites will become forums for interaction rather than online brochures.

So on to 2007, that has started with a nice little boost to my blog ranking. My much appreciated nomination in the blogger Z-list meme has seen The Crucible climb to the edges of the Technorati top 100k. Thanks to Sandy at The Purple Wren, this collage of the Z-list has found its way onto many of its members’ blogs. The whole gang has been able to benefit from the exchanging of links and a new year’s injection of traffic .

Just twenty-four more letters to go before I can dream of sitting at the table with the blogging A-list. It looks as though 2007 is going to be a busy year.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

This viral campaign seems to be spreading like wildfire – I just hope I can find 5 bloggers to pass it on to who haven’t already been caught! I was tagged by Walter Burek from the Inklings blog.

1. I’m a keen golfer and try and get out as much as I can. Am I any good? Put it this way – I buy my golf balls in bulk.
2. I’m named after my great Grandfather who was the Mayor of Rochdale and an MP. This could explain why I’m always getting on my political soapbox after a few too many ales.
3. A small scar on my right hand is from slipping whilst opening a tin of baked beans. Serves me right for using a knife instead of a tin opener.
4. I was told by my doctor that I’m double jointed in my shoulders, but I have yet to develop any contortionist party tricks. Supposed to help me play racket sports though.
5. I earn a second income by playing online blackjack. So far I have a system which works. Unfortunately its no longer going to be of any use to my US readers.

I think Ill now pass this on to Mark White from Better Business Blogging, Judy Cullins at Professional Marketing Coach, Patricia Skinner at Freelance Writers Manifesto, Easton Ellsworth at Business Blogwire and Deborah Ng at Freelance Writing Jobs.

I just hope I can get to them in time!

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch:

I was delighted to discover, earlier this week, that I’ve been nominated for the top ten of the best writers’ blogs on the Writing White Papers website. Very uplifting, particularly when you consider that the nomination might have come from a fellow writer. Now the pressure is on to try and maintain whatever it is I have been doing to justify such an accolade.

Post from: The Copywriter's Crucible

Copyright © Matt Ambrose at The Copywriter's Crucible Blog.

FREE Persuasive Writing Tips eBook

Includes advice on writing headlines, how to seduce buyers with emotion and how to give your words that extra punch: