Tips for productive copywriting

Manchester SEO brings you four easy tips to become a productive SEO copywriter.

Online objections

The internet is a wondrous thing; it provideth fascinating content, an insight into the lives of people you've never met and a veritable mix of sport, film and music news. Don't even get me started on the time leak that is Wikipedia.

But the internet also taketh away; stealing minutes and hours from the copywriter desperate to meet a deadline. If you're all too easy led astray into the dark undergrowth of the internet, it's time to cut off your connection. You can live without it. Just for a little while.

Ringing off

Mobile phones are crafty little time wasters. When they're not offering an array of pixelated games, they're begging for attention; noisy buggers piercing the silence with shrill rings and maddening bleeps.

Put the phone somewhere where you can't hear it. Here are some suggestions:

1. In another room
   
2. In a draw
   
3. In the oven (ensure the oven is not already in use)
   

Alternatively, you could just turn it off until the article is finished.

Soundtrack to my copywriting career

Music is the medicine of the mind. The penicillin of the brain.

Copywriters are allergic to penicillin. Music can savage a good work ethic, making a writer lose focus and distract them from the content at hand.

Music is a major time waster; especially when you are on a deadline. There's always a better song on Spotify or the extra time to search for a radio station without Chris Moyles.

Smoky Joe

Writing is stressful and sometimes the pressure of remembering to end every sentence with a full stop can be too much. Time to calm your nerves with a good old drag then.

Still, that tasty puff of formaldehyde can have devastating consequences for your article and many a copywriter has watched in horror as their train of thought floated away in a cloudy wisp of smoke. Indeed, returning to the groove can be increasingly difficult when you have to excavate the 'j' key from a miniature recreation of Pompeii.

Put the cigarettes away lest your article suffer from passive smoking.

Alternatively, ignore everything written here

I am a hypocrite. During the composition of this SEO Manchester blog, I have constantly refreshed my Twitter feed, occasionally answered text messages, listened to a number of albums on Spotify and regularly smoked during quandaries regarding the correct usage of semi colons.

Copywriting shouldn't be a chore and occasionally, distractions can be a good thing. They can give you an opportunity to reflect; the chance to find creativity and inspiration away from white, blank page.

What works for one copywriter – what helps them reach their word count – may not hold true for another. It's about finding what assists you in getting the job done. And sometimes, that means singing loudly to the soundtrack from Glee.