Y'all, it's summer, and we've been struggling through this heat wave so we'll keep the intro short and sweet. Here's hoping your freezer always has ice and your fans or ac keeps you cool!

Show, Don't Tell

How to Write Great Landing Page Copy

When a potential customer, collaborator, or editor you’ve just pitched, lands on your website you have less than 10 seconds to convey exactly what your business is, and convince them it’s worth staying and looking around! You want to try and do this initial work “above the fold”, or in that space on your computer screen before you start scrolling.

One key piece of this puzzle is how you describe your business in words — simple words. Creative businesses are often visual-first and the task of writing copy can feel annoying or impossible. That’s why we pulled the best examples from design, consumables, and accessories to show you how to write great landing page copy and step up your website’s first impression.

Good Links Round Up

1. 3 ways to repurpose content on social
If you've followed us for any amount of time, you'll know our favorite piece of advice for creatives is to capture incredible photography. The next step? Make your photography work smarter for you! Andréa Jones, a social media mentor, breaks down three ways to repurpose content for each social platform in her podcast Savvy Social, including do's & don'ts and explaining what evergreen content is.

2. Improve your website ranking with this simple SEO guide
We help creative businesses revamp their online presence with a focus on public facing elements like storytelling, firming up their point-of-view, and tips for copywriting and photography to make a great impression on humans. But how do you ensure your site makes a great impression on search engine bots? Check out the Style Factory's blog for an everything-you-need-to-know tutorial (with screenshots), including 17 steps to improve website ranking, specifically for Squarespace sites. With the right tools and actionable tips, Squarespace is a great website builder for DIYers.

3. Sales tax 101 for creative entrepreneurs.
It’s easy to get intimidated by the financial side of running a creative business. This month we're reading up on what every creative needs to know about sales tax in this article by Janet LeBlanc, owner of Paper+Spark, a financial resource for entrepreneurs. You likely owe sales tax on your transactions, whether you sell furnishings, accessories, or other designs. LeBlanc goes into enough detail to help get you started and set up to collect sales tax today.

4. Make a great FAQ page with this DIY guide.
We recommend ALL creative businesses create FAQ pages for their websites. Why? They are helpful for your customer AND great for SEO! The added benefit of taking the time to create a FAQ page is that you are likely writing responses to common questions you get on the phone or email. Now you have canned responses making email replies easier. This article covers the basics of how and why to set a FAQ page with several great examples; our favorite FAQ page from their list is Agent Work.

5. The key tool to better marketing on Pinterest
Research is a key pillar of design thinking (our core methodology) and can be applied to improve your Pinterest game. We help our clients utilize the social platform to help them get discovered and tell their stories. For a DIY guide, Kim Herrington, SEO and Google Ads expert, shows how to identify new keywords with Pinterest's keyword tool and execute a Pinterest strategy.

Wins

We're thrilled for two former 1-1 clients taking their learnings and getting great, targeted press hits for their companies. Check out what SinCa and Carmen Ellis have placed this month!

1
Design Milk delves into the sustainability practices of Connecticut-based furniture studio, SinCa Design, in the Home Furnishing section.

2
Eyeswoon quotes Carmen Ellis, a Los Angeles designer, on her surrealist design inspiration. The Face Vessel is featured in the shop the trend section.

Work With Us!

If you want to get really good at telling your business' story, we can help!

-Tweak and Edit- for when you need a critically constructive second set of eyeballs to look at what you're doing and tell you exactly what to fix, and then show you best-in-show examples to help you get there.

-1-1 sessions- for when you want to learn how to tighten up your business and pitch it to the media yourself, and you want guidance informed by 15+ years of experience and someone to hold you accountable.

-List building- for when you want a fully customized media list built to fit your specific needs and timing as it involves launches and other company initiatives- AND you want it to include suggestions for press materials, stories to develop, order of operations for embargos and/or exclusives, and other activities for the biggest media impact.

and finally

-How to Pitch For Holiday Gift Guides- for when you want to truly knock it out of the park with holiday gift guide pitching, but also secretly learn how to pitch for all the other year round holidays as well.

Thanks for giving us some time in your inbox! If you have any questions send us a note, we'll always reply.

Cheers,
Nora & Kirsten

PS - If you liked the newsletter, we’d be so happy if you shared it with others who might find it useful. Anyone new can subscribe here.

3 Key Elements To Make a Great Impression 💻

Show, Don't Tell

Good Links Round Up

Wins

Work With Us!

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