The secret to any copywriter‘s success… Having a swipe file to refer to for ideas, useful resources, and modelling. Or what we call swiping. (Ethically of course)
Ask any successful copywriter how they think of hundreds of ideas within minutes, draft thousands of persuasive words within hours, plan out award-winning marketing campaigns within days, and most will tell you… they use a swipe file. It could be a physical file or book, or it may be digital in a hard-disk, or a combination of both. But they will have a handy tool close to them which they can always rely on.
And that’s what I’ve done on this page.
Giving you Useful Resources. On 1 single page.
I’ll continue to update this page with more resources that I find useful. They could be websites to read, free resources to use in your business, or even premium tools that my clients or I’m using.
Look through them, and see what is applicable for yourself.
Digital Swipe File: Building an Online Presence
Listed below are my recommendations for freelancers and entrepreneurs to build up their digital business card. I’m using some of these tools for my businesses, others I used to use but have since shifted to more advanced versions. If you are just starting out, do check them out and implement them into your business.
Remember, if you are not an expert in a particular field, outsource the technical aspects by using readily available services.
This is a simple yet powerful way to grow your business. Fast.
Registering Your Domain Name
First thing any business needs to do online is to get a domain name. This is the URL your customers are going to type into their web browser to find your professional freelance website.
Name Cheap
Quick and easy way for you to purchase your domain name. As a domain registrar, namecheap allows you to buy a wide range of domain names and extensions including country extensions like .sg and .com.sg. You’ll still need your NRIC to register them.
Hosting Your Freelance Websites
Your web domains will need a hosting service to host the files (getting a little technical, I know). While most domain registrar can provide hosting services, I’ll recommend using separate services for each of them.
Bluehost
One of the largest web hosting companies around… this is a definite recommendation for first-time website builders as their shared hosting account allows you to do a lot of things easily. This is a good starting point for freelancers and entrepreneurs to build their first professional website.
Building Websites & Lead Capture Pages
This is the main crux of what we’re doing to develop your brand story. There are numerous ways to create a webpage and more importantly… your website. If you are new and unfamiliar with website building, I’ll recommend using a lead capture page building service like Instapage to get started. As you get more familiar, moving to WordPress is ideal as it has a lot of functionalities to grow your business. Check out the various sites below.
Instapage (Start with this first)
Quite a new software but don’t underestimate how powerful this tool is. Most systems and platforms talk about having a drag-and-drop feature but not many come anywhere close to Instapage. You can easily create the design you have in mind or use any one of their many different templates to build your pages.
Genesis by StudioPress (Advanced WP Users)
Not recommended for beginners. The Genesis framework is used by many online marketers and entrepreneurs because it provides a powerful platform to build your digital business card. However to make the best use of it (without the headache) you do need to have some basic coding understanding to learn how to enhance the features. If you are confident, do check out their themes package.