There is a site where you can have all these things done and more, each for only $5. The site is called Fiverr.com, and it’s one of my favorite websites as of late. It’s an incredible resource if you are looking for something awesome and low quality.

You’re probably wondering why you would ever want something low quality. I’ll tell you why you might…

• You don’t want to pay for high quality. (You always get what you pay for.)
• It’s an easy project that few people will see, so it’s smart not to invest much.
• You want to promote a product or service by being ridiculous. Like I did with this video…

Click here to view the embedded video.

What is Fiverr?

Before I get into the back story of the video, let me tell you about Fiverr.com. After you create an account, you can post “gigs” to be sold, purchase gigs, or request that someone create a gig for you. The gig can be anything, but it must only cost $5. A seller can get around the $5 limit by offering something in addition to the base gig. The price won’t get much higher than $20. At least I have not seen a gig more expensive than that.

I’ve already mentioned that the quality of work on Fiverr is probably not going to be top quality. I bought a gig for a new Facebook timeline image, and the seller sent me the files one week late and the profile image wasn’t even the right size! Rest assured that you can request edits and leave a review of your experience.

The Back Story of My Fiverr Video

Now, about the monkey commercial for No. 2 Pen…

I paid $5 to have the jingle written. I had no expectations for the outcome. I simply sent the seller my website and said “go for it.” What came back was a surprise. The jingle was pretty horrible.

After talking with my husband about it (SEO consultant over at Spork Marketing), he reminded me that bad marketing can be memorable marketing. He said I should embrace it. So I did.

I went back to Fiverr and made a gig request for a cheesy video to go along with my cheesy jingle. Since this was a custom video, a seller offered to make the video for $20. I agreed.

The video I got was definitely cheesy, but it wasn’t obviously cheesy. Jason and I watched it with our mouths gaping open. He said, “Your logo is on that thing! That’s so bad.”

It was clear I had wasted $20 on Fiverr.

Jason felt sorry for me and agreed to help. He’s got video editing skills you see, and he has an appreciation for monkeys.

To return the favor, I went back to Fiverr once again and bought him an illustrated self portrait. I thought this would make a nice Twitter profile pic. What do you think?

Jason Lancaster as a bean.

Jason Lancaster in real life.

Have you used Fiverr? What Fiverr ideas do you have?

Download my free book, 103 Ways to Create Sharp Blog Content. No email required!

Which Test Won

Improve your web copy conversion rates through testing. The Which Test Won email shows you two pages of web content (usually landing pages) and let’s you vote on which one you think had the highest conversion in a test. Copy is typically different in each of the two options, so it’s a great way to exercise your web copy conversion know-how.

Drew’s Marketing Minute

Maybe it’s that I have a soft spot for Des Moines marketers (my home town) or maybe it’s that Drew McLellan has a way of writing about marketing that makes sense to me. His writing style is accessible and customer focused, something every web content writer needs to mimic.

Grammar Girl or Copyediting Tip of the Week

Choose one or two grammar-related newsletters. If you are like me, you’re more likely to read a newsletter if it’s the only one of its kind you receive.

The Moz Top Ten

If you are going to write web content for your business, you need to understand search engine optimization and Internet marketing trends. SEO Moz is the resource the experts trust.

VR Buzz

Web copy’s sibling, newsletter copy, follows many of the same “rules” as web copy writing. Plus, anyone with a website should collect email addresses and send periodic newsletters, and that takes practice before it’s a true success.

Vertical Response has an award-winning newsletter that I make a point to read every time. The info isn’t the same old marketing advice you read over and over again. I also like to study their subject lines and headlines.

What email newsletters do you subscribe to?

When Sara Lancaster emailed me to swap guest blog posts I was super excited. I’d read No. 2 Pen, having come across it through the WordCount Blogathon, and thought the content was fantastic – very practical and easy to understand. So it is with great pleasure I share this website content review. Thanks for the opportunity, Sara!

Today’s website review focuses on Mister Nice Guy Cupcakes from Melbourne, Australia. Let me just say that I have tried the cupcakes and they are delicious, but back to the serious stuff. Three reasons I wanted to use this website as a copywriting example were:

• The blurb on the home page clearly and concisely explains the benefits of choosing Mister Nice Guy cupcakes. The business’ target audience will appreciate fair-trade, kosher, and vegan cupcakes.
• The “More About Us” page shares the emotional investment and choices that owners Lucas and Deb make in their business. This enables visitors to connect with the philosophy of the business.  Part of this copy should be added to the initial “About Us” page with a link to the remainder underneath that reads “Get To Know Deb & Lucas Better + Their Favourite Flavours Revealed.”
• Having a gorgeous illustration paired with the description of each cupcake flavour is very enticing for visitors.

Areas for improvement include:

• The call to action on the front page. Currently it’s “Find us in the latest edition of Frankie Magazine.” This could lead to loss of customers while they follow the Frankie link instead of choosing their favourite cupcakes and ordering.
• Rather than the heading “Stockists” on the front page, “Come Visit Eat With Us” or “Got The Munchies? We’re Here.” are more likely to garner the preferred response.
• The videos of Deb and Lucas making cakes and other sweet treats are brilliant for connecting with customers and SEO purposes. They just need to reverse the order of videos so the most recent appears at the top – my initial response was that they hadn’t updated for months when in fact they had.

What do you like about the website? Be sure to share in the comments.

Now where were those cupcakes…

Caylie Price is the founder of Better Business Better Life. Her goal is to blast your business to success so you can live the life you want. To learn more about growing startups, small business, online marketing and more, head to www.betterbusinessbetterlife.com.au! While you’re there, subscribe and be the first to know when Caylie releases her new ebook.

ALWAYS be writing. Practice the skill.

Stop BORING yourself. Write content you would want to read.

CLARITY matters.

When you can’t make a piece of copy jive, DELETE it and start fresh.

Take a look at web content EXAMPLES to see how others write.

Give your web content a FACE-LIFT from time to time. Don’t let web content get old.

G is for GOOGLE and how one search engine dictates the way to do business on the web.

HUMOR. Lighten up.

Get rid of jargon that only people in your industry know. Avoid INDUSTRY OVERLOAD.

Never let a good idea escape you. JOT it down!

Prove you are KNOWLEDGEABLE.

LEVERAGE your strengths. Delegate what you don’t do well.

A shoulder MASSAGE will help you write for longer. Treat yourself with kindness.

Update your website with NEW content often.

OPTIMIZE web content. Pay attention to keywords and SEO best practices.

You cannot PROOFREAD web content too many times.

Q is for QUIET, which is over-rated. Never silence your creativity.

READ web content out loud.

Use your words to SELL.

TEST different versions of web content to see what works best.

Stop UNCERTAINTY in its tracks. Write with confidence.

VIEW your web content from the perspective of the reader. What would your ideal customer say?

Never underestimate the power of one WORD.

If you can’t be EXACT, get close. Sometimes general web content works better than precise web content anyway.

YANK non-performing content from the web.

Set your website apart. Do something ZANY.

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Thanks to fellow Blogathoner Estelle Sobel Erasmus of Musings On Motherhood, Midlife and Other Forms of Madness for inspiring me to write about the ABCs of web content writing.