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So I'm writing this on Wednesday instead of Thursday because we're actually taking a day off tomorrow to go and do something totally unrelated to computers and websites and that will be wonderful because I really do need the break.

I just get so angry when some people who present themselves as experts in their field make monumental stuff ups and then try to pass the blame on to my business. If my business makes a mistake we take ownership of it and fix the problem ... we don't try to put the blame onto someone else and that's what I've been dealing with this morning.

And now I've had my little rant let's talk about something really useful for webmasters ... let's talk about copywriting.

For our purposes copywriting is the text that we include on our websites that will engage site visitors and encourage them to buy what we are selling. If you aren't good at copywriting then you really need to improve your copywriting skills quickly because if you can't write good copy you're not going to make the sales from your sites that you might hope for.

There are some great websites out there that can help you improve your copywriting skills and copyblogger.com is certainly a good place to start. There are also some very good books available on copywriting and a search on Amazon will turn up quite a few. Steve, who does a lot of our copywriting, always recommends "The Copywriter's Handbook". That book was first published years before the Internet became popular but the basic lessons taught in that book still apply today and the book has been updated so it's definitely worth buying.

Even when you do start learning how to write better copy there are still some fundamental mistakes that you can make and that you will see other copywriters make time and time again. So let's look at a couple of them here ... just to whet your appetite to learn more online or via those books.

It's not about me
When you're writing copy you're not writing about yourself and you're not writing about the product you're selling. Well of course you are writing about the product that you're selling but you don't want it to appear to be so blatantly obvious.

When you're trying to sell a product what you write about is the customer ... that person who will read what you have written. Instead of writing about your product you write about how the product you are selling will be of benefit to them and there's a very simple test that will show you whether you're on target with your copy or not.

To conduct the test all you have to do is count the number of times the word "you" is mentioned in your copy. If that word doesn't appear then you're way off target with your copy because you are not talking about the person who is reading your copy. Focus on the "you" and include that word often as you write and your copy will be more relevant and more effective.

Calls to action
Sadly many web designers and site owners seem to think that it's crass and commercial to include a call to action on every page but that is just so totally misguided. If you're selling a product or a service then you need a call to action on every page and it needs to be strong ... brutal ... and irresistible.

Once you've engaged the site visitor with your words you need to tell them in plain language what to do next. "Click here" ... "call this number" ... "do this today" ... are all basic, clear, unequivocal calls to action. They may not be subtle or artistic but they are effective and that's what you want ... effective copywriting followed by effective calls to action.

And now that I've given you two of the very basic fundamentals of good copywriting go check those websites and order a book or two and you'll discover all the secrets of good copywriting and the text that you include on your sites will become much more effective.

Domain names
Now before I go let me ask you about your domain names? Do you have some form of alerts set up to remind you when your domain names are coming up for renewal or do you simply rely on emails from the your domain name registrar?

This morning I've had to deal with two clients who rely solely on emails from their domain name registrars and both of them no longer use or access the email addresses that were associated with those domain names.

You can just guess what has happened to those domains and I'm sure you wouldn't want it to happen to you so if you ever change email addresses don't forget to update your details at all the various domain name registrars that you have used over the years.