Exposing and Avoiding Advertising Copywriter Scams

February 20, 2012 (Powerhomebiz.com) As more and more businesses migrate online with their own websites, they quickly become aware of the importance of traffic. Online traffic can be sourced for free from search engines or they have to be paid for by buying it from advertising platforms. Regardless of which way you go with your online business, you would need an advertising copywriter.

You need an advertising copywriter to compose your ads for your campaigns in Google AdWords and other advertising networks so you can get traffic. Similarly if you are going the free route, you still need a copywriter to create quality content on your websites for search engines to send you traffic for free. Whether you are paying for traffic or you are getting it free from search engines or social network sources, you are still at the mercy of a good copywriter.

Because of this dependency, small business owners, who are not keen on the many scams and schemes being pulle!d online, find themselves being victimized by advertising copywriter scams. Marketingcopyexpert.com, the internet’s leading advertising copywriting source online, has released a list of key warning signs to keep in mind to avoid becoming victimized by copywriting scams and rip-offs.

What are the warning signs? According to Ted Holmby, media relations officer for marketingcopyexpert.com, if you see the following you should become suspicious. In of themselves, they are not deal killers but they should raise red flags in your mind to avoid becoming victimized.

Warning sign number 1 according to Holmby, is when the copywriting service gives out unreasonable guarantees. These guarantees can range from guaranteeing a total number of sales, guaranteeing a dramatic increase in sales, and spelling out the percentage rise in traffic volume. Also unscrupulous SEO copywriting services may make inflating claims regarding search engine rankings and effectiveness. ”Nobody can guarantee results. Reputable companies can guarantee processes and deliveries and a backup plan if you are dissatisfied with the work they supply you, but no reputable company can guarantee your results with your target audience. There is a big difference,” said Holmby.

Another key red flag to keep an eye out for is when the copywriter service that you are considering insists on a non-Paypal payment method. Be especially suspicious when they ask for a Western Union payment. Unlike Paypal, Western Union does not offer refunds. Consider that money gone once you send that payment and they pick it up. Paypal, contrary to some online service provider’s and consumer’s fears, actually gives both regular consumers and business users a lot of protection against rip-offs. Paypal payments can be reversed. This is a great level of protection. If the copywriting service that you are considering rules out Paypal payments, be very suspicious. This fact alone should not kill the deal, but it is definitely a red flag you should pay attention to.

Another sign that the business you are dealing with is a scam or is out to rip you off is when they quote you a very high price and ask you for a 50% deposit arrangement. This scheme requires you to put 50% upfront and upon completion of the work, you pay the remaining 50%. This arrangement becomes a scam when the price is very elevated that you actually pay a lot of money upfront and the scam company does not do the work and skips out on you. They do not really care whether you pay the other 50% because they already have 50% of the high price that they pulled from you in the beginning. You are left holding the bag.

According to Holmby, there are three key measures you can take to avoid being ripped off. First, ask for samples before you even consider the company further. Before you do any further research or ask for references or dig any deeper into the company, ask for samples. Make sure that these samples are recent. Some shady companies will have really good writers from the past and they would keep this work as their template for getting new clients. However, your chances are quite slim that you will get the same level of quality since those writers are gone. Ask for current samples before going any further.

The second thing you can do to avoid losing money on worthless scam copywriting companies is to run a duplicate content check on the samples that they gave you. If they are saying that the sample is not published anywhere, make sure that it is not published anywhere. Try to see if any of their claims do not add up. Also run a duplicate content check on the content of the company’s own website. ”You will be surprised how many copywriting scam companies actually just scrape another company’s text. This is definitely a red flag and should be a deal killer for you.”

Finally, ask for references. A key indicator if the references you are given are fake is if they are all glowing references. Real references would spell out not just the good points, but also specific areas of improvement of the company that you are considering.

By using these simple and effective techniques, you can avoid becoming yet another statistic in the many advertising scams being pulled online. Protect yourself, do your research and always be on the look out for red flags mentioned above. http://www.marketingcopyexpert.com