SEO Copywriting Certification Grad Alice Zyetz Shares Her Journey

I am a beginning SEO web writer with 30 years of business and technical writing knowledge and experience. As an online web writer certified in SEO, I specialize in copywriting for small businesses. I have an extensive background in training business and technical writers to communicate clearly. My clients have included major aerospace companies as well as businesspeople from a variety of industries.

My entrance into training technical people was an accident that may remind you of how you got into the business. Most people don’t start their childhood hoping that when they grow up they’ll become SEO copywriters. How did YOU get to this place?

I started as a classroom elementary school teacher. I decided to get a Master’s degree in Reading to become a reading specialist. I soon discovered that all of our courses specialized in Psycholinguistics (how the brain processes information). After graduation, I began to give workshops to other teachers and parents showing them a new way to teach their children to read.

I loved working with adults and became disaffected with teaching children and working for our huge school district. I found a kindred spirit, whose husband happened to be the head of corporate training for a major aerospace company. “They need people to teach writing,” she said.

We spent a year learning as much as we could about teaching adults to write better. Based on my knowledge of Psycholinguistics, we built our program around how readers process the written word. Finally we were ready to launch our business, In Plain English Associates.

My partner’s husband told us one of his employees was looking for a business writing course. We decided I would call her and not let her know who my partner was so she wouldn’t feel pressured. I called on a Thursday and she said, “We filled that business writing class, but we need a technical writing course. Do you do that?”

“Of course,” I said, fingers crossed, and set an interview for the following week. I needed time to go to the technical writing book store and find out what a technical writing course should include.

As it turned out, the technical writers were fine when writing their technical information. They just needed more organization, captions, and bullet points. Their main problem was writing to multiple readers including management, customers, and other non-technical people in the company. We taught them to write clearly and concisely, that is in plain English.

So I, a little kid from the tenements of Brooklyn who wanted to be an M-G-M musical comedy star, became a trainer and later a technical and business writer—and now an SEO copywriter.

A Brief Interview with Alice

What attracted you to SEO copywriting?

After completing various business writing projects for clients, I realized that I needed more persuasive tools to help my clients convert prospects to customers.

What SEO copywriting projects are you working on now? 

My main project is creating my own website and making sure that I use all the best SEO practices to attract clients for my new business.

What do you find most challenging/interesting about SEO copywriting?

My greatest challenge is trying to balance SEO keyphrases and good customer-oriented writing. I tend to write in a conversational tone, but when I review what I wrote, I discover that I didn’t include important keyphrases in my headings and captions.

What have you found to be the biggest “take-aways” from the SEO Copywriting Certification program?

I was delighted to discover that Heather spent the first two segments on getting to know your customer. Influenced by my study of Psycholinguistcs, my underlying principle in teaching writing since 1983 has always been getting to know your reader (prospect, customer) and understanding what their questions, concerns, and problems are.

Heather also validated for me the importance of communicating clearly and concisely in a conversational tone, an integral part of training by In Plain English Associates.

Finally, I appreciated learning about how to apply the best practices to ezines, blogs, and all social media elements.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

What free time? When I do have some, I teach friends to play bridge. I play bridge, lead a weekly creative writing workshop, and play guitar and sing.

Any words for those considering enrolling in the SEO Copywriting Certification program?

I tried studying on my own using free ebooks and blogs, but it wasn’t until I took Heather’s course that I realized how all the parts fit together. SEO includes much more than just learning how to find the best keyphrases.

I especially appreciate how generous Heather is with her students, even after they complete the course. She is always aware of the latest Google trends and makes sure her graduates are aware as well.

And I will be very proud to have my certification badge on my new website!

Alice Zyetz‘s new website is under construction, but you can find Alice on LinkedIn.