#but something about this website lends itself to being mean to someone's face directly | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sanders-specs · 7 years

Text

I’ll Be Home Chapter 4

Summary: All Roman and Logan want to do is get home for Christmas. They'd been away from their boyfriends for months on separate jobs, and are looking forward to getting home. Neither one of them will let some blizzard get in their way, even though Patton and Virgil insist they stay put. The lengths they'll go to get home is great, even if it means facing mother nature at her worst.

A/N: Okay so...I wanted to do a bit of experimenting with this and I think I just ended up confusing myself. Well, now I know, I guess. Sorry. I wanted to focus on getting one boy home at a time rather than going back and forth since Logan has a...more interesting time than Roman. Don’t really know how it worked from a storytelling standpoint, honestly.

Warnings: Swearing, homesickness

Paring: LAMP

Read on Ao3

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Tag list: @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch @dan-yuna @kryspytacos @tripleaaaqueer @helloisthisusernametaken @jordandobbertin @lilbeanblr @wtf-is-a-side @thepusheenqueen @pattongirl @justanotherpurplebutterfly

*IMPORTANT: This chapter takes place while Roman is still on the road. We're backing things up to follow Logan and see what he was up to. In the case of the story, this starts just after his phone cuts off in the first chapter (see above note for apology)*

Logan’s day was not going well.

He’d managed to get to the train just in time, which was a miracle in itself. When he got to his seat, he was disheartened to see that he was sharing a row with a bickering elderly couple. He’d squeezed passed them to get to his seat, ignoring their jabs of insults at him. Once he was settled, he pulled out his phone to turn it back on to let the others know he was okay...only for the phone to die immediately after. He sighed, then ruffled through his backpack for his phone charger, feeling the slightest bit of relief that there was a plug by his seat. Once he’d fished out the charger, he went to plug it in, only to freeze.

The prongs were wrong. They didn’t fit into the outlet. His charger had two, thin round prongs that were set wide apart, which would be fine if he were still in Italy.

Logan sighed, putting his head in his hands. He was an idiot. A complete goddamned idiot. He’d grabbed the wrong charger when he’d been packing. He vaguely remembered being half awake when he’d finished packing his things, having saved some things for the morning so his phone would’ve been fully charged when he left (fat good that had done him).

To be fair, he hadn’t touched his American charger nearly the entire time he’d been in Italy. He’d given his adapter to a tourist who had been freaking out about not having their own and bought a new charger for his own phone.

Now though…now he had a dead phone and the wrong charger.

He sits back with a sigh. He glanced over at the elderly couple, who were now very clearly ignoring each other. “Pardon me, but do you perchance have a phone I can borrow for a moment?” Logan asks kindly.

The woman next to him glared at him. “No! why would I have one of those devil devices?” she sneers at the phone in his hand. “You kids today relying on fake conversations to entertain yourselves…” she went on and on about the evils of cell phones.

Logan sat and took it, not having that much of a choice. It was only when the woman found something else to complain about that Logan was able to let out a breath. He sat back in his seat and turned to the window. It looked as if he wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone until he could get near a phone. He couldn’t help the sigh. They were going to be livid.

Oh well. There’s nothing that can be done about it now. After the lecture from the woman next to him, he didn’t feel very inclined to ask anyone else on the train. So he settled back, watching the as towns and fields went by.

Eventually, the excitement and stress of the day caught up with him, coupled with his jet lag. He drifted off to sleep, dreaming of when he’d be home again.

Logan blinked wearily, feeling that something was off. It took him a moment to realize that it was because they’d stopped moving. He sat up from where he’d been leaning against the window, rubbing his neck. Judging from the fact that most of the people in the car around him seemed to be asleep, it was the middle of the night. They seemed to be stopping for fuel, as outside was pitch black, silent.

“We’ll be stuck here for at least an hour,” a voice said next to him, making him jump. He looked over to see the elder woman, in the middle of doing a cross word. Beside her, her husband was fast asleep on her shoulder. “It takes those workers ages to fill up a tank as big as the one on this hunk of metal.”

“I would assume it takes a bit of fuel,” Logan says, not really paying attention to what he was saying, his mind still trying to catch up with the rest of him. He blinked, realizing that his glasses were gone. Franticly, he started searching for them, only for there to be a light tap on his shoulder.

He looked up at the women, squinting a little to see her properly. She held out his glasses. “It’s dangerous to fall asleep with those on, you know,” she says. “They could end up breaking.”

“It was not my intention to fall asleep,” Logan says.

The woman tsks. “As soon as you feel those eyes drooping you take them off!” she whisper-shouts. “Glasses are expensive and should be taken care of.”

As much as her nagging was kind of annoying, there was something a little familiar about it. She sounded very much like Logan’s own grandmother. “Yes, ma’am,” Logan responds with a nod.

She sits back with a huff. “Finally, some manners,” she mutters. She readjusts her own glasses and looks down at her puzzle book. “So,” she says. “Who’s Virgil?”

Logan blinked at that. The woman glanced at him and huffed, rolling her eyes. “You talk in your sleep,” she explains. “You kept muttering about Virgil.”

“Ah,” Logan says with a nod. He’d been told he was a…stressful sleep talker. “He’s my…someone special to me.”

She rolls her eyes again. “Just say boyfriend,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m not as close minded as some people from my generation, trust me.” She reaches for her purse, being careful not to wake her husband, and digs around it for a moment. She comes out with a picture, handing it to him. “My daughter, her two partners, and their kids. All big sweeties.”

Logan smiled a little at the picture. Three people, all with their arms around each other, and two children standing in front of them. they looked happy. He handed the picture back to the woman, who gave a small smile.

“We’re trying to go see them. I don’t know if we’ll make it in time for Christmas, though,” she says with a small sigh.

“I’m sure they will be pleased to see you no matter what day you arrive,” Logan says.

She offers a grateful smile to that. “I suppose all your photos are on that phone of yours,” she says, a slight bit of disdain in her voice.

“Actually…” Logan took out his wallet and brought out a small picture. It was from Logan’s birthday last year, before he’d left. His boyfriends had treated him to a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant. They’d all gotten dressed up and went out and for once, everyone had behaved themselves. It was probably one of the nicest evenings Logan could remember having with them (though he did love their random adventures). In the picture they were sitting in a round booth, pressed together. Logan looked as if he were laughing, the others not bothering to hide their own grins. Logan couldn’t remember what they’d been laughing about, but he did remember and overwhelming sense of love for the three of them.

He liked to keep the picture as a reminder for when days were hard, when his phone wasn’t an option to bring out. Every time he looked at that picture, he felt a little bit better.

“They look like nice enough boys,” the woman says, handing the picture back to him.

Logan chuckled. “Yes, I suppose that’s one way of putting it.”

The woman offered a tiny smile. “Something tells me you haven’t seen them in a long time.”

“It has been a while,” Logan admits.

The woman pats his knee. “Don’t worry, you’ll get back to them soon. Now, do you think you can help me come up with a four letter word that means love?”

Logan and the woman—Susan, he learned—sat there for hours doing crosswords. It wasn’t the worst way to spend his time. He quickly learned that Susan’s short temper explained what had happened earlier (though she stood by her opinion on phones). Eventually, though, she dozed off, leaving Logan alone with his thoughts.

He started thinking about what his next plan of action should be. According to the website he’d booked his ticket on, this train should take him directly to Richmond, with plenty of stops in between at other stations. It seemed that the progress of the train was also slowed down due to the snow, but it was much faster than a car, at least. Once they arrived in Richmond, Logan would have to figure out a way to contact Patton and Virgil (and hopefully Roman, if he was there). They didn’t live too far away from the city, so driving out there shouldn’t be too much (hopefully). Surely there was someone who would be willing to lend him their phone long enough for Logan to tell them where he was.

Perhaps he should see if there are any cars that happen to be selling chargers. It would be a bit of a stretch since he has a rather out of date phone, but it was worth a shot. It was better than doing nothing.

Glancing around at the silent car, he sighs. Well…he couldn’t do anything until morning anyway

Logan jerked awake at the sound of multiple voices raising at once. He sat, up, confused. When had he fallen asleep? His glasses were in his lap, so he put them back on, looking around confused.

He looked over at Susan, who had a deep scowl on her face. “What’s going on?”

She looks over at him. “Awake are you? You slept half the day away.”

Really? He really must have been exhausted.

Susan sat back with a scowl. “They say we’re stuck.”

“What?”

She motions to the window and Logan turns to the window and sees the problem. There was a good bit of snow covering the tracks. There was no way they’d be able to get through that until it was shoveled.

“Poor preparation on their part,” Susan spats. “Some of us have places to be!”

She wasn’t the only one who was upset. Everyone in the car seemed to be in distress. Logan felt his heart sink as he looked out at the snow bank. How would he ever get home now?

“Alright, everyone, listen up,” one of the attendants calls, silencing everyone. “We’ll be stuck here for at least a day. We’re about an hour from Richmond. Luckily, we’re right by a town. You’re welcome to go out and find lodging there, or stay here on the train. I’m real sorry about this, folks.”

An hour. He was an hour away from home, from finally being with his boyfriends again. Logan pressed his head against the seat in front of him.

“Now don’t you go giving up on yourself young man,” Susan says. “You get up, go into that town, and you find a way to contact your boys. Hearing them will renew your spirit.” She was nudging him, encouraging him to get up.

Sighing, Logan straightens. “You’re right.”

“Damn right I am,” she says. “Rob, move over so this young man can get out.”

Logan gave Rob a small, sympathetic smile, but he didn’t seem to mind. He took his backpack, if only for comfort than anything else. He followed a few people who were also leaving, shoving his hands deep in his pockets as his feet hit the snow.

Once in the town, he started walking around, looking for an electronics shop. If he could just find the right charger, he’d be able to go back to the train in no time and charge his phone there. He didn’t really want to bother other people, especially since most of them were bound to say no.

The town was rather small, and the people who lived there didn’t seem to care about the snow or cold at all, considering that they were all walking around. Or maybe it was just people from the train. Logan didn’t know.

Ducking into the nearest convenience store, letting out a breath of relief as the heat hit him. He was slightly shocked at how empty some of the shelves were, then remembered that Christmas was the day after tomorrow, so of course people would have bought out nearly everything. He held out some semblance of hope that they would have the charger he needed, but it seemed they were fresh out. He even asked the clerk only to be told that they wouldn’t get a fresh shipment of anything until after Christmas.

Logan tried at least two more stores after that. The town wasn’t big enough to have a Walmart or target anywhere near it (that wasn’t at least an hours walk away), so it was all smaller stores. All of which, were either sold out or didn’t carry the charger.

At this point, Logan was okay with just buying a new phone all together, but it seemed they were all fresh out of those too.

Logan left the last store with a huff. He looked up and down the street, trying to think of what to do next. He supposed he could’ve asked the clerk if he could borrow a phone. He turned around to do just that when he heard a train whistle.

He froze, confused. Why would the train be blowing it’s whistle unless…

Logan’s hand shot out and stopped the first person who crossed his path. “Excuse me, are you from the train that’s stuck just outside of town?”

The man looked at him, confused. “They announced not too long ago for the passengers of that train to return. It seems they found a way to clear away the snow quicker.”

“No. No no no no no,” Logan took off. He ran towards the train, ignoring everyone else in his way. He made it just in time to see the caboose disappear into the distance.

For a moment, Logan just stood there. had that really just happened? He looked towards the plow truck, which was still pushing snow away from the train tracks, towards the forest beyond.

Running a shaking hand through his hair, Logan turns and walks back to the town.

Okay, Logan, think. You don’t have your suit case, so your clothes are all gone, but at least you have your backpack. That gives you at least another days worth of clothes, and you have your dead phone and wallet. Find some kind of inn and go from there. They’ll have a phone you can use.

Logan tried to stay optimistic. It wasn’t the end of the world. He could possibly find a hotel for the night and call the others, but he had to admit that he was running a slight bit low on money. Between presents, the flights, the train ticket, and food, his checking account was dipping.

“Mama, why does that man look sad?”

“Luna, don’t be rude.”

Logan looked up and over his shoulder, finding a little girl looking up at him with big green eyes. She was dressed in a purple parka and black snow boots. Her mother stood behind her, holding her hand.

“I’m sorry, she’s a very curious girl,” the mother says.

“It’s okay,” Logan says with a small smile. The mother and the girl turn to go, but Logan stops them before he can think about it. “Um, actually,” he says, making them both pause and look back at him. “Do you think I can borrow your phone for a moment to call my family? I was supposed to be on the train but..." his voice trailed off.

Something like sympathy crossed the mother’s face. “Sure,” she says, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone. She pulls up the dial pad and hands it to Logan.

“Thank you so much,” Logan says, relief flooding him. He quickly puts in Roman’s number, wanting to make sure that he was okay first.

It rang for a moment or two before Roman answered. “Logan!” Logan smiled at Roman’s relieved voice. “What happened my love, are you okay?”

“Yes, Roman I’m fine,” Logan says gently. “I wished to check on you. I know neither of us are in quite ideal circumstances.”

There was a short pause. “That’s one way to put it,” Roman says with a sigh. “Anyway, I’m fine. We’ve got maybe another few hours to go, maybe more if the storm is as bad as it looks.”

“Yes I’m afraid I’m in the same boat,” Logan says with a sigh.

There was some yelling in the background that Logan didn’t quite understand, but Roman didn’t miss a beat in the conversation.

“Have you talked with Patton and Virgil yet?” he asks.

“No, I knew that they would be safe at home,” Logan says. “With you on the road in this storm…I was worried.”

“Alright dork,” Roman says lovingly, “but we were worried about you. You never texted or called us after you told us your flight was canceled!”

“Y-yes I apologize,” Logan says with a small sigh. “Perhaps we should call the others.”

Once getting Patton and Virgil on the call, both of them just as frantic, Logan assured them all that he was fine. For some reason, he didn’t want to mention that he very well might be stuck an hour outside of Richmond for an undetermined amount of time. no, he wouldn’t worry them any more than they already were. He’d find a way to get home by tomorrow. He had to.

At one point he glanced over at the mother, who was now talking to another woman, her wife, Logan presumed, from the familiar way they touched and looked at each other. Also from how the little girl, Luna, called her ‘Mom.’ They did seem like they needed to get going.

“Someone was very willing to let me use their phone so I could contact all of you, however I must return their phone to them,” Logan says, getting ready to end the call.

“Lo, wait please,” Patton says, sounding distressed.

“Yes, love?” Logan asks, closing his eyes against Patton’s worry.

“Just…don’t…” Patton seemed to be struggling for words.

“Don’t do anything rash,” Roman says. “Wow, I can’t believe I’m the one telling you that.”

“We’d rather you be safe than hurt,” Virgil says. “If something goes wrong, just stay in a safe place until it’s okay to travel again okay? If you’re not far, we’ll come get ourselves.”

“I know, dears,” Logan says. “I promise, I will take care of myself. I still plan on seeing you all tomorrow, however.”

Someone sighs. Roman, probably. “I suppose we will have to trust you.”

“Yes, I think that is the best option.”

Someone else, probably Patton, whimpered. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I won’t,” Logan says. “Now I must go. I love you all so much.”

They all replied with their own ‘I love you’s and Logan hangs up.

Letting out a breath, Logan turns to see the family staring at him. He offered a small smile. “Thank you very much for allowing me to use your phone.”

“Who were you talking to?” Luna asks.

“Luna Fae,” her mother says, “I told you not to be rude.”

“It’s okay,” Logan assures her. He smiles at Luna. “I was talking to my family.”

“Like, family family or married family?” Luna asks, as if this makes complete sense to her.

“Hmm married family sounds more correct,” he says. “Though, technically, we’re not married.”

Luna’s face lights up, like she hadn’t expected him to understand that. She starts bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Why did you tell them you were on a train when you’re not?” she asks.

“I didn’t say I was on a train.”

“You implied it.”

Well. Luna was smarter than she looked. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that,” Logan says, not really wanting to get in the lying-is-bad-but-sometimes-necessary conversation. He looks at her mothers. “Do you think you can point me to the nearest inn?”

“Yeah, we’ll walk you there. It’s on our way home anyway. I’m Kai, by the way,” the parent with dark brown eyes and a white beanie over their brown hair says.

“I’m Arlo.” She had hazel eyes and paler skin, short dyed red hair mostly covered by a blue beanie.

“Logan,” he says, shaking hands with both of them.

“And I’m Luna!” Luna declares.

Arlo looks lovingly down at her daughter. “Yes, you are,” she says. “Now come on, we’ve gotta show Logan to the hotel.”

“Okay!” Luna exclaims.

Logan follows them, Luna skipping along happily next to her mother, so much so that Logan was actually a little worried about her slipping.

“So, Logan,” Kai says, slowing to walk next to him. “What happened to your phone?”

“It died,” Logan says. “and I have the charger for the wrong country.”

Arlo looks back at him at that. “Country?”

“I’ve been teaching English in Italy for the past year,” Logan explains. “Things got mixed up after a while.”

Luna stops and looks over at him with wide eyes. “You’ve been to Italy?” she asks in a shocked tone. “Did they have really good spaghetti?”

Logan chuckles at that. “Yes, they do, though my favorite is their gelato.”

That, of course, had Luna asking what gelato was. Logan was patient, answering her questions as best he could. She was a curious girl, that was for sure, eager to learn about the world.

After a while, they stopped at what Logan assumed was the inn. He glances inside only to see that the lobby was full. It seems that Logan was not the only person left behind. On the hotel’s sign, there was a clear no vacancy sign lit up.

Logan feels his shoulders slump. Okay so…what now?

“Umm..” Arlo says, biting her lip. “Well this is a problem, isn’t it?”

Logan turns to smile at them. “It is my problem. Thank you for showing me the way here.”

“Well we’d hate to leave you stranded,” Kai says, frowning.

“Mom, why doesn’t Logan come home with us? We have that other bedroom Aunti always sleeps in,” Luna says.

Arlo and Kai exchange a look, as if they’d both been thinking that too.

“I couldn’t ask to intrude on your home,” Logan says. “I’m sure I will find some solution.”

“Don’t be silly,” Arlo says. “We don’t mind. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve taken in someone who needed it. Come on.”

Logan gulped. He was well aware the risk these two were taking, inviting a strange man into their house, with their child, but neither of them seemed to be really giving Logan much of a choice. It didn’t look like Logan had any other option, either, save for sleeping in the snow.

Shoving his hands deeper in his pockets, Logan follows the family.

Chapter 5

#sanders sides #logan sanders #patton sanders #roman sanders #virgil sander #fanfiction #my fic #i'll be home #swearing #homesickness

61 notes · View notes

juliaisabellphoto · 5 years

Text

May 2019 - Mental Health Awareness Month

Though this has mostly turned into a travel blog, I want to take some pause from my usual routine to discuss something extremely important to me: mental health awareness month. Mental health is slowly but surely becoming something that we humans are okay with talking about, and that makes my heart happy. However, we still have a long way to go. We still lose too many young people who lose their battles with depression, anxiety, etc. We still have so many generations of soldiers who have been taught to “man up” instead of working to understand the medical reality of PTSD. We still have too many people who say that medication is “not for them” when in reality it could save their life.

With that, the world could benefit from more openness about mental health. My biggest resolution this year has been to be an emotional open book. I have tried to be realistic about where my heart is: I have posted on instagram and twitter about how hard being abroad has been on my mental health, and about the reality of pushing through it and what helped me do so. We need to normalize the fact that everyone has their deep dark heavy days, and that they should feel comfortable sharing that with the people they love. Learning to do so is not easy, and it is always a process, especially when we are raised to put only our “best self” into the world.

Going into the month, I want to open up a door for people who haven’t spent time thinking on mental health to do so. This month is about awareness, reduction of stigma, and compassion.

Here are some organizations that are really doing the best work with regard to mental health. If you want to donate this month, donate here. If you need somewhere to get involved, these are also your spots. The names of every organization or individual I mention have links embedded.

Hope for the Day - This organization, focused on outreach, education, and community action, works to equip people with the tools to foster proactive suicide prevention in professional, academic, and civic environments. They also have a coffee shop in Chicago, IL called Sip of Hope, the first coffee shop where 100% of the proceeds support proactive suicide prevention and mental health education. This is a rallying point for resources and engagement, a social enterprise powering HFTD’s Proactive Prevention work. I had the pleasure to visit this place and hear about all that they do, and it was truly breathtaking. Additionally, their instagrams for both HFTD and Sip of Hope are lovely. They post some really lovely and important reality checks as well as posting updates about their work. As noted in their slogan, it’s okay not to be okay.

Bring Change 2 Mind - Founded by Glenn Close, this organization focuses on nationwide reduction of mental health stigma. They achieve this through video “PSAs” that are aired on television and social media sites as well as large advocacy events. They recruit famous athletes and artists to speak at their events and show that mental illness affects everyone, no matter how “strong” they seem or how happy society tells them they should be. Bring Change 2 Mind also has many high school and college chapters in an attempt to start education about mental health at the time when it is most needed.

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention/Out of the Darkness Walks - Present in many communities and at many college campuses, AFSP hosts walks all across the country to “give people the courage to open up about their own struggle or loss, and the platform to change our culture’s approach to mental health.” I attended the walk at the University of Michigan this past year, and I had never felt less alone before. There were beaded necklaces you could put on to express your personal relationship to mental illness, resource tables, donation booths, discussion areas, and anything anyone could possibly want to know about where all of the donated funds would go (mental health research initiatives.) Particularly on college campuses, this organization is a gem.

To Write Love On Her Arms - To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery. Formed after a personal struggle with depression and addiction, this organization has a beautifully personal story and focuses on spreading the idea that better days are always ahead. There are so many ways to get involved with this organization, so do it!!

Project Semicolon - Based on the grammatical idea of a sentence that isn’t finished yet, this project focuses on active suicide prevention. Their slogan is “your story isn’t over,” and has inspired many people to get semicolons tattooed on their wrists as a constant reminder of that. They have a section on their website where you can interactively examine your own mental health, including help lines and resources specifically for teens.

Brain and Behavior Research Foundation - This organization focuses more closely on the clinical side of things, and donating here helps support grants given to researchers working on resolutions to mental illnesses (as well as palliative care methods.) Here is where you can find all of the information on the clinical aspects of mental illnesses as well as see updates on cutting edge research being done. Right up my pre-med alley, but also should be up everyone’s alley - education about the clinical aspects of mental illness helps cement the reality that it is just that - a clinical illness.

The Trevor Project - The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25. They work in primary crisis intervention (with extremely accessible help lines on their website) as well as research, educational outreach, and film. This project is uniquely important because it acknowledges that the unique trauma faced by LGBTQ youth lends itself to a number of distinct mental health challenges, and allows for specific responses.

Next, I want to highlight some celebrities and social media accounts that are wonderful to follow in their attempt to be open about mental health and support others who struggle in the way that they do. They’re worth following and reading about, especially if you want to feel less alone!

1. Kevin Love - the article linked under his name says it all. Through his openness about panic attacks and mental health struggles as an NBA player, he is leading the fight against “masculinity” stigma in sports. Athletes coming out as proponents of mental health education is becoming more common, and his openness has jumpstarted that movement.

2. Lady Gaga - Through her involvement in the movie A Star is Born, Lady Gaga was propelled to the front of a discussion about drug abuse and mental health. Linked under her name is her speech at the Grammys where she openly discusses mental health and sets an example for what every person with a voice as big as hers should be doing. She has also opened up about her own mental health struggles.

3. Ariana Grande - Arguably the most popular singer in the world at the moment, Ariana has used her music to work through her own personal struggles with mental health, and everyone is loving it. Specifically, her song “breathin” works through her struggle with anxiety and really represents the reality of getting through panic. The article linked under her name discusses her comments on the song and the way it has already helped so many fans. It certainly is my go-to on my most anxious days.

4. Logic - Highlighted by his stunning 2018 Grammys Performance, Logic has been outspoken about mental health both in and out of his music. He played a concert called “Who Can Relate?” in combination with a lot of mental health organizations (Bring Change 2 Mind included) at the University of Michigan, inspiring many college students to think about their mental health (now to be repeated in other locations.) His song 1-800-273-8255 (the national suicide hotline) is breathtaking, and what so many people need to hear.

5. Kesha - After a tumultuous few years, Kesha has gone public about mental health issues, including eating disorders. This comes after a long legal entanglement with her former producer Lukasz “Dr. Luke” Gottwald, who she was sexually assaulted by during their time working together. She told Billboard that she’s working on new music that will “showcase my vulnerabilities as a strength and not as a weakness.” Her most recent album did exactly that, and it is incredible to watch someone who went through such dark times grow and thrive. We need her. She also released a movie, Rainbow, about the mental health struggles she experienced when writing her most recent album.

6. Brandon Marshall - In this phenomenal article and his work with Bring Change 2 Mind, Brandon has opened up about his struggles with mental health and the dissonance that comes with being a “big macho football player” while going through all of it. He said, “When I first heard the term “mental health,” the first thing that came to mind was mental toughness. Masking pain. Hiding it. Keeping it inside. That had been embedded in me since I was a kid. Never show weakness. Suck it up. Play through it. Live through it.Now, I realize that mental health means the total opposite.” This is critical.

Below are some authors and poets and speakers I turn to for guidance with regard to mental health, and who tell stories beautifully and in a deeply personal way:

Rebecca Solnit

Leslie Jamison

Ned Vizzini

Neil Hilborn

Tallulah Willis

Here is a link to a million TED talks on mental health that are both informative and inspiring.

Below are mental health related instagram accounts to make your feed more well rounded and encouraging and healthy:

Recipes for Self Love

By Maria Andrew

Hope for the Day

Make Daisy Chains

Brene Brown

Breaking Taboo

Mental Health Daily

Lastly, here is a link to the playlist I blast in my headphones on hard mental health days. It’s pretty personal, but it has a lot of songs with good lyrics and melodies to push you through.

#mentalhealth #juliaisabellphoto #awareness #may

1 note · View note

tsukifairy · 5 years

Text

Fast payday loans

The funds will likely be transferred to your designated checking account electronically as rapidly as possible once you've got accepted the agreement. On additional evaluating the free quotes, it'll then make it attainable for the candidates to derive the funds at pretty simple phrases. We will work additional onerous to suit your loan request with an excellent lender. If your software provides sufficient reliability, we approve your request for fast money with open arms and thoughts. This credit score rating is a worry for repayment for most of the lenders and therefore the appliance is normally ignored. Throughout the appliance course of, we give you pre-contractual information that highlights the key features of your Payday loan, including how a lot it prices, the loan term, how we gather your repayments and what occurs if you can not meet repayments. Payday loans are appropriate for someone who needs to borrow until their next pay day, short time period loans are usually paid again over a three month interval and instalment loans are paid back in agreed instalments.

Get Additional Cash Fast From Payday Loans UK! What many individuals do not know that while they are in futility searching for no credit score examine loans no guarantor, they need to as an alternative approach Oyster Mortgage. We will even ask some basic questions on your employment and the date your subsequent pay test is more likely to arrive. Generally, this might be doable, however every lender will have completely different rules on this. Really, choosing a lender can affect your future monetary properly-being. There are quite numerous benefits in selecting the sort of mortgage particularly during fiscal emergencies, as you may tell. The rates of interest may also be on the costly side, but still borrowers have more advantages to discover with these loans. The quick money infusion is nice, however if you apply for a pay day mortgage, you may wind up getting greater than you bargained for. Apart from our best lending practices which are outlined under we've processes and controls in place to make sure that our clients never borrow more than they will afford to pay again. How to decide on the most effective quick loan possibility?

Whereas being online you'll find loads of ads promising to help you at your worst occasions of financial struggles by providing easy approvals to mortgage in UK with no credit examine. How can I test my rating? As no paperwork or faxes are required for this kind of cash lending as your next pay examine is taken as collateral, you will be accepted in minutes and have the money you require in your account in simply hours. Aside from this, you can as nicely seek the tailored better of adorable accommodation quotes accompanying to these loans so that you just can be in a position to avoid wasting money in agreement of repayment. This is one of the best technique to get paid and attend faculty at the same time. Taking out a loan is could also be the perfect reply to your complete financial worries. Most social lending marketplaces perform on the eBay mannequin the place borrowers and lenders work out a mortgage without recourse to a third social gathering. I'm within the process of trying to arrange my little business on-line and offline while working a job that I get a bit burned out of.

Going through a broker simply slows down this whole process fairly a bit. There may be another technique which people can use to borrow, by going by way of a "broker". While you choose to borrow with Wizzcash, you will profit from the assistance of a direct lender who can be a broker. As such, you may be assured that there can be no hidden surprises in store for you. There is totally no have to pay something within the name of broker’s fees especially when now we have a vast online presence all over the UK. Are you seeking to borrow money shortly over the web? Through the use of peer to peer lending, you may fully avoid using these establishments and get a greater return on your cash. Checking the exit or early repayment fees on the loans you are contemplating will be especially necessary if you're buying greater cost home loans because of non permanent credit difficulties. Lenders don't vacillate to give funds to the unhealthy credit score folks and that would be with no need of a guarantor. A number of the perks you take pleasure in with quick-term loans are fixed fee construction, unhealthy credit is acceptable, no paperwork and it is supposed for a wide range of companies.

The actual issue concerning your financial status is that of your dangerous credit history. If you're afraid that your credit score rating is simply too poor and you will not be capable to borrow, realise that we are in a position to assist many individuals like yourself each day. It signifies your credit appetite. That’s why we, at Ferratum, have designed easy, versatile, fast loans which enable you to entry funds rapidly. At Fast Mortgage UK we are happy with the bonds lots of our clients and Buyer Care Managers have formed as a result of working collectively to resolve financial hardship. Everyone is completely different in what they want and a personal loans may be adapted to go well with totally different customers. If you are able to surrender when declined for a personal loan, don't. The issues are too many and unfortunately, options you search will not be quite possible. Fulfilling few primary preconditions is necessary if you are interested to entail Quick Loans. With Wizzcash, you'll be able to apply for quick loans on-line. Totally different lenders check with their fast loan offerings under totally different names. No credit test is required so unhealthy credit score folks still have the same probability of getting their utility permitted. No credit verify loans provide a quick and dependable solution to get quick money regardless of a bad credit history. Fast Mortgage UK wish to contact you about eligibility for future loans. Poor credit score holders can even apply and get fast money. Consequently, borrowers with cheap credit score and bad fee histories had been routinely disqualified from acquiring any sort of mortgage from any of the standard lending organisations and corporations. Lending websites often offer an online utility type on their websites, which a borrower is required to fill. Money will be in the account on the same day of the application. Anybody who supplies false information on a loan software has committed a criminal offense and faces legal action. Experian gives a one-time free credit score report during a 30-day trial period. Having a history of poor credit due to careless mistakes or unexpected circumstances could make discovering money in instances of need nearly inconceivable.

As a direct lender of short term loans we use the newest technology to be sure that any personal information you provide is stored safely and securely. Only borrow when fully essential and guantee that you'll be capable of make the repayments on time. The paychecks directly and mechanically transferred to the bank account of brokers on time. Nonetheless non-public finance homes are not generally accessible by members of the general public who have to use to them by means of brokers. Specialist Bridging Finance Lenders then again can have funds drawn down within 10 working days or inside days if an acceptable valuation is offered. Due to the diversity of loans available within the UK finance market which helps in fulfilling the needs and dreams of hundreds of thousands of the UK residents. Though all applications for fast loans along with particular person circumstances are thought of, we've put in place screening processes to evaluate all customers’ creditworthiness. Beneath this scheme, you will not have to place any kind of collateral towards the borrowed cash.

But, in a case of brief borrowed sum, there isn't any want to place your property or automotive because the collateral to safe the loan amount. LoansGoing to be financing a car this 12 months? So for those who want cash immediately, payday loans and logbook loans are the quickest option because the cash may be in your hand or in your account the same day. A payday mortgage is designed to cover brief term financial needs. If there is sufficient equity in the property the curiosity for the loan and different charges can be rolled up and settled at the tip of the term of the loan. Approval/ Supply made - You can be shown the loan amount, the curiosity rate, whole curiosity payable and details such as the number of repayments, and the mortgage begins and finish dates. The APR determined on this foundation will be offered to borrower. Private loans UK were introduced to serve private goal of the borrower.

Extremely customised repayment modes do not overburden the monthly funds of the borrower. Get organised. Set yourself a meal plan and a finances to persist with if you go procuring. Furthermore, the nice credit history of the guarantor makes it easy for the direct lender to approve the loan because of the guaranteed security that the co-signer brings to the desk through the mortgage deal. In reality, loads of professional credit score Quick Loans UK lenders have now arranged the provisions for the people with unhealthy credit score via the means of guaranteed loans UK. Conventional lenders are very strict nowadays and they don't look favorably upon bad credit borrowers. Nothing to do with the credit ranking data. If you have used a credit broker, you could also be introduced with numerous presents from multiple lenders. Lenders in change keep the logbook of the borrowers with them towards the loan. Logbook loans boast a variety of alluring features in itself.

If you're an entrepreneur, you can find these loans at aggressive interest rates by placing in some efforts. Therefore, unsecured private loans discover good use in situations that demand hasty provide of cash. Bridging loans can be used to fill within the cash shortfall existing in a property transaction and plenty of extra. There are occasions when everyone needs a bit of further assist with their finances, and must borrow cash shortly. This meant that prospects with an pressing, cash emergency to deal with had been usually caught, ready to obtain their money. Getting rid of a number of stuff and dwelling in a smaller house can truly be really liberating. Whatever County you belong to, you'll be able to avail prompt credit score help within the UK. However even in the event you do not have that a lot money, you'll be able to flip your dreams into actuality. You tempt to borrow even while you don’t need them. Mortgage suppliers need to have one thing to fall back upon in case of defaults in loan.

0 notes

kyaranflowers · 5 years

Text

Fast Loans UK

The funds will likely be transferred to your designated bank account electronically as shortly as potential once you've accepted the agreement. On additional comparing the free quotes, it will then make it possible for the candidates to derive the funds at fairly simple terms. We are going to work further onerous to suit your mortgage request with a good lender. In case your utility provides adequate reliability, we approve your request for immediate money with open arms and thoughts. This credit score is a fear for repayment for many of the lenders and hence the applying is normally ignored. Throughout the application process, we give you pre-contractual information that highlights the key options of your Payday mortgage, including how much it costs, the mortgage time period, how we collect your repayments and what occurs if you can't meet repayments. Payday loans are suitable for someone who needs to borrow until their next pay day, brief time period loans are usually paid again over a three month interval and instalment loans are paid back in agreed instalments.

Get Extra Money Fast From Payday Loans UK! What many people don't know that whereas they're in futility looking for no credit check loans no guarantor, they should instead approach Oyster Mortgage. We will even ask some general questions on your employment and the date your subsequent pay verify is prone to arrive. Normally, this shall be attainable, however each lender can have totally different guidelines on this. Really, deciding on a lender can affect your future monetary properly-being. There are fairly numerous benefits in choosing the sort of loan particularly throughout fiscal emergencies, as you may tell. The rates of curiosity may also be on the costly aspect, but still borrowers have more benefits to discover with these loans. The quick money infusion is nice, but if you apply for a pay day mortgage, you might wind up getting more than you bargained for. Apart from our greatest lending practices which might be outlined beneath we now have processes and controls in place to make sure that our customers by no means borrow more than they'll afford to pay back. How to choose the best fast loan option?

While being on-line you'd discover plenty of advertisements promising that will help you at your worst times of monetary struggles by offering easy approvals to loan in UK with no credit check. How can I examine my rating? As no paperwork or faxes are required for this sort of money lending as your next pay test is taken as collateral, you will be accepted in minutes and have the cash you require in your account in just hours. Apart from this, you may as well seek the adapted best of adorable accommodation quotes accompanying to those loans so that you just can be ready to save lots of money in settlement of repayment. This is the very best way to receives a commission and attend faculty at the same time. Taking out a loan is may be the most effective answer to your entire financial worries. Most social lending marketplaces perform on the eBay model the place borrowers and lenders work out a mortgage with out recourse to a third occasion. I am in the process of attempting to set up my little enterprise on-line and offline whereas working a job that I get a bit burned out of.

Going by way of a broker simply slows down this whole process fairly a bit. There is another technique which individuals can use to borrow, by going by way of a "broker". While you choose to borrow with Wizzcash, you will benefit from the help of a direct lender who can also be a broker. As such, you can be assured that there will likely be no hidden surprises in retailer for you. There is completely no have to pay something in the identify of broker’s prices especially when we've got a vast online presence everywhere in the UK. Are you looking to borrow money shortly over the internet? By utilizing peer to peer lending, you possibly can fully keep away from using these institutions and get a greater return on your money. Checking the exit or early repayment fees on the loans you are contemplating might be particularly necessary if you're buying higher value house loans due to non permanent credit difficulties. Lenders don't vacillate to provide funds to the dangerous credit score people and that can be with no need of a guarantor. A few of the perks you enjoy with quick-time period loans are fixed payment construction, unhealthy credit score is acceptable, no paperwork and it is meant for a variety of businesses.

The real difficulty regarding your monetary standing is that of your bad credit score history. In case you are afraid that your credit score is too poor and you won't be capable to borrow, realise that we're able to help many individuals like yourself day by day. It signifies your credit score appetite. That’s why we, at Ferratum, have designed easy, flexible, fast loans which allow you to access funds rapidly. At Fast Mortgage UK we're happy with the bonds a lot of our prospects and Customer Care Managers have formed as a result of working together to resolve monetary hardship. Everyone is different in what they need and a private loans can be tailored to go well with totally different customers. If you're ready to give up when declined for a private loan, do not. The issues are too many and sadly, solutions you search usually are not fairly feasible. Fulfilling few primary preconditions is necessary if you have an interest to entail Quick Loans. With Wizzcash, you may apply for quick loans online. Completely different lenders refer to their fast loan offerings under completely different names. No credit score test is required so dangerous credit people still have the same chance of getting their utility accepted. No credit examine My Quick Loan loans provide a quick and reliable way to get fast money no matter a bad credit score history. Fast Loan UK want to contact you about eligibility for future loans. Poor credit holders may also apply and get quick money. As a result, borrowers with low cost credit score and unhealthy fee histories have been automatically disqualified from acquiring any type of loan from any of the standard lending organisations and companies. Lending websites normally supply a web based software type on their web sites, which a borrower is required to fill. Money shall be in the account on the same day of the applying. Anybody who offers false information on a mortgage software has committed a criminal offense and faces authorized motion. Experian supplies a one-time free credit score report during a 30-day trial interval. Having a historical past of poor credit because of careless mistakes or unexpected circumstances can make discovering money in occasions of need nearly inconceivable.

As a direct lender of brief term loans we use the newest technology to make sure that any personal knowledge you present is saved safely and securely. Only borrow when solely necessary and be sure that you'll be capable to make the repayments on time. The paychecks directly and mechanically transferred to the bank account of brokers on time. Nonetheless personal finance houses are usually not usually accessible by members of the public who've to apply to them by way of brokers. Specialist Bridging Finance Lenders however can have funds drawn down inside 10 working days or within days if an appropriate valuation is available. Because of the variety of loans out there within the UK finance market which helps in fulfilling the desires and goals of tens of millions of the UK residents. Though all functions for fast loans along with particular person circumstances are thought-about, we've got put in place screening processes to assess all customers’ creditworthiness. Underneath this scheme, you will not have to place any sort of collateral against the borrowed money.

However, in a case of short borrowed sum, there isn't any want to place your own home or automobile because the collateral to secure the mortgage quantity. LoansGoing to be financing a car this 12 months? So for those who need money instantly, payday loans and logbook loans are the quickest possibility because the cash could be in your hand or in your account the identical day. A payday loan is designed to cover brief term financial wants. If there's adequate fairness in the property the curiosity for the mortgage and other charges could be rolled up and settled at the top of the term of the mortgage. Approval/ Provide made - You'll be proven the loan amount, the interest fee, whole interest payable and particulars such as the number of repayments, and the loan starts and finish dates. The APR decided on this foundation will likely be offered to borrower. Personal loans UK were launched to serve private objective of the borrower.

Extremely customised repayment modes don't overburden the monthly price range of the borrower. Get organised. Set your self a meal plan and a price range to keep on with if you go purchasing. Moreover, the great credit history of the guarantor makes it straightforward for the direct lender to approve the mortgage due to the assured security that the co-signer brings to the desk through the loan deal. In actual fact, plenty of professional credit lenders have now organized the provisions for the folks with dangerous credit score by the means of guaranteed loans UK. Traditional lenders are very strict nowadays and they do not look favorably upon bad credit score borrowers. Nothing to do with the credit score ranking data. You probably have used a credit score broker, you could also be presented with quite a few affords from a number of lenders. Lenders in alternate keep the logbook of the borrowers with them in opposition to the mortgage. Logbook loans boast various alluring options in itself.

If you are an entrepreneur, you could find these loans at competitive interest charges by putting in some efforts. Therefore, unsecured personal loans discover good use in conditions that demand hasty provide of cash. Bridging loans can be utilized to fill within the cash shortfall current in a property transaction and lots of extra. There are occasions when everyone wants a bit of additional help with their funds, and need to borrow money quickly. This meant that prospects with an pressing, cash emergency to deal with have been usually stuck, waiting to obtain their cash. Getting rid of numerous stuff and living in a smaller area can truly be really liberating. Whatever County you belong to, you may avail prompt credit score help in the UK. But even in the event you don't have that a lot cash, you'll be able to turn your goals into reality. You tempt to borrow even whenever you don’t need them. Loan providers need to have something to fall back upon in case of defaults in loan.

0 notes

littlemarketingproject · 6 years

Text

How To Write The Best Google Ads Copy & Back It Up on Landing Pages

Crafting strong ad copy on Google Ads isn’t hard, but to do it right, we have to flex both art and science muscles. We’re only given a small number of characters on search engine results pages (SERPs), so we have to make them count.

When writing copy, it’s important to think about the experience your visitor is having from query, to ad copy, to landing page.

If there’s a hiccup along the way or they feel like they might be going down the wrong path, they’ll hit the back button. Worse, they might conduct another search and find another company ready to meet their needs. Additionally, as much as we would like it to, no ad can convert a prospect without a strong accompanying landing page.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to ad writing, but following some best practices will help make us more successful. With that in mind, below are eight tips for writing the best ad copy (backed up with landing pages) for Google Ads:

1. Leverage Keywords Where Possible

A staple best practice of ad copywriting is to include keywords in ad copy to mirror the searcher’s query. By parroting back phrases similar to what they searched for, we’re telling them that they’re in the right place.

Keywords in Ad Copy

In the real world, if you order something from a coffee shop, you expect them to call out exactly what you ordered when it’s ready. If you order an Americano and the barista yells out “Coffee!”, they’re technically correct. But it’s not immediately clear to you that it’s your coffee or someone else’s.

Adding keywords to ad copy is fairly simple, but it’s important to make sure the keywords are being used well. Don’t just stuff in as many as you can. An ad that’s saturated with keywords likely doesn’t convey any message and could be worse than an ad with no keywords. It’s more important to accurately articulate what you’re selling.

Keyword placement in ads can also play a large role. I highly recommend you test keyword placement within your ads to see what works best. Sometimes it’s best in Headline 1. Sometimes Headline 2. And sometimes it’s best used in a sentence in a description. You won’t know until you test!

That’s just the ad copy component. What about the landing page?

Keywords in Landing Pages

Using search keywords in the headlines and/or text at the top of a landing page tells the visitor, “You’re in the right place. We have what you’re looking for.” (“This is your caffè Americano,” if you will.)

Unfortunately, swapping text on landing pages isn’t quite as easy as doing it in ad copy. If your landing pages need to be hardcoded, then logic might suggest that you need to create a new page for each different keyword phrase you’re targeting.

In my opinion, though, unless you’re driving extremely high traffic through those pages, this isn’t necessary.

Instead, choose some common phrases, likely the most highly searched variants of your keywords, and turn them into headlines. Ideally, the number of pages you’ll need to create will go down depending on the number of keyword phrases you have in your account.

Let’s take an example: I’m advertising scheduling software for hourly employees.

A basic headline could be “Employee Scheduling Software,” a typical query in the account. Easy and to the point. But the page that uses this headline could easily be used for phrases that are close to, but not exactly, that phrase: scheduling employees, tools for employee scheduling, schedule hourly employees, etc.

Try to write headlines that can work for multiple phrases to limit the number of pages you need to make. And do this while also getting as close as possible to the initial search query.

PRO TIP: If you build your page with Unbounce, you can also use Dynamic Text Replacement (DTR) to help you match your landing page copy to your ads, saving you bundles of time that you can spend more effectively.

2. Be As Specific As the User’s Query

Every time a person conducts a search, their query holds a degree of specificity. It’s important that you match their specificity as much as possible.

If they’re not being specific, in other words, you can keep your ad copy relatively broad and cover the basics. If they are being more specific, you should try to match whatever their query is.

Let’s use the example of shoes. Here are some ways you could adjust your copy based on differing degrees of searches:

An example of how ad copy matches a search query.

The only piece adjusted is the first headline, but it creates a much tighter theme with the query and lets them know they’re in the right place.

The same principle holds through with the landing page and is potentially even more important than the copy itself. One of the keys to conversion rate optimization is giving your prospects what they need. Continuing the shoe example above, here are potential pages that you would want to direct people to:

“Shoes”: http://www.example.com

“Women’s shoes”: http://www.example.com/women

“Women’s Nike shoes”: http://bit.ly/2H2PB5i

Obviously, this is a fake website, but the landing pages used match as close as they can to the query. Each time we add a word—from “shoes” to “women’s shoes” and from “women’s shoes” to “women’s nike shoes”—we learn more about their need and can match that with a more specific landing page.

Each time someone searches, they’re telling you what they want. Listen to them and deliver results with as much specificity as you can.

3. Always Include a Call To Action

When it all comes down to it, we’re running ads because we want the visitor to take a specific action. For some, that might be making a purchase. For others, it might mean filling out a lead form. No matter the action, it’s important to either use that phrasing in the ad copy or give them a clue as to what you want.

Using a call to action in ad copy helps frame the visitor experience. It can operate similarly to the Prequalifying ad copy mentioned in the next section. Once they understand what you want them to do, it can help weed out people who aren’t interested. This practice helps save you the cost of the click.

Once a visitor has had their expectations set with the ad copy, they should click through to a landing page that mirrors that same call to action. If you’ve asked them to “Buy Now” in your copy, they should be given the opportunity to buy on the landing page. If you’ve only asked them to “Learn More” in your copy, then be sure the landing page houses the information they need to decide whether to make a purchase down the road.

4. Test Psychological Approaches to Find the Right Fit

The messaging used in ad copy can be a critical selling point, but it need not be boring. If anything, SERPs are getting overcrowded with the same type of bland messaging for all ad slots. That’s an opportunity for you to stand out from the crowd.

It’s important to test the different psychological approaches to ad copy to know which performs best with your target audience. Here’s a quick rundown of the major types of ad copy approaches:

Features: highlighting the physical or intangible aspects of the product/service. (Memory foam)

Benefits: calling out the positive outcomes the visitor will have from the product/service. (More restful sleep)

Problem: focus on the actual issue at hand to relate to the problem the visitor is trying to solve. (Tired of Wasting Time?)

Solution: focus on the solution to the problem the visitor is facing. (Save Time)

Testimonials: using actual feedback/testimonials to leverage social proof. (“This product has changed my life.”)

Reviews: third-party reviews of the product/service, not from customers.

Top of the Class: calling out any awards, ratings, etc. to show you’re the best. (Best in category award, 2018)

Prequalifying: weeding out people who might not be a good fit for your service before they click. (“Luxury Tours,” attempting to weed out bargain travelers)

Once you’ve tested what works best, mirror that on the landing page to create a cohesive feel from start to finish. Choose images and calls to action that mirror those approaches where possible.

5. Don’t Sell a False Bill of Goods

I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating, and so it’s own line item on this list:

Your landing page should back up what’s in your ad copy.

Ad copy and landing pages need to work together. No matter what copy is used, it’s important that the message and offer follow through to the landing page for a cohesive experience.

When this connection breaks down, it could look something like this:

A prospective customer conducts a search, clicks on an ad that says “20% off” only to get to the landing page a find out the offer is expired—or, worse, there’s no mention of it whatsoever. That’s frustrating!

As we discussed earlier, it’s important to get the visitor thinking about the call to action at the ad copy stage. If that call to action isn’t on the landing page, then those precious characters in the ad copy, as well as the price you paid for the click, were wasted. They are no longer primed to complete the conversion action you asked.

6. Use Ad Extensions Like Crazy

Ad extensions are pretty much exactly what they sound like: they’re additional areas of text that can extend the size of an ad. There are many different kinds of ad extensions at our disposal. Here’s the full list from Google Ads:

Take advantage of every extension that fits your business, but don’t forget the main reason for your ad.

Each has its use and purpose, and I’m not going to go into detail on each one. The ones that lend themselves to nearly every business are Sitelinks, Callout Extensions, and Structured Snippets.

Sitelinks

Sitelinks are simply additional text and links that can show up with ad copy. Ideally, you should leverage these to add supporting information to the primary ad copy in the ad group. These are essentially functioning as in-site navigation, but directly in the SERPs.

In the image above, the Sitelinks direct users to currently popular products and sections of Nike’s website.

Callout Extensions

Callout extensions are even easier than Sitelinks. These are simply a line of text, no longer than 25 characters.

Callout extensions are easy to implement.

This text can be used to put just about anything that helps support the ad. Similar to Sitelinks, however, it’s best if this text can be complementary and not repeat what’s in the original ad. These can be a quick list of features, benefits, or more information (like “Free Shipping”) if it didn’t fit in the ad text.

Structured Snippets

Lastly, Structured Snippets let you create a list within an ad extension. Simply pick the Header you want to start the list, then add in values below with 25 characters each.

Callout extensions are easy to implement.

There are a number of other ad extensions that can be added to any campaign. More often than not, it’s best to have as many ad extensions types in place as possible so any of them can be called up at any point.

However, there is one caveat to this. Don’t forget about the main reason for the ad. Sometimes one ad extension can be throttled and another type will be shown more often, potentially causing performance to drop. Keep this in mind when setting up ad extensions. Have as full of coverage as you can, but don’t sacrifice performance for ad real estate.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more about how extensions can help your ads stand out from the competition, you’ll want to read Ryan Gould’s latest post on quick ways to breathe new life into your Google Ads.

7. Leverage Dynamic Ad Features

In addition to ad extensions, there are other features we can use to ensure that our ads are as impressive as possible. Below is a screenshot of the three dynamic ad features offered on the Google Ads platform. You can trigger this dropdown by typing in a { into the ad creation screen.

Typing a { brings up the dropdown for Keyword Insertion, Countdowns, and IF functions.

Keyword Insertion

Keyword Insertion (formerly Dynamic Keyword Insertion or DKI) is the most basic version of dynamic ads and is best used if your campaign structure isn’t strongly segmented. Keyword Insertion allows advertisers to substitute a search keyword in place of default text in your ad copy. However, the text with the keyword will not be used if the combination of the text plus DKI is too long. Take a look at the example below:

Using Keyword Insertion.

Here, I added “Women’s Shoes” as the placeholder text. If the keyword that triggers this ad is fewer than 13 characters long, then that keyword text will be added in place of “Women’s Shoes.”

For instance, if the keyword was “Tennis Shoes,” the headline will now read “Great Prices on Tennis Shoes.” But if the keyword is too long, like “women’s running shoes,” then the headline will read “Great Prices on Women’s Shoes” because the placeholder text will stay.

IF Functions

This dynamic ad feature lets advertisers create “if, then” statements within ad copy based on a user’s device or the audience they belong to.

Using powerful IF Functions is simpler than it seems.

IF Functions can be amazingly powerful if you have a different call to action for someone on a mobile device versus desktop (“Call Us” versus “Fill Out the Form”) or if you want to offer discounts to users within specific audiences, like existing customers.

IF Functions have some really powerful uses. You can read more in this post by Joe Martinez to get more ideas on how you can use them.

If you leverage IF Functions to create a different call to action or make a new offer depending on device or audience, it’s essential to make sure it’s carried over to the landing page. Be sure you’re not teasing a 20% discount in the ad copy, then not offering it once they get to the landing page (more on this below).

Countdowns

Lastly, Countdowns can be an amazing way to create urgency in ad copy without needing manual ad shifts for each day, hour, or minute until the offer expires. All we advertisers have to do is fill out the builder widget and Google will do the rest!

Countdowns add urgency to your copy.

With Countdowns, it’s imperative that the time in the ad copy and the time on site match up as closely as possible. Pay attention to time zones to be sure the offer isn’t ending too early or running too late in the ads. Each of these could cause performance changes or bad brand association depending on the error made.

8. #1 Rule: We’re Always Talking to People

Follow as many of the best practices above that you can, but don’t forget the reason we’re here: potential customers!

In every ad and on every landing page, we’re always talking to people. The final thing we should do before launching any new copy or landing page is to give it a gut check:

Is this something I would click on?

Does this sound appealing?

Does this ad make sense or is it just a bunch of keywords jammed together?

Does the landing page answer the promise set in the ad copy?

Conclusion

Writing ad copy for Google Ads is a combination of art and science. It requires that you look beyond the ad itself to the landing page. There are some technical best practices to follow that I’ve outlined here, but we also need to tap into our artistic side when speaking to other people. If ad copy were purely algorithmic, after all, everyone would be rich by now.

Give these best practices a shot and let us know your results! What tactic was the biggest help to you? What have you seen work best in your ad copy? Share with us in the comments!

How To Write The Best Google Ads Copy & Back It Up on Landing Pages syndicated from https://unbounce.com

0 notes

archiebwoollard · 6 years

Text

How To Write The Best Google Ads Copy & Back It Up on Landing Pages

When writing copy, it’s important to think about the experience your visitor is having from query, to ad copy, to landing page.

1. Leverage Keywords Where Possible

Keywords in Ad Copy

That’s just the ad copy component. What about the landing page?

Keywords in Landing Pages

In my opinion, though, unless you’re driving extremely high traffic through those pages, this isn’t necessary.

Let’s take an example: I’m advertising scheduling software for hourly employees.

Try to write headlines that can work for multiple phrases to limit the number of pages you need to make. And do this while also getting as close as possible to the initial search query.

2. Be As Specific As the User’s Query

Every time a person conducts a search, their query holds a degree of specificity. It’s important that you match their specificity as much as possible.

If they’re not being specific, in other words, you can keep your ad copy relatively broad and cover the basics. If they are being more specific, you should try to match whatever their query is.

Let’s use the example of shoes. Here are some ways you could adjust your copy based on differing degrees of searches:

An example of how ad copy matches a search query.

The only piece adjusted is the first headline, but it creates a much tighter theme with the query and lets them know they’re in the right place.

“Shoes”: www.example.com

“Women’s shoes”: www.example.com/women

“Women’s Nike shoes”: www.example.com/women/nike