I started writing these because I kept having the same conversations. A business owner in Sharjah asks why their Google Ads spend nothing to show for it. A freelancer in Dubai asks whether they should do a coded site or WordPress. A marketing manager asks why their WhatsApp messages get ignored.
At some point it made more sense to write the answer once, properly, than to type it on WhatsApp for the fifteenth time. So that is what this is. Not “content marketing.” Not thought leadership. Just the honest answers to the questions I keep getting asked.
Everything here comes from real UAE client work — from Dreamer Trading in Dubai to D.K. Shipping across the Emirates. If I am stating something as fact, I either measured it or lived it.
— Jones Mangoh, Founder, COPYDNA
Most UAE businesses have a WhatsApp button on their website. Very few have an actual WhatsApp marketing strategy. The difference between the two is the difference between hoping someone messages you and building a system that generates enquiries every week.
Read the full article →Most UAE businesses have paid for copywriting and been underwhelmed. The problem is usually not the writer — it is the brief. Here is what to look for before you hire, and what to give them before they start.
Read article →The most common UAE website mistake is not a design problem. It is a copy problem wearing a design costume. You cannot template your way to a site that converts if what the page says is wrong.
Read article →After running campaigns for 47+ UAE businesses, a pattern emerged. The businesses that got results did a few specific things differently. The ones that did not all made the same handful of mistakes.
Read article →The problem with most UAE Google Ads campaigns is not the budget. It is that the ad sends the right buyer to the wrong page. Or the right page with the wrong headline. One of those two things accounts for most wasted spend.
Read article →This question comes up in almost every new client conversation. The answer depends entirely on one thing: what specific action you need a UAE buyer to take when they land on the page. Here is the framework.
Read article →There are now hundreds of AI tools claiming to transform your business. After testing a significant number of them on real UAE client work, the list of ones that actually save meaningful time is much shorter than the hype suggests.
Read article →The UAE has one of the most linguistically diverse buyer populations on earth. Writing English copy that also works for Arabic-speaking buyers is a specific skill — not a translation exercise. Here is how it is done.
Read article →Google UAE ranking advice is either too technical for a business owner to act on or too vague to be useful. This is neither. It covers the specific actions that moved real UAE businesses from invisible to page one.
Read article →This is one I have a stake in, so I will be direct about the bias and give you the honest framework anyway. The right answer depends on three things — none of which is the size of your budget.
Read article →Most of these articles started as a WhatsApp conversation. If you have a specific question about your UAE business — marketing, copy, website, or anything in between — message Jones directly. He reads every message and replies within 2 hours.
Ask Jones on WhatsAppNo newsletter. No mailing list. Just a direct answer to a real question.