Aug 23 10
Top 4 Marketing Best Practices
The Internet has dramatically changed how we do business. Customers and prospects require more from us now than ever before. We need to engage in social media to interact with our customers and respond to their questions and concerns. And they require us to be proactive.
If we fail to give our customers what they want, they'll drop us and move onto a company that can fulfill their needs. If you're serious about business, you need to consider your customers by doing the following:
Address Customer Concerns.
Your customers and prospective customers need to know why they should care about your products or services. Your marketing materials must address a customer concern. Persuade your readers to take action by speaking directly to them and giving them what they want by choosing words that will make them want to take action.
Utilize Social Media Tools to Discuss Issues and Feedback.
If you still think social media is ineffective, there is something you should know: Social media is a great way to inform your customers and prospective customers of new products that your company has available as well as to keep an eye on customer feedback so that you can mitigate the damage that can be done to your company's reputation through bad word of mouth.
Social media tools should be a part of your marketing efforts. Your customers expect you to use social media. They expect to hear from you, about issues that customers might be having with your product or service, things your company is doing to prevent service outages, or how you're helping your community. They want to hear from you. Are you talking to your customers?
Develop Relationships With Customers.
In addition to utilizing social media tools to support your customers, making your customers feel good about having chosen your company will do wonders for your business. Get personal. Respond to comments, good and bad.
Listen to Your Customers.
Listening to your customers will give you insight into the overall effectiveness of your company and/or your products/services. If you're not listening to what people are saying about you, how will you be able to improve your company?
Doing these four things will help your business grow to exponential levels. How can you modify your current marketing efforts to include these important marketing practices?
About the Author: Jody Calkins, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Emery Road Writing Services, helps clients market their businesses through case studies, articles, blogs, and newsletters and communicate effectively to their customers and prospects. For more information, please visit http://www.emeryroad.com.
Staff biographies are a great way to give your prospects and customers an inside look at one important part of what makes your company a great company: your staff. Your prospects get to learn about the values of your staff, what they enjoy, and why they love working with your company.
But when you take those staff biographies "over the top", you lose prospect confidence.
What do I mean by "over the top"?
Example: "Ann is amazed by how our company can [insert capability]."
Whether or not Ann is amazed by your company's capabilities is irrelevant and stating it in her biography is inappropriate. Most importantly, your prospects won't care unless Ann has a reputation as an expert in your company's field.
What's even worse is when Ann has a greater connection with the owner (i.e., the owner's daughter). She is bound to be biased.
Another no-no is inserting your company's agenda in your staff biographies. For example, "John is so fortunate to finally work with a health care clinic that cares about its patients." That statement does more harm than good. It's unprofessional and out of place. If your company is great, show it through your awesome products or services, or emphasize your company's uniqueness in its own biography and on your marketing collateral.
So, what should a staff member biography include?
A staff member biography should talk about the member's role at the company, the values he has, what he enjoys, and why he loves working with your company–no more than that. Keeping it free of company agendas will help strengthen prospect confidence. And more prospect confidence will lead to more revenue for your business.
About the Author: Jody Calkins, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Emery Road Writing Services, helps clients market their businesses through case studies, articles, blogs, and newsletters and communicate effectively to their customers and prospects. For more information, please visit http://www.emeryroad.com.
I recently stumbled upon a Twitter account that had some (I mean, a lot of) trouble with grammar and spelling. It even used text-speak. I know some people are perfectly fine with using text-speak in Twitter updates. After all, text-speak allows you to say more when the average word length is only 2-3 characters. But in the business world, people expect more from you and they expect you to get it right.
Can you guess the industry in which this Twitter account is involved? Would you find grammar and spelling mistakes (or short comings) to be appropriate for any of the following occupations?
-
A lawyer
-
A politician
-
A copywriter
How about a company that handles your health and well-being? My guess is, you would find the mistakes to be inappropriate for these occupations.
-
A lawyer is an educated individual usually with an extensive background in language;
-
A politician, well they want to avoid looking uneducated, otherwise they get a lot of bad flack from the media and public (more so than normal);
-
A copywriter better know how to write complete sentences and avoid blaring grammatical and spelling errors;
-
A health care clinic is responsible for taking care of its patients. The doctors are highly educated and usually also have extensive knowledge of language.
If you said "no", you might be surprised that the Twitter account I'm referring to belonged to a health care clinic. The Twitter account gives health related tips to help people with health problems.
While the grammatical and spelling errors don't speak for the clinic's ability to provide excellent service, they do speak for the clinic's professionalism.
If you're leaving your Twitter account to someone who doesn't take grammar and spelling seriously, you're risking losing potential clients. Now, I'm not saying mistakes don't happen. They certainly do, and we shouldn't beat ourselves up about them, but we should focus on keeping them to a minimum and striving to provide our very best.
We need to allow time for corrections even if our information is time-sensitive.
My Suggestion: Plan your Twitter updates a day or two in advance. That way you can get them down, set them aside, and revise them, if needed, once you're ready to send them out.
About the Author: Jody Calkins, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Emery Road Writing Services, helps clients market their businesses through case studies, articles, blogs, and newsletters and communicate effectively to their customers and prospects. For more information, please visit http://www.emeryroad.com.
Aug 4 10
7 Ways to Get Those Words Flowing
When you're stuck in your writing, how do you fix that? Do you set it aside and go back to it later? What about when you're on deadline and you must finish it? Here are some ways to get those words flowing that have worked for me.
Allow Yourself to Write a Bad First Draft
Do you have your article planned out in your head, but it doesn't come out right on paper (or word processor)? It happens to the best of us. The good news is, there is an easy fix: Just write it. Allow yourself to write a bad first draft. It requires a mindset shift for the perfectionists out there, but getting it down, even if it's really bad, will get you moving forward. Then just revise it into a great, polished piece.
Close Your Eyes
Staring at a blank screen can hinder your writing productivity. Close your eyes and think about what you want to say. Then just write it down.
Imagine You're Speaking to Your Reader
Imagine you're having a conversation about your topic with your reader. What do you tell him? Write down the conversation and revise later.
Use an Outline
Having an outline isn't always necessary. However, when you're stuck, go back to the drawing board and outline the information you want to share. This will give you a better idea of how to start and organize your writing.
Set a Timer
When you give yourself a limited amount of time to complete a task (i.e., your first draft), you're more likely to complete it. Just remember to be hard on yourself. Don't give yourself a second opportunity to work on it. Don't let yourself finish it during your "editing process". Some of us need a strong motivator, either a major consequence or a high-value reward. Do what works for you.
Write on Paper
Writing on paper usually helps me get my writing down. Paper is easier on the eyes and taps into my creativity. If it doesn't work for you, try writing in mind mapping software.
Write in a New Location
Moving to a new location can often spark creativity, especially when distractions such as the Internet and Twitter are present. Go outside, sit in a closet, write at the kitchen table. Find out what works for you and use it as a backup when your office isn't working out.
How do *you* get the words flowing? Share your techniques with us in the comments section below.
About the Author: Jody Calkins, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Emery Road Writing Services, helps clients market their businesses through case studies, articles, blogs, and newsletters and communicate effectively to their customers and prospects. For more information, please visit http://www.emeryroad.com.
Jul 23 10
Grammar Series, No. 9: Wonder or Wander?
Is it "wonder" or "wander"?
- "Wonder" as a verb means "to ponder", as in "We wonder which exotic breeds the chicken hatchery will send us in our order."
- "Wander" means "to roam about or to go astray", as in "The chickens wander the countryside."
Is it "farther" or "further"?
- "Farther" is used when referring to distance, as in "The chickens wander farther away from their chicken house every day."
- "Further" is used when referring to time or quantity, as in "We recommend exploring the USDA's website for further reading on safe egg handling."
Case studies are a great way to show your prospects how you, or your company, help businesses just like theirs.
While testimonials are good, case studies are value-added; they have that extra essence of credibility and are a better way to demonstrate your company's expertise. Anyone can create a testimonial, but case studies hold the key to building the all important prospect confidence.
If you're not sure how to go about developing a case study, this post will give you the foundation you need to get started.
- Determine what you want your case study to do for your business. There are many reasons for doing case studies. Choosing one will help you keep your case study focused on your goal.
- Brainstorm what type of case study you could publish based on your needs, type of business, and how your client uses your product or service. The type of case study you can develop greatly depends on those three things. Keep in mind that you always want to instill prospect confidence in your company's ability to perform as expected.
- Create an outline. Before you get too far in the planning process, you should have an idea of what you want to discuss in your case study. If you are a service provider, do you want to show how a company just like your prospect's can benefit from your company or do you want to share with them the process of implementing your service?
- Draft your questions. Have plenty of questions prepared, including follow-up questions, and organize your questions in a logical order.
- Contact your client to inquire about his participation in a case study. Be sure to mention how long the interview should take and to send your questions for the client's review prior to the interview.
- Schedule and conduct your interview.
- Reevaluate your outline and make changes as needed. Things don't always go as planned, so allow for some flexibility and make changes accordingly.
- Write your case study!
Now that you have the foundation for developing a case study, how can you use a case study to help your business?
About the Author: Jody Calkins, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Emery Road Writing Services, helps clients market their businesses through case studies, articles, blogs, and newsletters and communicate effectively to their customers and prospects. For more information, please visit http://www.emeryroad.com.
Jul 12 10
4 Common Types of Pesky Writing Errors
Are your readers or e-mail recipients not taking your desired action? Then maybe these pesky writing errors are worming their way into your copy.
It takes time to write a clear message, one that your readers will interpret the right way. Oftentimes, we speed through typing an e-mail, eager to get the task out of the way. But when that e-mail doesn't have a clear message, you're likely to cause confusion or the wrong end result.
To write clear messages, omit these common types of writing errors:
Typos. Typos (i.e., any word or character you didn't intend to write, including spelling and grammatical errors) can have a significant impact on the way your reader interprets your information. Imagine what would happen if your 5% off sign read "50% off" or if you wrote a note to your assistant to tell him to seal your family's vacation home for the winter, but your note read "Sell it". I doubt you'd be pleased with either end result.
Inconsistencies. When you use words interchangeably (e.g., "copy" and "content"), readers can become confused, especially when those words are too technical for your audience. Choose one and stick with it.
Ambiguities. Ambiguities in your copy or written communications can lead to wasted time or the wrong end results. It helps to set aside your writing for a few days. Then, when you go back to it, you have a better chance of fixing anything that is unclear.
Improprieties. Keeping your writing clear of improprieties will not only help you convey a clear message but will also tighten your prose and make it professional. Avoid improprieties by replacing your pronouns (i.e., it, they, them) with the words you really mean.
When you keep your writing clear of these four pesky writing errors, you allow your readers to interpret your messages correctly. So, before sending that e-mail or approving that brochure copy, check it against these common types of writing errors.
About the Author: Jody Calkins, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Emery Road Writing Services, helps clients market their businesses through case studies, articles, blogs, and newsletters and communicate effectively to their customers and prospects. For more information, please visit http://www.emeryroad.com.
Past Tense for Lie and Lay: Is it "lay" or "laid"?
-
"Lay" is the past tense for "lie" and means "reclined", as in "Our chickens lay in the dirt all afternoon."
-
"Laid" is the past tense of "lay" and means "put something down", as in "We laid to rest the day-old chicks that died during transit."
Tense Sequence:
-
Lie (= recline), lying (= reclining), lay (= reclined), (have) lain (= have reclined)
-
Lay (= place [something]), laying (= placing [something]), laid (= placed [something]), (have) laid (= have placed [something])
"Talk about the benefits your customer will have by choosing your product or service."
While the above statement is sound advice, it is missing one important component: addressing a concern.
We've all heard that we need to focus on the benefits, not the features (at least for non-technical audiences). But a lot of us are neglecting to tap into why readers should care about those benefits.
How do we get our readers to care?
Your product or service needs a benefit that makes your company stand apart from your competition. And you need to go beyond stating what that benefit is by putting your reader in the right mindset to feel the difference between the benefit he would receive from you and that which he would receive from your competition.
So, it isn't enough to talk about benefits; we need to talk about why our readers should care.
Addressing a perceived concern, one that you suggest for your readers, is an effective strategy to persuade your readers to take your desired action. A perceived concern will be something that will likely become a concern when brought to your readers' attention.
A scientifically proven persuasion technique is to tap into the reader's desire to do what others do. It works because, when you mention that other people are doing what you want your reader to do, that reader feels a sense of obligation to follow along. He doesn't want to stray from the pack or have his reputation ruined because he didn't perform a popular action.
Examples of this strategy:
-
"Thousands of subscribers are forwarding this weekly newsletter to a friend."
-
"Smart shoppers do this before stepping foot in a store."
The idea here is to question your readers. If others are doing something, why aren't you?
So, how do you get your readers to care about your product or service?
About the Author: Jody Calkins, CEO and Senior Copywriter at Emery Road Writing Services, helps clients market their businesses through case studies, articles, blogs, and newsletters and communicate effectively to their customers and prospects.
Need help writing your marketing materials? Contact Jody for more details.
