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Archive for the ‘Copywriting’ Category


Naked Doesn’t Mean “Uncomfortable”

Monday, August 9th, 2010

We recently talked about the importance of having a good landing page. One of the characteristics of a good landing page is if it’s “naked.” What the heck is a “naked” landing page?

Don’t blush. A naked landing page simply means that it’s unadorned and uncluttered.  Since the purpose of a landing page is to lead a viewer to a specific action, you want to strip away anything that would distract your viewer from that action.

This is not the place to reiterate your company’s vision or mission. It’s not the place to talk about upcoming events or even product releases. It’s not the place to sell, either. If you’ve done your job well, people have arrived at your landing page expecting to do something specific (i.e. download a report, print off a coupon, view a helpful video, make a purchase, etc.).  Make it easy for them to do what they came to do. Don’t “dress up” your landing page with unnecessary clutter; leave it as simple, and easy to use as possible. You’ll improve your chances of getting the response you were after in the first place. And that’s the naked truth!

What do you think are the “bare” essentials for a landing page?

Posted in Copywriting, Direct Marketing | No Comments »

The Purpose Filled Tweet (apologies to Rick Warren)

Monday, July 19th, 2010

The world seems to have gone “Twitter-mad.” People on mobile devices and on their computers are tweeting their little hearts out. But if you’re a business, there needs to be a method to your madness. What’s the purpose behind your Twitter activity?

Be helpful. Twitter is a great way to share helpful information with customers and clients. If you recently read something helpful or insightful, share it with your customers. You don’t have to explain it or summarize it. Just pass it on and let your customers benefit from it.

Announce events: Twitter is super for letting people know about a special event. It could be a sale or a concert or a seminar. The tweet itself doesn’t have to contain all the information. You can use it to link customers to a landing page with details. It’s really just a shout out to “check this out!”

Announce specials: There’s a local restaurant that uses Twitter to announce their daily specials. How many times have you headed out to lunch without really knowing what you want (and ending up at the same old place)? What if you got a message telling you what the daily special was—right around lunchtime? Brilliant!

Share something fun. Sometimes people just enjoy a quirky quote or a fascinating factoid. Twitter let’s you share stuff that’s serious or silly. And sometimes a little break from the tedium is just what the doctor ordered.

Here’s a key question: What would YOU want to know about (in 140 characters or less)?

Posted in Copywriting, Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »

To Blog or Not to Blog? (Part 2)

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Last time we talked about three reasons it might make sense for your company to have a blog:

  • Establishing yourself as a thought-leader
  • Grabbing mindshare
  • Taking advantage of word-of-mouth

Those are good reasons, but there are a few key questions you still need to ask before you start blogging your brains out!

Do you have anything to say? That may seem like a really silly question, but there are blogs out in the blogosphere that are a complete waste of time because they don’t have any valuable content. A blog isn’t a place to share ignorance. It’s also not a forum for repeating things everybody already knows. You need to be able to bring new ideas or new perspectives to issues that people struggle with. You don’t have to have all the answers, but you need to give people help they haven’t found somewhere else. Here’s the good news: You probably do have something to say. But you have to be able to say it in a fresh and helpful way.

Do you have the discipline to keep it going? It takes time (weeks, months, sometimes years) to build your audience. Blogging once or twice and then quitting won’t accomplish your goals. As a matter of fact, it can have the opposite effect. If you quit early, people are inclined to think that you really weren’t that much of an expert. It’s better to blog regularly (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly) with quality content than to just throw “something” out there. Before you start, you’ll want to come up with an “editorial plan” that maps out what you want to cover for several weeks. You can always change it, but it’s agony to stare at a blank screen when your deadline is looming.

Do you have the necessary skills? We all learned to write in school . . . right? But do you have the skills to clearly and succinctly get your point across in a way that’s helpful to others? You don’t have to be a Pulitzer prize-winning writer to create a blog. It’s not about being flashy. It’s about being clear. And make no mistake: the thoughts need to be your thoughts, but you may want to enlist some help.

Are you willing to engage in a conversation? Many people misunderstand the nature of blogs. A blog is not a monologue. It’s not your chance to preach. It’s a dialogue. You present an idea and ask people to respond, to challenge, to ask follow-up questions. You need to be prepared to answer those responses.

If you answered, “yes” to these questions, you—and your customers—would probably benefit from a blog.  Ready to write?—or do you have questions and or comments?

Posted in Blogging, Copywriting, Social Media, Strategy | No Comments »

To Blog or Not to Blog? (Is that really the question?)

Monday, June 28th, 2010

It seems that everyone and his dog has a blog (And that’s not just a catch phrase. Check out http://www.dogswithblogs.com.au/ and see for yourself!). But just because “everyone else is doing it” does that mean your business should have a blog too? The real question, however, is why would you blog?

There really are some good reasons for writing a blog of your own. Here are just a few.

You establish yourself as a thought-leader. If you’re talking about an area in which you’re knowledgeable, a blog can help establish you as an expert. If you’re credible and share what you know, people will look to you for expertise.

You grab mindshare. If you are in front of your customers on a regular basis, who will they think of first when they have a problem you can solve? And if they’ve already been helped by what you’ve shared, they will be more inclined to take the next step and pay you to help them.

You take advantage of word-of mouth. We all know that word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind. If you share content that really helps people, they will pass it on. Will it “go virile” and spread like wildfire? Maybe. But that doesn’t really matter. Most businesses aren’t equipped to handle that anyway. But “friends telling friends” about how you know your stuff can make a significant impact on your business.

So should you blog? What are you hoping to accomplish? If you’d like to set yourself apart as an expert; if you’d like to grab mind share among your potential customers; and if you’d like to get people telling their friends about you, then there’s a good possibility that you should. But there are a few more key questions you should ask before you begin—and we’ll explore those next time.

Any other ideas about why it might be good to blog? Let us hear from you!

Posted in Blogging, Copywriting, Social Media | No Comments »

Make a Prediction

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

If you want to get peoples’ attention, if you want them to listen to what you have to say, if you want to start a discussion about a topic important to your business or industry . . . make a prediction.

You may argue that you’re not clairvoyant, and you’re probably right. Maybe you’re afraid that your prediction won’t be 100 percent accurate. Again, you’re probably right.  But it really doesn’t matter.

Chances are that if you’re in business you have a certain amount of knowledge, and understanding about how your little corner of the Universe works. You probably have enough experience to allow you to see the patterns that develop in your particular area of expertise. There’s a good chance that you understand your niche better than someone who hasn’t spent years doing what you do.

You don’t have to be arrogant with your prediction. You don’t have to be a “know-it-all.” As a matter of fact, you don’t even have to call your prediction a “prediction.” You can call it a projection or a supposition or a strong possibility. The point is, you have knowledge and experience that you can share with others. You can say something along the lines of: “After fifteen years in the industry, when I see ‘X’ happening and I can be pretty sure that ‘Y’ will happen within six months.”

People are desperately looking for someone to help them make sense out of things they don’t understand. If you have some credibility, you can help customers or prospects make sense out of things they lack the experience or knowledge to evaluate. You may want to avoid giving specific advice (“Sell all your stock and buy widgets.”), but you can suggest what you see as a trend.

If nothing else, you’ll start a discussion. And starting a discussion is a great way to find out what peoples’ needs are—and how your company might meet those needs.

(By the way, our prediction is that not everybody will agree with what’s been said here!)

What do you think?

Posted in Copywriting, Facebook, Social Media, Twitter | No Comments »

Too Much Information?

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

In business, we’re always looking for fresh, compelling ways to get our message across. But is it possible to share too much information?

Absolutely. Let’s look at a couple of ways businesses do this.

Assumed Interest
An 8-year old boy once asked his father, “Dad, what’s sex?” The father swallowed hard, wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, took a deep breath, and launched into a 45-minute detailed description of the birds and the bees. When he finished he asked his glassy-eyed son if he understood. “I guess so,” said the boy, “but on the sign-up for soccer camp it says, ‘SEX: M or F’ and I still don’t know what to circle.”

In business, we sometimes provide much more information about our products and services than our customers ask for. And not only do we bore them to tears with our answer, but we don’t even give them the information they really want. When you communicate your message to your customers, make sure you’re giving them what they really want to know—rather than trying to impress them.

Enough is Enough
In “traditional” marketing (direct mail, print ads, catalogs, brochures, etc.) there has been a long-standing debate about whether long copy or short copy is more effective. And there are studies that validate both positions. The real answer is: Your copy is too long when people STOP READING IT. If what you’re saying is truly interesting or helpful, you can talk about it all you want. As long as your customers respond with “Tell me more”, you’re safe.

The same thing is true with new media like blogs and Twitter. Some people post a new blog daily. Some people send numerous tweets every day. If they are providing helpful, interesting content, their audiences will come back for more. Some industries change so rapidly that constant updates make sense. Most industries move a little slower. For most of us, quality is much more important than quantity. Wouldn’t you rather read one good idea a week than five useless ones? What you want to hear from your customers is, “Tell me more!” not “TMI!”

What helps you get the right amount of the right information to your customers?

Posted in Copywriting, Direct Mail, Social Media, Strategy, Twitter | No Comments »

Krispy Kreme® Marketing

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Remember a few years ago when Krispy Kreme® ruled the universe? New stores were popping up everywhere and they all had lines snaking out their doors and around the block.

Krispy Kreme donuts were synonymous with guilty pleasure. There was nothing quite like a still-hot Krispy Kreme original glazed donut.  We thought they were heavenly. We couldn’t get enough of them.

But do you also remember those rare occasions when a stray donut survived the feeding frenzy until the next day? Remember the experience of biting into a day old donut and the accompanying feeling of disappointment?

Marketing messaging can be like that—especially with marketing taking on more and more social networking characteristics. Whether we’re engaging customers through a website or a blog, content is king. If your content is stale—like a day-old donut—it won’t take long for your customers to walk away.

This doesn’t mean reinventing who you are every week. It does mean constantly thinking about how you can help your customers. And it means thinking of fresh ways to communicate with them about solving their problems.

How often should you update your content? That depends. Some industries change daily. Most don’t. I’d rather receive one really good piece of information every week or every month than wade through a bunch of mediocre stuff to find one gem. A business colleague of ours who builds high-end websites recently shared that 95 percent of his clients haven’t changed the content on their sites in the last 12 months.  That’s too long.

When’s the last time you updated your blog or the content on your website? Are you giving customers a reason to check in with you—or is your content like a day-old Krispy Kreme donut?

What keeps you from delivering fresh content?

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Posted in Blogging, Copywriting | No Comments »