Entries Tagged 'b2b copywriter' ↓

Writing sales and marketing copy isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Granted, you know your business and product/service inside out and every which way, but that is often the problem.

To write great copy you have to put yourself in the shoes of your customers. But when you’re writing about your own products and services that can be really tough.

That’s why it really pays to get an expert in and hire a good copywriter.

In an instant you will have access to a wealth of experience and expertise. Someone who knows how to position your product/service, which buttons to press to make people buy, and how to get the most out of your sales materials.

So how can you be sure you’re hiring the right copywriter for you?

Well, let’s look at it this way, if you were looking for a builder to build an extension to your house you’d probably ask for personal recommendations from friends and colleagues, you’d ask to see what other work they’d done, you’d want to make sure you paid a competitive rate – because you only get what you pay for – and you’ll take time to talk with them to see what they’re really like.

The same goes for finding a great copywriter.

The dos and don’ts

1. Avoid job boards

Great copywriters won’t be trawling job boards for work. If they’re good they will have people knocking down their door for their expertise and won’t be traipsing the streets trying to find their next job.

The best place to look is Google. Your copywriter doesn’t have to be local to you (I’ve worked with companies as far afield as Trinidad and Tobago) so make an extensive search to ensure you get the right person for you.

2. Samples

Don’t be afraid to ask to see samples of their work. But don’t be put off if their portfolio doesn’t show anything exactly like you’re looking for or an example from your industry.

News flash – a good copywriter doesn’t need experience in a particular field to write about it. You are the expert in your company; your copywriter is the expert in getting that information across to your reader.

3. Pay competitive rates

It’s true – you only get what you pay for.

Plus, don’t expect to pay by the hour.

If you hired your gardener to mow your lawn and tend to your flower beds you would pay them for that work. If you paid them for 2 hours work, they may not get through everything so you wouldn’t get what you wanted.

Most copywriters will provide you with a fixed fee based on the nature of your project.

If you want an excellent job you’re going to have to pay for it – but that’s why you hired in an expert, isn’t it?

4. Talk to them

Pick up the phone and have a chat with them. Suss them out and see if they are the type of person you could work with.

5. Agreement

Once you’ve made your choice, get a written agreement that clearly states what they will do for you and what you will provide for them. That way everyone knows where they stand.

Don’t forget, when hiring a copywriter you are not paying for their time. You are paying for their experience and expertise.

What is a copywriting motivator?

Well, before I answer that, think for a moment about what it is that makes you decide to buy something.

First off, you’ll have a need (whether you’re conscience of it or not). Whether it’s a party coming up that you need a new dress for (and shoes, bag, make up etc.), or a problem with your business that you need a solution for, something will trigger a potential buying decision.

Last week, I was leaving my Accountant’s office at about 5pm. It had been a long day and I’d not had a lot to eat. As I walked back to my car, my stomach was beginning to complain bitterly about the lack of food it had seen that day. To reach my car, I had to walk past a new Indian restaurant. The smell was absolutely heavenly – so you guess what I had for tea that night.

In that instance, my motivator was hunger and the solution I was presented with was the aroma of Indian food.

Hitting the right spot at the right time

Generating sales through copywriting motivators is all about identifying your audience and being in the right place at the right time.

The motivators you identify are going to be pressure points that when pressed, encourage your customers to buy.

Therefore, as well as identifying your target market, you’ve also got to convince them they must buy your product or service, because if they don’t, they’ll be missing out on an excellent opportunity.

For arguments sake, let’s say you have an email marketing solution to sell.

You’ve identified your target audience as being SMEs who are looking for an automated solution to help them reach a wider audience via email.

Your copy shows all the benefits of your product; they know they want to buy it because it will help them market their business more effectively, but they’re still hanging back. So, it’s up to you to give them the motivation to buy.

Becoming Mr or Mrs Motivator

OK, it’s time to bring on the big guns.

What is it going to take to make them buy your product?

You’ve already sold them on the benefits and they know your product offers them all the features they’ve been looking for. So how do you get them to take the final step and buy?

It’s time to get motivating:

Whether you use a limited discount, offer a free service (for a limited time only) or limit your product in number (scarcity = desirability), these motivators will encourage your customers to make their buying decision quickly – after all, no one likes to think they’ve missed out on a great deal.

It’s human nature to hang back before parting with our hard earned cash. Every now and then we need a little push to sign on the dotted line.

We all love that feeling of getting something for nothing (or at least a discount), so offering a motivator, like one of the above, will help you get your sale and your customer the service they need.

Over to you

What motivators have you used in the past?

Have you found some to be more effective than others?

Leave a comment and share your experiences.

Now, tell me where it hurts?

OK, so I’m not a doctor – actually, with my chronic needle and hospital phobia that was never going to be a career suited to me.

But, as a copywriter, I can use my skills and experience to help your customers overcome their difficulties in life by convincing them your product or service is the panacea they’ve been looking for.

Finding their pain point and lancing it (urgh, that’s just conjured up an awful mental image) is all it takes to get a sale.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing for a B2B or B2C market, businesses and consumers all have problems they want solving.

Pain equals motivation

It’s true, pain is a great motivator. After all, if you burn your hand on an iron, you’ll be swiftly motivated to remove your hand to stop the physical pain you’re feeling.

It’s the same in sales. Let’s take the business market as an example. There are all sorts of pain points here:

• Inadvertently breaking rules
• Being rejected
• Having your secrets stolen by a disgruntled employee
• Losing money

Businesses want to stop these things from happening, therefore they are strong motivators.

Getting the balance right

If your copy over states or concentrates too much on these pain points, you’re going to depress your reader and they’ll probably just go and find a dark corner to hide in.

But if you get the balance right, they’ll snap your hand off because they know you’re the ‘special one’ they’ve been looking for; you’re the one that’s going to make everything OK.

A great way to start is with a headline like…

Have you ever wished that….

This is a gentle lead in and shows them that you understand the problem (pain point) they are experiencing. This empathy will show that you’re a company that cares and one that wants to help.

Then, as you get into the real meat of your copy, you can continue with…

Well, now you can with our …..

So within a few seconds you’ve not only shown you understand their issues by highlighting the problem they’re facing, you’ve also immediately shown how you can make that problem disappear.

That’s pretty powerful stuff.

Over to you

Identifying the pain is half the battle. How have you managed that in the past?

As a copywriter, I get asked to write all manner of things. One day I could be writing about Risk and the financial markets, the next it could be cosmetic surgery, recruitment and architectural rendering.

But one thing always makes me smile, and that’s when I get emails asking for my B2B (Business to Business selling) experience.

Why does that make me smile?

Mainly because, in my view, B2B and B2C (Business to consumer) copywriting is one and the same.

[Gasp!]

Why do I think that? Let me explain.

B2B and B2C are the same

The aim of copywriting, regardless of whether you are working in a B2B or B2C market, is the same – to sell.

So there is the first amazing revelation dealt with.

The next is that, even though you’re writing for a B2B market, you are still trying to sell to a person. Don’t believe me? OK, answer these questions:

• Can a company physically buy something from you?
• Can a company meet you for a coffee whilst you talk business?
• Can a company sign that all important contract to confirm your sale?

I think you’ll find the answer to all of those questions is a big fat, resounding NO.

It all boils down to the fact that your copy has to convince a person within the company; therefore you are selling to a person. And as such, the copy you write is no different to if you were selling direct to the public.

Granted, your benefits will be orientated towards what’s in it for the business as opposed to the person you’re speaking (mind you, assuming your product is going to make the business more profitable, he/she will have a vested interest as it may well lead to a whopping bonus for them).

So, just as if you were writing to a consumer audience, your copy should be:

1. Brief – you are writing to people at work so they will be time limited.
2. Human, because business people are – they also make decisions partially for personal reasons (as mentioned above) so tap into reason and emotion for the best results.
3. Full of benefits – buy this and you’ll save money, save time, make bigger profits, reduce staff turnover, and improve productivity…

In my humble opinion, all you have to do is keep it plain and simple, avoid clichés and, whatever you do, do not let any jargon slip into your copy.

Over to you

You’ve allowed me to rant on, but what do you think?

Do you agree that, essentially, copy should be the same regardless of whether it’s for a B2B or B2C market? Or do you think there are legitimate differences between the two?

Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear you take on this one.

Congratulations, you’ve taken the bull by the horns, spent a shed load of cash on search engine optimisation, you’re website is finally in the top 10 for your chosen keywords so you’ve made it, right?

Wong.

Yes, you’re ranking well but there’s something missing…you’ve got no traffic.

Is that possible? Can you have a top ranking website that doesn’t get traffic?

The simple answer is yes and it’s probably caused by one of these three reasons:

1. You’re Not Really Ranking
2. Your Keywords Don’t Deliver
3. Your Results Don’t Get Clicked

Confused?

This post on seomoz.org explains all. Entitled I’m ranking, so where’s my traffic it explains why, despite your bank balance’s best efforts, you’re not getting traffic to your website.

It could be anything from distortion from Google’s personalised search results, badly chosen keywords or the fact that you’re not attracting those all important clicks when you do appear in the search results.

If you’re website isn’t performing as you think it should, it’s well worth taking a few minutes out of your day to read this article – it could help turn your under-performing website around.