Entries from February 2014 ↓

Are you as sick as I am of politicians?

It doesn’t matter who’s in Government, it’s always the same old, same old.

Political programmes are all about point scoring with the usual response to any question being:

“Well we inherited the mess from the previous Government”

It’s all “they did this” and “they did that” when asked about current policies. We all know what they did; we want to know what you’re going to do.

The problem is, regardless of how persistent the interviewer, a straight answer is never given because they are more intent on highlighting how bad the previous lot were.

You’re probably wondering what this has to do with copywriting, well quite a lot actually.

The one thing that should never be in your copy

How do you convince your customers you are the company for them in your marketing materials?

I’m hoping your response is to show them the benefits of using your service or product, the excellent service you provide and that you’re a trustworthy, dependable company to deal with.

But, there are still come companies who opt for the ‘easy’ option.

They think that by putting down their competitors their readers will think: “Wow, they’re right, all those other companies are really bad. Isn’t it great they pointed that out to us.” It’s perceived as being ‘easy’ because they don’t have to think too hard about what they do, or find a way to convey it in words.

But by trash-talking your competitors you’re really saying “we don’t actually have anything positive to say about what we do, so we thought it would be easier to tell you how bad everyone else is to make us look good.”

The problem is it doesn’t make you look good. All it does is show you have nothing to offer.

If you want to gain trust, you must show your company is honest by highlighting what you can do for your customer. Your words must persuade them you are the company they want to deal with. If you just harangue your competitors, they’ll walk away.

Perhaps if our politicians took this advice the country would have more faith in them.

Your takeaway

The dos and don’ts of copy are simple:

• Do write about the benefits
• Do write to your reader
• Do focus on the needs of your reader
• Don’t slag off the competition

This is a guest post by John Terra. He has been writing freelance since 1985, and routinely checks his online reputation. He apparently shares the same name with a Belgian folk singer.

It seems like everyone’s online these days, and everyone has an opinion. Those opinions, if positive, can help your business, but otherwise, a negative critique could damage your bottom line. Here are five apps for keeping tabs on that important online reputation. Your online reputation is a crucial element in the ongoing process of making your business stronger and more prosperous.

Me On The Web/Google Dashboard
Let’s start out with something free and easy to find. Just sign in on Google and go to the Dashboard. Click down to “Me on the Web” and get acquainted with the options. You can conduct searches for yourself, and, more importantly, set up e-mail alerts when new information about you appears online. It’s free, and simple to use. This is quite possibly one of the best ways of keeping track of your reputation if you’re not interested in making too big an effort.

Naymz
This site offers a score that measures your reputation with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and includes factors such as social influence, transparency, and what your peers’ opinion is of your business. As far as the score goes, Naymz is reminiscent of Klout. Naymz provides you with the means to manage your online reputation. Naymz is free of charge.

Boardreader
With so many message boards out there, who has time to read them all? Hell, who’d want to!? And yet, you want to see if your business is being talked about, right? With Boardreader, you can search across online discussion boards to find out what’s being said about a website, business/company name, or even just a topic. Boardreader doesn’t cost anything to use.

Whos Talkin
Yes, as in “Look who’s …” This app is great for monitoring your online reputation strictly within the province of social media. In other words, you won’t get any other search results; just ones found on social media sites. Just plug in your name or business and conduct your search. What’s even better, you can get a browser search plug-in for your search bar, and a gadget for iGoogle, so that you don’t have to keep going back to the Whos Talkin website in order to execute a search. Whos Talkin is free.

Reputation.com
Though the company offers monthly fee-based services for monitoring your online reputation, there is also a free element. By entering your first and last name, you can get a report that shows what you look like to people who search for you online. Call it the online equivalent of taking a glance at yourself in the mirror.

All In All …
Your online reputation is too important to just let it plod along, unattended. Use one or more of the above apps to keep your name clean, and avoid the disastrous financial reversals that can result from unchallenged negative comments.

Photo Credit: booleansplit