Entries from June 2015 ↓

Marketing is a necessary evil when it comes to running a business. It’s one of those things that most people hate, mainly because it takes time. Th problem is, without it you won’t have any customers so it’s a bit of a catch 22.

If you are one of those rare creatures that enjoys it – whether you’re a social media fanatic, blogging hero, content writer extraordinaire, or a wizard at email marketing – there’s one thing you must do in order to get your customers to buy.

Want to know what it is?

Finding out what interests your customers.

That’s it.

You have to know what keeps them awake at night, what pushes their buttons, what they really, really want.

There are probably several things, but in the main their main interest is themselves.

They don’t care about your business, where your premises are, whether you’re the market leader (everyone says that), or a great innovator (yawn), all they want to know is how you are going to help them.

How selfish!

Even though you’ve spent years building up your business, you’ve weathered economic downturns, fluctuations in your market place and umpteen rows at home because of the number of hours you spend at the office, your customers don’t care.

But why should they?

None of that’s going to help them, is it?

The only way they’re going to spend their hard earned cash with you is if you can convince them that their lives will be greatly improved by your product or service.

It’s the exact same reason why you buy things and yet it’s easy to forget that when you’re putting your own marketing materials together.

If you want to sell, forget about your business

When crafting your message, put yourself and your business to the back of your mind.

Every thought you have must centre on your customer.

• Who are they?
• What problem do they have?
• How can you help them?
• What can you offer them that will solve their problem?

There’s no room for a tempting “we’re the best at what we do” spiel.

The cold hard fact about marketing is that there’s no room for your ego. The only thing that matters is what you can do for your customer. Keep everything you write focused on them and you’ll see your sales increase.

Oh, for the life of a freelancer.

No more 9 to 5, no demanding boss, no more commuting, no more pointless meetings…

But hang on, freelancing means no more regular pay cheques, no paid holiday or sick leave… what about my pension? Where’s my security gone?

On the face of it being a freelancer appears to be the first step to the utopian lifestyle you’ve always dreamt of.  But once the rose tint has worn off your glasses, you’ll begin to see that it’s not as cushy as you first thought.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t dive in and give it a go (it’s worked very well for me for the past 7 years), but if you do, make sure you have realistic expectations.

The life of a freelancer

Starting out on your own can be a scary business. There are lots of things to consider and if I covered them all this would turn into a novel rather than a blog post. So for now I’m just going to look at two aspects – finding clients and growing a thick skin.

Hello? Clients? Where Are You?

To be a freelancer you need clients, so where are you going to look for them?

In your previous life it was never an issue. The marketing department took care of the ‘finding customers’ malarkey leaving you to get on with your work. But now the responsibility is all yours – you lucky thing.

A website, Facebook page, Twitter account and blog are not going to bring the constant stream of clients you need, at least not without your input. Marketing yourself online is only one piece of the puzzle; the other is getting out there and meeting people.

If that fills you with dread, don’t worry you’re not alone.  Networking isn’t for everyone, I should know. It has to be one of the worst aspects of the job for me. Walking into a room full of strangers makes my blood run cold. But it is a necessary evil if you are to get your name known.

Another way of finding new clients is to actively build relationships with local design agencies – web designers are always on the look out for good copywriters to work with.

To widen your net further and target your dream clients, why not try a mail shot?

Create a list of companies you would like to work with. Then find the name of the person you need to contact (usually the Marketing Manager/Director depending on the size of the company) and create the best sales letter you’ve ever written. Send them a little freebie to make your letter stand out and follow up with a phone call – you never know what doors that might open.

Rhino hide

Once you have your clients and work starts to trickle in, another challenge arises.

On the whole there are 3 types of client:

• Those who hire you because they need your expertise and trust your judgement
• Those who hire you, tell you what they want and then change their minds after you’ve written it
• Those who brief you and then re-write everything because they believe they are far superior writers

The first type is a gift and usually a joy to work with.

The second can be annoying, but a well-written proposal stipulating exactly what your fee covers and the hourly rate that will be charged for any extra work not originally briefed, usually solves any issues.

But the third will make your life hell.

Despite the fact your client has actively sought your professional writing services, they will believe they know better than you.

So what do you do when your first draft comes back with a scathing email?

1. Take a deep breath
2. Go outside and scream at a tree
3. Return to your desk and think about your response rationally

Sitting down with them is the best way to sort this out. You can then calmly discuss the original brief and show how you fulfilled it and ask them what it is they don’t like and work with them to resolve it.

This ‘working together’ approach is usually best as it makes them feel more involved in the process and makes them feel valued.

Should you give it a go?

Absolutely.

What have you got to lose?

Despite the ups and downs (let’s face it, every type of work as plenty of those), freelancing is a rewarding and enjoyable way to earn a living.

The freedom and potential financial rewards it offers far outweigh any of the downsides. If you’re prepared to work at it and never give up you will succeed.

What are you waiting for?

Sally Ormond is copywriter and MD at Briar Copywriting Ltd. Quite possibly the country’s only cycling copywriter, she’s currently training for an epic bike ride from Newcastle to London – that’s 300 miles in 24 hours! – raising funds for the Make A Wish Foundation.

http://www.briarcopywriting.com

The entertainment world is a buzz with the term “triple threat”. It relates to performers that excel in acting, singing and dancing – a very rare breed.

You’re probably wondering what that has to do with copywriting.

Well, if you want to be a great copywriter, you must be able to create content that:

• Engages
• Educates
• Persuades

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. Creating interesting copy that people actually want to read that also ticks those three boxes is quite an art.

Engage

Writing in an engaging way is tough.

If you think that people will read anything you put out there, you’re in for a nasty shock.

It’s your job to write about the product or service you’re promoting in a way that makes the reader think “Wow, I need that. How have I managed without it all these years?”

A mere description is not going to be enough. You have to create a story around it, showing off its benefits.

OK, yes, this is marketing copy and no one is going to read everything you write word for word, but if you hit the right tone, it will resonate with them and make them stop and think about what you’re selling.

Earlier I mentioned creating a story. Storytelling is one of the most powerful sales tools out there. The story format is used because it engages and draws your reader in. Written in this style it takes on a more interesting light and by adopting a friendly tone of voice your reader will be helpless as they become immersed in what you’re telling them.

Educate

There is a big difference between educating and lecturing.

Marketing copy that educates shows the reader how great their life will be if they had the product or service. That means focusing on the benefits not the features.

The colour, shape and size of the product (its features) are not going to make someone buy.

However, show the reader how it will make their life easier, make them richer for more successful, and they’ll buy, buy, buy.

This is where storytelling comes into its own again. Just like fables are told to young children to persuade them about the benefits of good behaviour, storytelling in marketing illustrates what could happen if a buyer acts in a certain way.

Persuasion

Even the strongest stories need a helping hand, which is where persuasion comes in.

Creating writing that persuades is quite an art. You need to employ several techniques to make your writing as powerful as possible, such as:

• Rhetorical questions
• Repetition
• Emotive language
• Facts and statistics
• Alliteration

And of course, it should always be written in the second person – i.e. “you” not “we”.

Life would be a whole lot easier it you could just tell someone your widget is the best ever to make him or her buy it, but it doesn’t work that way.

Before you can get your reader to part with their hard earned cash, you have to persuade them that not only is your product or service right for them, but that you are a reputable company they should be doing business with.

On top of the devices listed above, your copy should also include testimonials, evidence of your facts and figures and a guarantee to give extra peace of mind.

Only when you offer all three – engagement, education and persuasion – will your copywriting bring in the sales.

Corporate blogs drive traffic to your site, raise your company’s profile and show you customers that you are a market leader.

They are also a complete pain.

Why?

In two words: multiple contributors.

On the face of it you probably think that’s a good thing because it means one person isn’t left to produce all the copy.

You’d be wrong.

Multiple contributors mean major headaches, because chasing them for content is a bit like herding cats.

There’s also another problem – continuity, or rather the lack of it.

Many voices cause confusion

Every company has a brand voice.

When you have multiple contributors, that single identity gets lost and you end up with a vast array of writing styles that create a cacophony of noise that will put readers off.

Plus, you’ll find that some people are naturally gifted writers, whereas others are not.

Some can write in engaging, simple language that everyone can understand.

Others only write in complex terms that result in a meaningless article that leaves everyone scratching their head.

How can you get round this problem and create a successful and long lasting corporate blog?

Streamline your blogging process

The answer is not to get one person to do all the writing because your blog will need to cover a number of different subject areas and one person is unlikely to be able to write everything.

That’s why the best solution is to have a blog Gate Keeper.

The posts are written by your own subject matter experts and then passed to your Gate Keeper.

It is then their job to:

• Copyedit each article to bring in line with the brand voice
• Tweak them to make them more readable (i.e. by adding sub headings etc.)
• Source images to bring the subject matter to life
• Add elements of SEO

The end result is a healthy blog that’s regularly update with readable articles.

Whether this is done in-house or outsourced, it is the best way to make sure your corporate blog remains healthy and popular.

Author – Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting