MarketingMoment

You book your car in for its annual MOT, so why not your business words? (Are you sure they’re giving the right impression? Do they reap the desired results? Is your message being compromised by sloppy copy?)

While we can all ‘write’, copywriting involves so much more than simply penning a few well-crafted words. Before she or he writes, a good copywriter will spend a considerable amount of time researching the intended audience. They’ll make sure they understand buyer behaviour and how to craft your message in such a way that it really makes a splash.

Good copywriting can make confusing policies crystal clear. It can keep inter-company communications running smoothly through the careful use of words. And it can effectively ’sell’ a company’s products or services to its customers.

So if you’re not sure your copy is quite right, email me a paragraph (up to 200 words) of your poorly prose and the “Word Doctor” will nurse it back to life. Think of it as a ‘Try Before You Buy’ offer. Then you can decide whether to give me the go-ahead if you have any text that requires editing, copyediting, rewriting, proofreading, indexing or researching.

Don’t have the time or the inclination to write your own copy? I can do it for you. Just follow this link and you’ll soon be on your way to owning copy that gets results.

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Yesterday, I came across an advert for a copywriting job. Part of it read: “We won’t pay you much to start with but the prospects for successful writers are very good.”

Tell you what, I’ll tell the restaurant owner: “I’ll pay fifty pence for my three-course meal, but if I like it I’ll pay a bit more next time. Okay?”

(Excuse me while I duck the flying plate of pasta!)

Just as cooking isn’t a hobby for restaurant owners, writing is NOT a hobby for freelance copywriters. Rather, it is part of a viable business, so please give them the respect (& fees) they deserve.

Paying a professional anything less will only serve to haunt you. As famous ad man David Ogilvy once said: “Pay peanuts, and you get monkeys.”

And he show know: Not only did he own and run one of the most successful advertising agencies of all time, he also generated millions of pounds in profits for his clients.

OK, so what specifically does the monkey reference have to do with business?

Well, there is a current trend to outsource skills, including copywriting and editing, to the cheapest service provider.

Nothing wrong with that, you may be thinking. After all, we operate within a global marketplace, don’t we? And the struggling economy at large is putting a lot of pressure on companies to cut the cost of business, right?

Sure, but going after price rather than value can have dire consequences.

I should know. It happened to me…

I’d hired a so-called ‘professional’ writer with a seemingly good portfolio via one of those service providers like Elance to write a 30-page report for me.

On top of her taking almost three times the agreed time to do this, the quality was poor. She was so off brief it was scary. There were typos everywhere, and some of the language used was very suspect indeed.

Worse, having already collected the bulk of the payment due as a deposit, she disappeared. No contact. No one to put things right. No brief fulfilled.

Later, I found out she had passed off other peoples’ samples in her portfolio as her own.

I ended up out of pocket for that project. And you can imagine the frustration and disruption caused to my business. Which is what happens to a lot of business owners who think they can save money by going after cheap.

So, please, listen to experience. Honour the core values of your own business as well as that of the service provider you’re hiring … otherwise, you’ll be left with monkeys if you pay peanuts.

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Many of my clients and newsletter readers have taken advantage of my ‘heads up’ on the price increase of MediaMinister’s Using Online Marketing to Your Advantage home-study system. Some also wrote in asking for an extension on the ‘old’ price, before I revamp it into the fully ’supped up’ version. You’re still sorting out post-Christmas debt, you said, and would like a little longer.

No problem! I mean we all need the help we can get, especially with the news that we’re not that far out of the recession as we’d been led to believe AND inflation is set to go up — again.

So you’ve got until March to buy the original at the original price before it goes from £50 to £85 for the CD or downloadable transcript and from £60 to £97 for the whole package. If you’ve been meaning to get it, *here’s where you can read more about it, and get yours at the ‘old’ price.*

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One of the most common complaints I hear from solopreneurs (self-employed professionals) is that they don’t have time to market their business, to which I relpy, “Then you need to make time!”

Of course, the easiest and most obvious solution would be to hire outside help. A marketing professional can help you on an ad-hoc or a permanent basis, and so ease the pressure of ‘finding’ time to carry out this important business function.

However, when budgets don’t allow for outsourcing, then your  primary concern should ALWAYS be to make sure you never stop marketing . . .  whether you’re a service provider with too much work, or a retailer experiencing a boom in orders.

It doesn’t matter how good (or bad) business is, you absolutely MUST make time to promote and market your products and services.

The worst position to be in is when you don’t have any clients, or projects or sales because you didn’t make time for marketing or, worse, didn’t think marketing was necessary. It IS. And no one is too busy to not market.

Look, regardless of where we are in our lives or business, we always make time to schedule doctor appointments and the like. Perhaps you have a system on your computer that helps you keep track of these and other details. All I’m saying is that in order to run a successful business you need to add marketing activities. 

Don’t know where to start?

Start right now – TODAY!

Block out a few hours, minutes even (at least 20, though) in your daily schedule to complete one or more marketing tasks. And while you’re at it, why not put together a marketing plan – a mini one will do? Come spring time, you’ll be far ahead of where you thought you’d be.<

Remember, success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. A daily marketing system is your roadmap to success. So make time for it!

***Need to be accountable to someone, or need help with your marketing goals? My mentoring programme can help you start off – and keep – on the right track.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, shows you how to get make sure 2010 starts off on the right path for your business. To read “2010 and the Top Marketing Insights For Business” as well as the rest of the ezine, please sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

Subscribe here.

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Fellow blogger and marketer Karen Purves has published a fantastic post on 2010 predictions.

You can read it here.

I’d like to add just one (to keep the list short and simple): transparency. Marketing has been moving away from hype to authenticity, and I think being more transparent in business is key. By being as upfront and as genuine as you can be, you’re more likely to attract higher-caliber clients and customers.

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The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, takes a look at ten of the major lessons learned in marketing, and how they can help ANY entrepreneur or business-owner when the calendar turns to the next decade. To read, please sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

There are also TWO reader giveaways to help sort out both your personal and your business life. Oh, it all makes me feel like Mrs Santa Claus right now!

Subscribe here.

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Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

There you are sitting at your desk sneaking in a quick game of WordTwist on FaceBook / cleaning your keyboard for the 15th time today / reading blogs, Tweets, websites, anything but tend to the actual task in hand. You know you should be writing content for your first email newsletter. But somehow you just can’t get motivated. That blank screen beckons. Another game? Help!

Don’t panic!

There are a number of ways – ranging from the ridiculously easy and quick solutions, to the more involved.

One of the first options is to start with what you have to hand.

Have you kept any interesting emails – either from customers, quizzes, quotes, competitions or even junk mail? How about questions from clients, prospects, colleagues, friends, etc?

Think about what came through the door today – is there anything you can share with your readers? What about industry news, statistics or trends? Perhaps you have new products or services to offer. You can write about those. How about a ‘subscriber only’ special? An interview with your marketing director or an industry leader?

All these nuggets – and more like them – will form great fodder for your newsletter. They could take the form of articles, news, events, competitions, ads, interviews, tips, and so on. I’ve written pieces on how social media impacts on business, the secret to turning a postage stamp into a stampede of customers, the significance of proofreading a business document, how to write good headlines and so on.

Excerpt from ’Newsletters that Build Customer Relations AND Fill Your Inbox with Orders‘ – my step-by-step  MasterClass home-study system shows you just how easy-peasy it can be to create or polish a so-so newsletter that reflects your business in the best light. Chock-full with useful tools and specific examples on how to set-up, write and send out your business-building newsletter, it really does remove the pain from newsletter publishing. Get the full scoop here.  

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Do you struggle with your marketing? Or perhaps you need to increase the response of your advertising or your website?

Well, take a leaf from Socrates’ book (or clay tablet, as it was centuries ago)…

Socrates was perhaps the greatest master of persuasion. His tactic was to get people to agree with him, or concede their side of the argument, belief, or debate, by getting them to say “yes”. He would do this by asking questions that people would simply have to answer in the affirmative. And he’d do this over and over until they agreed with him!

How does this help you?

By getting your prospects to agree with your statements or questions, then each time they do they are one step closer to becoming a buyer.

Why not try this ‘Socrates Method’ in your advertising and marketing, and see what happens? Oh, and feel free to report any findings here.

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Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.

The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, shows you how to get the ‘X factor’ for your business and ensure that YOUR products or services stay in demand. To read, please sign up first. (You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

Subscribe here.

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Want to use this in your ezine, blog or website? No problem! Just let me know. I’ll send you a short resource box/bio to include.