Entries Tagged 'marketing' ↓

This one is for all the women out there who are mothers and business owners.

Do you remember when you had your first child?

Months of excited anticipation gave way to sheer terror when you realised the birth was only days away. Then you endured hours of intense pain as you tried desperately to help your new baby find their way into the world.

Then finally, after a monumental and exhausting journey, it was all over and you were handed your new baby, wrapped up tightly, eyes blinking, totally dependent on you.

For a moment you were lost in that moment, but then you gradually began to realise the midwife had handed you your baby, but forgot to give you the instruction manual.

In a way, that’s exactly the same as starting out in business for the first time.

Business gestation

Your business idea was conceived some time ago. Never forgotten about, it gradually began to grow and develop in your mind until you knew it was the right time to bring it forth into the world.

Your mind awash with things to do, you worked your way down that painful list of opening bank accounts, incorporation, insurance, PAYE, stationery and utilities. Not even to mention having to grovel to the bank manager for a loan to get you started.

Eventually, you emerged from your to-do list, exhausted but the proud owner of your brand new business.

There’s just one thing missing – customers.

You’ve been so wrapped up in setting everything up you didn’t have time to get a marketing strategy together. In fact, you’re not entirely sure what it should be.

No one handed you a manual to make your business a success (sound familiar?), so you’re on your own and it’s up to you to bring your business to the market.

Understanding your customers

Before you can decide on your marketing plan, you have to understand your customers because you have to know where to find them.

Local networking is always a great idea (especially if you are a B2B business), but that pool of potential customers will only last so long – even though you hope you will also get other referrals.

Cold calling and direct mail is always an option, but how many people do you know who actually buy from unsolicited approaches (I don’t)?

Getting your presence felt online is a great option as you can reach a much wider audience. But a strategy is vital if you want to ensure your customers can find you through the search engines and social media.

Being prepared

As with parenthood, in business you can only be prepared up to a point. Something is always going to happen that will throw you off kilter if you’re not careful.

The trick is to remain calm and focused on your end goal. It will be a rollercoaster ride, but it will also be rewarding.

Over to you

What are the experiences that you remember most about starting out in business?

Are there any things you would do differently?

Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Sally Ormond – Copywriter and mother of 2

It’s been like a slow train coming – more and more marketing is being turned over to digital formats, whether that’s websites, emails, e-newsletters, QR codes, video or social media.

Although brochures and leaflets etc., still hold a valid place in your marketing armoury, you do begin to wonder how long that will remain so. After all, if we look at consumer behaviour, it would suggest they will soon become a dim and distant memory like the humble pound note or vinyl.

The consumer leads the way

That’s where it all started (well, in my world anyway) – with music. I started off buying tapes of my favourite bands or vinyl singles. They were the best as far as I was concerned; that was until the CD arrived.

It wasn’t long before I was seduced by those shiny discs and my vinyl and tapes were consigned to the history books (and our loft). I thought CDs were the pinnacle – nothing could surpass their sound quality. But a few years down the line and I was confronted by the iPod and digital music downloads.

So, you guessed it, eventually I converted to downloading my music.

The same is happening to books.

A staunch lover of an actual book, I have vowed never to go over to the digital side. I love the feel and smell of a book; the ability to thumb through pages. I don’t care how cluttered my house gets (I simply can’t part with my books), I love browsing through book shops and buying books.

But, the other day I really wanted to read. Not having a book to hand (one that I hadn’t previously read), unable to wait for Amazon to deliver one, and certainly unwilling to brave the pre-Christmas crush in town, I did the unthinkable.

I reached for my iPad and, yes that’s right, downloaded a book.

Expecting to hate the experience, I have to say it’s not a bad way to read. Granted, I don’t have the physical book to touch or smell, but I can use a digital book mark, turn the pages almost as I would in real life, and enjoy it

That illustrates how consumers are embracing new technology and paving the way for change simply by accepting it.

We’ve already seen more and more people engage in online shopping rather than hitting the High Street, online banking, video calling, and social media – so perhaps the era of print marketing is drawing to a close.

The online way

Perhaps now companies should be investing more into their online presence. With the search boom continuing, their budgets may well be more wisely spent on search engine optimisation, professional copywriters, mobile websites, video and social media.

It would certainly appear that the effectiveness of print adverts is dwindling. So is this the beginning of the end?

What do you think?

Do you think we’re coming to the end of the print advertising era?

Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your views.

How to make your copy stand out

We are surrounded by marketing messages every day.

You can’t hide from them. Whether it’s the TV, magazines, radio, buses, taxis, billboards etc. everywhere you look, everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you something.

So, if you’re one of those companies, how do you get your message to stand out from everyone else’s?

Well, it has a lot to do with your information presentation.

As a copywriter, my focus is always on the message, but I am well aware that colour, graphics and layout play a big part in the way an advert or message is received (even though, ultimately, it’s the words that will do the convincing and selling).

When it comes down to it, if you want your message to be seen, think about how it is presented.

Information presentation

There are 5 very simple things you can do to make sure your message isn’t ignored. I’m sure there are other things too (if you can think of any, leave a comment and share them with us), but these are my top 5.

1. Verb

Don’t worry, I’m not about to launch into a grammar lesson. But starting your heading with a verb instead of a noun will help it pack more of a punch.

A verb is a ‘doing word’ making it active, and if it’s talking about something you like doing, you’ll be more inclined to read on.

2. Short and sweet

Nope, I’m not about to dive in to the ‘long copy verses short copy’ argument. In this case, short and sweet refers to your sentence structure. Keeping them short will aid readability. They get across ideas succinctly. They keep your reader interested.

3. Another short and sweet

Your paragraphs should also be – you guessed it – short and sweet.

A page with lots of white space and short chunks of text will look far more attractive than a page with solid text.

Psychologically, it makes the reader think the information will be easy to read.

4. Loud

Once you’ve written your copy, do you ever read it out loud?

If you don’t, you should. Reading out loud will give you a whole new perspective on it. Plus, it will help you spot areas that sound clumsy or repetitive.

5. Check-list

After writing and refining your copy, check to make sure it is:

•    Concise (think short sentences and paragraphs)
•    Informative (and relevant)
•    Attractive (lots of white space, readable font etc.)

If you can tick all 3, you’re well on your way to making your message stand out from the crowd.

Over to you

Can you think of any other ways to make sure your message stands out?

Leave a comment below and share them.

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?

If your business sells goods online, your ‘shopping experience’ must be exceptional.

Why?

Well, for many people, shopping online is still dabbling in the unknown. If they buy something from a High Street store, they can speak with staff, see the product, pay for it and take it away there and then.

But shopping online is a completely different experience:

•    There is no one to ask questions of immediately
•    The can see a picture of the product but not the real thing
•    They can’t touch the product
•    Although they can pay for it, they have to wait for it to be delivered

Effectively, they are giving a faceless company their hard earned cash for something they’ve not yet received.

It’s hardly surprising so many online transactions are never completed.

Don’t lose sales through ‘what if…’ syndrome

What do I mean?

•    What if I can’t get back to the webpage I want if I click this link?
•    What if I don’t like the product when it arrives?
•    What if the company goes bust?
•    What if they sell my details on to another company?

These are just a few of the ‘what ifs…’ that could be flying through your customers’ heads right now.

So how can you alleviate their fears?

How can you make them feel safe while shopping with you?

Give reassurance every step of the way

The key is to reassure them at every stage of the buying process – from the moment they land on your website, right through to their sale confirmation email.

1. Testimonials

An old one, but a good one. Showing real customer testimonials on your website will help reassure your customers. If they can see other people were satisfied with your products and service, they are more likely to buy.

If you don’t have any, get some. Ask past customers to rate your service.

2. Privacy policy

People are, quite rightly, concerned about the possibility of their details being passed on to third parties.

Reassure them this won’t happen by telling them and providing a prominent link to your privacy policy.

3. Simple ordering

If you want someone to buy from you, your ordering process must be simple. And I don’t just mean so you can understand it.

People of all IT abilities are going to be potential customers, so when you design your ordering process, get your Aunt or other member of the family (non-tech savvy) to do a dry run for you. This ‘test drive’ will help you iron out any ambiguities.

4. Reputable payment

People don’t like to input their sensitive information online, such as bank details and card numbers. Give reassurance by only using reputable payment partners.

5. Guarantee

Everyone loves a guarantee, especially the ‘100% of your money back, no questions asked’ type. It shows your commitment to your customers and your faith in your products.

6. Let them know where you are

There’s nothing more off putting than seeing a website without an address.

If you are genuine, surely there’s no reason to hide your postal address.

7. Click points

All over your website there’ll be various ‘click’ points for navigation. Do a full review of them (call in your Aunt again) and make sure they are all clear. If not, add a line of text to explain what your customer needs to do.

8. Awards

If you have won awards for customer service or for your products, display them on your website. Sight of those will provide an extra layer of confidence for your customers, making them more likely to buy.

There you go, 8 very simple ways you can avoid the ‘what if…’ syndrome.

Over to you

Can you think of anymore? If so, leave a comment below.