September 6th, 2013 — Instagram
I’m always scouring the internet for new ways to market businesses on line.
I have to admit that Instagram is not something I’ve used, so I was intrigued to come across a post on Social Media Examiner that looks at how Instagram can help with your marketing.
In an interview with Sue Zimmerman, she shares her strategy behind her Instagram success – she used it to increase traffic to her Cape Cod retail boutique by 40% in only 12 months.
Grab a coffee, listen to the podcast and have a read of the post and find out whether Instagram would help your business too.
How to get started with Instagram
September 4th, 2013 — blogging, blogging for business, Time management
How many times has someone suggested a marketing idea for your business to which you’ve responded: “But I don’t have time for that.” 
It is our favourite excuse, used across the board, outlining our inability to find the time to exercise, socialise, meet up with family members, wash up, tidy a room…the list goes on.
But it’s also one of the feeblest excuses.
If I said to you: “If you want to grow your influence and online visibility, you must start a blog.” And your response was: “I don’t have time,” it would signal to me that you simply can’t be bothered. It would be better to say, “I don’t want to.”
Get your priorities right
If you don’t want to do the stuff you should do, fair enough – it’s your life/business.
But if you want to give it a go because you know it will be good for you or your business, it is very easy to find the time you need.
Think about what you do every day.
How many of those activities are necessary?
You could probably cut out the game of solitaire you play when you think no one’s looking. Perhaps reduce your coffee breaks from 10 to 2 or 3. How about not taking those extra long lunch breaks every day?
My bet is that you would easily be able to find half an hour to an hour extra every day if you cut out the unnecessary ‘tasks’ you burden yourself with.
The way ahead
During your day, write down everything you do and how much time you spend doing it. Be honest, if you have a sneaky game of solitaire, watch a bit of TV or sit down with the paper, write it down.
Then think about what you don’t need to be doing and put that time to something more useful.
If you are going to start a blog, set aside half an hour a day to write one post. That’s enough to get you started.
Before you know it, your days will be more productive, you’ll fall in love with blogging and your business will boom.
September 2nd, 2013 — Achieving goals
Yes, I know this blog is normally about copywriting, marketing and social media, but I hope you’ll forgive this one transgression.
When I’m not working as a copywriter, I’m a keen cyclist (possibly the fastest copywriter on wheels?) and a volunteer with the Make A Wish Foundation.
This year I was given the opportunity to combine the two – cycling and Make A Wish supporting.
It was challenge that involved cycling from Newcastle to London, 300 miles in 24 hours – non-stop, organised by RIDEUK24.
The smiles at the start line were in spite of the ominous looking black clouds that were gathering overhead. We kidded ourselves that it would stay dry, but soon realised that was pie in the sky when, after only 10 miles, the heavens opened and it didn’t stop until we reached London.
The first 123 miles or so went well. Although I cycled much of it on my own, I managed to average just under 18 mph. But then the sun started to fade.
The night cycling stages were horrendous. I did stay with a group, but cycling in the pitch black with only a small amount of light from our bike lights breaking through the gloom, was terrifying. The rain wasn’t helping and the lower temperatures meant we all started getting very cold.
I was pleased to see the sun come up (well, the light, still couldn’t see the sun because of the cloud), an hour or so into stage 6 although I began to flag as exhaustion was really starting to kick in.
After a quick stop at Buntingford for some food, I got back on my bike for the final 34 miles into London. Boy, is cycling in London scary!
I was so relieved to see the finish line and even more relieved to see I’d completed the challenge in 23 hours and 15 minutes.
The organisation by RIDEU24 was amazing. The food stops (of which there were 6) provided everything we needed, including somewhere to get out of the rain. There were medics and mechanics on hand if needed, making all the riders feel very supported.
But the best part of all was my fabulous husband who stayed with me most of the way round. After seeing me off at the start, he drove to various locations on the course to cheer me on and was then at every food stop (bar one, so he could get some sleep) to give me some much needed encouragement – especially in the early hours when I was (still) soaked, cold and tried and ready to give up.
Thankfully, just before the ride we discovered the Life360 app, which meant he could track me (through my phone) throughout the event, so he could find me along the route.
All in all it was an amazing experience. It’s now 2 days on and I’m pleased to say most of the aches and pains have gone, although I’m still very tired.
Everyone has been incredibly generous, helping me raise (to date) £1362 for Make A Wish, which is way beyond what I had hoped to achieve.
What’s next?
Well, I don’t have another crazy charity event lined up just yet, but I do only have 2 weeks before my next 100 mile sportive, closely followed by another 2 weeks after that.
Thanks for allowing me to ramble on off topic. Normal service will now be resumed.
August 30th, 2013 — copywriter, copywriting, copywriting tips
A short while ago I wrote a post on humour in copywriting, debating whether it was a good thing or not.
My conclusion was that if you did want to use humour, you had to use it with caution because not everyone finds the same things funny.
My attention has today been caught by an article in The Drum that states ‘Copywriters will gain inspiration from top Edinburgh Fringe jokes’:
Copywriters seeking inspiration for a good one-liner have hit a rich vein of inspiration at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, if a top 10 list of the best gags at the Festival is representative.
The annual compilation is this year headed by Rob Auton who dreamed up a sweet one-liner: ‘I heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa.’
At the other end of the scale was a list of shame featuring groan inducing material such as ‘I thought ex-pats were people who used to be called Pat’.
Compiled by television channel Dave, the list was compiled from 60 shows which presented more than 7,200 gags between them.
These were whittled down to a short list of 30 which were then put to a public vote.
This saw Auton, a former SoHo paintbrush salesman, walk away with 24 per cent of the 2,570 votes cast along with a cash prize.
Commenting on his accolade he said: “I am honoured to receive this award and just pleased that a joke that tackles the serious issue of the invention of a new chocolate bar can be laughed at by the people of Britain.”
The top 10 quips:
1 Rob Auton “I heard a rumour that Cadbury is bringing out an oriental chocolate bar. Could be a Chinese Wispa.”
2 Alex Horne “I used to work in a shoe-recycling shop. It was sole-destroying.”
3 Alfie Moore “I’m in a same-sex marriage… the sex is always the same.”
4 Tim Vine “My friend told me he was going to a fancy dress party as an Italian island. I said to him ‘Don’t be Sicily’.”
5 Gary Delaney “I can give you the cause of anaphylactic shock in a nutshell.”
6 Phil Wang “The Pope is a lot like Doctor Who. He never dies, just keeps being replaced by white men.”
7 Marcus Brigstocke “You know you are fat when you hug a child and it gets lost.”
8 Liam Williams “The universe implodes. No matter.”
9 Bobby Mair “I was adopted at birth and have never met my mum. That makes it very difficult to enjoy any lapdance.”
10 Chris Coltrane “The good thing about lending someone your time machine is that you basically get it back immediately.”
Not entirely convinced I’ll be trying any of those out in my copy.
Over to you
If you’re a copywriter, or write copy for your business, what are your views on using humour?
Are you ever tempted to slip a gag or two into your content? If you have, what reaction did you get?
Leave your comments below.
August 28th, 2013 — marketing
Why you must have your content written by a professional copywriter
The internet has opened up the world.
Today it’s possible to sell to virtually any country you care to mention. But are your marketing materials up to it?
Think about this for a second. If you’re a foreign company wanting to do business in the UK, how do you go about it?
More often than not the answer seems to be to get a cheap translation of your website copy, brochures, reports etc., and charge headlong into the marketplace.
That may well be your cheapest option, but it is one of the worst you can take.
The importance of country specific marketing materials
For starters you’re looking to break into a new market, which means the needs and wants of potential customers may well be different.
Then there are the cultural differences that have to be taken into consideration –after all, what worked in your native country won’t necessarily work in the UK.
What about the standard of English in your marketing communications? Straight translations rarely work and what about the nuances of language?
Putting something out that doesn’t take into account the culture of the country you are selling to will make you a laughing stock.
You’ll be seen as a company that really doesn’t care about its image.
Your materials simply won’t work.
If you’re serious about making the right kind of impact in new markets it’s essential you:
- Research your marketplace and find out what they need and why
- Get your website content re-written professionally to make sure it resonates with your readers
- Get a native copywriter to work on your brochures and reports to ensure they make sense, are culturally specific and use the correct language
- Work with your copywriter to develop the right tone, voice and personality of your materials so they fit perfectly with your brand
Yes, all of that adds up to quite a hefty investment, but it will also give you the best possible chance of cracking your new market.
Never underestimate the power of professional copywriting – it doesn’t come cheap, but do you really want your company to be viewed as being ‘cheap’ because it cuts corners in one of the most fundamental areas of business?
