Helping startups to get their messaging straight

This month I have been working with a couple of very small start-ups which is very exciting as I get a chance to help them hone their messaging.

The first was someone who knew exactly what he was offering and to whom. He had already written his web copy, but there was so much of it. He was trying to cram so much text onto every page that he had expanded boxes everywhere just to get all the words in. And he was repeating the content from page to page. So I helped him slim the content down so that it was easier for the reader to see what services and value they could get from him, and then dig deeper to find out more.

The second business had got as far as designing a web site. It became clear quite quickly that they were tackling it from the point of view of this is us, this is what we do. In fact they were offering services to three distinct markets. One local, one UK and one overseas. So we left the first two tenuously linked, but the overseas services are to be spun off onto a different web site altogether.

There were common themes that I come across very often:     

•  It’s easy to write about yourself, but actually we need to be writing about our customers and their needs.
•  It’s really important to keep it simple so that readers can understand instantly what’s going on.
• Repetition and duplication doesn’t help. Readers and search engines find it unpalatable.
• I It can take an experienced third party to look dispassionately at your ideas and your site, and see where you can improve.

If you’re a start-up or an established business and you need help with honing your messaging, do get in touch to discuss how Wrightwell can help. 

Which social media and how to write for it

 This is a excerpt from our new free ebook on setting up and running a small business. Contact me at kathy at wrightwell.com to get the full pdf book.

What are you selling and who is buying?

 What you want to sell to whom makes a difference to how you sell.

• Low-cost, high-volume products?
• Luxury, low-volume goods?
• Professional services?
• Your expert opinion?
• Selling to consumers or businesses?

 What’s the profile of your audience – where are you likely to find them?

Choose LinkedIn for professionals

On the whole, you’ll find businesses use search engines and LinkedIn to find people supplying professional services. So if you’re a marketer, photographer, designer or any other freelance professional, these are your tools. LinkedIn gives you plenty of opportunity to tell the world about your skills and experience, and how you can help other businesses, so make the most of it.

Pick Facebook for consumers

 Facebook for business is a great place to communicate with customers. Predominantly it’s being used by businesses who want to talk to consumers rather than other businesses. You can use Facebook to highlight offers, talk around your chosen topic, and build relationships.

Google is trying to build the same story with Google+, but it’s not yet got the same momentum.

Use Twitter with caution

 Of all the social media options, this is the one that can eat away at your time. Hours can pass while you’re just reading other people’s tweets.

Sign up for Twitter and start “follow”ing people of interest. People will often follow you back, and so you build up an audience for your tweets.

There’s a whole world of etiquette for using Twitter. Use a search engine to find a few pointers before you launch in.

Think carefully about what you want to tweet about. Is your business audience interested in your personal life? If you’re a celebrity, then yes. If your lifestyle is part of what you’re selling – as a journalist, or a chef or a comedian - then possibly. If you’re selling products or professional services, then be more cautious. Do you want your potential customers to know what you were up to last Friday night? Really?

You can set up LinkedIn to import all your tweets into your account, but again, be careful what you say, or take advantage of the tool that only imports the tweets you want. 

Writing style for social media 

Whatever form you're writing, however many characters you've got available, you still need to make your message clear, or it's a wasted effort. Too many abbreviations, typos and hashtags just confuse rather than clarify. Keep it simple. Keep it correct.

Setting up and running a business - free book of tips

Just starting out in your own business? Realising how much there is to learn? I've just edited a free ebook that's been written for people like you. Tips for Setting Up and Running a Successful Business is full of advice about topics such as tax, marketing, social networking, web sites, creating the right image, and looking after yourself. I've contributed a couple of chapters on writing your own sales copy and how to choose the right social media and networking for your business.

To receive a copy of this free book, just drop me a line at kathy at wrightwell.com.