Does writing your marketing stuff send you into a spin?

It’s not surprising if it does.

You just have to listen to all the advice flying around to know that it’s not as simple as writing things down.

There’s SEO and keywords that you’ve heard are more important than anything. And then there’s something called content that doesn’t seem to be the same as words on the website. And then there’s social media and blogs and newsletters that fit in somehow too. 

How can a small business possibly do it all and why should they?

Marketers often talk about a customer “journey”. First you get the attention of the potential customer, then you persuade them that they want to buy from you, and then you keep in touch to remind them of all the good things you can do for them.

And that’s where all these different techniques fit in.

“Yoohoo, I’m here!”

Getting people to visit your website is the first step. Use the keywords on your website that people use in their searches and you stand a better chance of being found. Refining those keywords through research ups the odds of being seen and that’s search engine optimisation (SEO).

“Believe in me!””

Building trust and credibility with an audience who don’t know you is tough.

Welcome to social media and blogging.

Social media isn’t a direct selling place. It’s where you share your knowledge. And increasingly it’s the people who can be entertaining that win hearts and minds here.

And blogging is about sharing knowledge around your business.

This is content. All content leads your customers to your website on their journey.

“Buy from me!”

Hurrah, we’ve arrived at your website. Here is where you show what you’ve got. You tell people what you offer, why they want what you offer, and why they want to buy from you. 

And you talk in their “language” because that will make them comfortable and help them believe you understand them. 

Do that, and many of your keywords will just naturally fall into place.

“Don’t forget me!”

It’s a lot easier and cheaper to get repeat business from a customer than to keep finding new customers, so staying in touch is good. 

Even if they haven’t bought from you on their first visit, they might in the future. But only if they remember you’re there. 

That’s why you encourage them to follow you on social media or sign up for a newsletter. A newsletter doesn’t have to be a major headache. Latest offerings, links to blogs, a bit of industry news – all good food for a newsletter. 

Putting the boring voice on

How not to send your readers to sleep

Do you ever catch yourself doing this?

Someone asks you a question about something you’re really excited about. Might be how to grow tomatoes, run a marathon or make some jewellery. Something you know a decent amount about.

You think you’re going to share that excitement. But you find yourself undergoing a change. Your voice has gone monotone and you’re issuing a long list of instructions instead. It’s a weird thing to do but it happens under the pressure of having to explain instead of just enjoy.

Many of the people I work with have exactly the same issue when it comes to writing about their business for their website or brochure.

All that excitement and certainty get lost in a sea of stolid verbiage and clichés. Somehow they feel there’s a proper way to write that’s far removed from how they would normally talk.

Why do we do that? Why do we feel the need to write passionless copy?

Fear has a lot to do with it. Fear of looking unprofessional. Fear of looking different from our competitors. Fear that what we think is important isn’t actually of interest to the reader. Even fear of being ridiculed for poor writing.

Those could all be valid arguments.  

Let’s look at them.

Fear of looking unprofessional

This is all about talking to our readers in a tone that they recognise and understand. If we’re talking to an audience that needs absolute precision of facts, we have no choice but to work with that. But we should remember that we’re talking to real people who want to know why they should buy from us. 

And our business “personality” is a part of that.

Fear of looking different from our competitors

But how else are we going to stand out from the crowd? We need to prove our value. Not just in monetary terms but by displaying our credibility and confidence through language that will resonate with the reader. Without the clichés.

Fear of saying the wrong thing

We won’t do this if we always focus on what’s important to the reader. Who are our preferred customers? What drives them to make a purchase? What makes them trust a vendor? Keeping the answers in mind will help shape the way we write for them.

Fear of poor writing

Writing with little regard for grammar and spelling can deduct points for credibility with the section of your audience that cares about these things. Marketing and advertising copywriters do ignore the rules. But they know what the rules are and then ignore them. A bit like the great modern artists who learned and mastered the traditional methods first before experimenting. Getting someone else to proofread and edit our stuff is really important. That’s especially true for anyone who doesn’t trust their knowledge of language.

It’s a one-sided conversation

On websites, in brochures and in newsletters, we get to do all the talking without interruption. But we can imagine the responses and make sure we’re answering the questions as we write our marketing copy.

Forget the boring voice and just talk to your customers. It will make writing so much easier. 

Why you might rather hand it over to a professional

This blog site is all about helping you to writing your own marketing campaigns, websites, blogs, brochures, newsletters and more.

There comes a time though when you might prefer to call on a professional.

That's because a seasoned professional has experience of a wide range of businesses, markets, customers and the skills to create words that really sell a business.

By investing in professional help you are:
- focusing your time on your own core business
- bringing in expertise that you may not have
- making yourself accountable to someone else to get your marketing done and out there

On the other hand, the cost of professional help can be confusing. Is it by the hour - and if so how many hours will you need? What's included? What are you expected to do? How long will it all take?

To give you a clear picture of what you can expect, I'm developing a series of packages for smaller businesses.

First up is a service called Review and Refresh for the content of your website. Once you've been in business a while the chances are you'll be more aware of who your ideal market is and want to reassess your marketing to reach them more easily. With this package we'll work together to examine who that market is and how you can answer their needs and desires. And then I'll create content to fit into your current design of up to five pages or any new design you're planning.

That's just one option. If you've a website that's larger than five pages, we can cost that for you without any commitment.

And I'll be developing easy-to-understand packages for newsletters and more over time. Don't let the fact that the package isn't already there stop you talking to me about your marketing writing though. Drop me a line to start the ball rolling at kathy@wrightwell.com.

Writing in the language of your customer

When I stood up at my first networking meeting and announced that I was a copywriter, I was met with blank faces all round – apart from those already in the know.

Afterwards I realised that I had done exactly what I encourage people not to do. I had talked about what I offer in the language of my industry, when I should have been talking in the language of my audience. So this is what I said at the second meeting …

I see myself as an interpreter. I help businesses translate all that they see as fabulous about their products and services into reasons why people would want to buy from them. And when we’ve got that sorted, I help them get the words right for their web site, brochures, newsletters, case studies, ads – just about anything that helps to sell.

Take the example of the two leaflets advertising massages and therapies. The one lists all the services that the therapist provides – deep tissue massage, Indian head massage etc etc, and leaves the reader to work out what they want. The other lists the issues that the customer wants to address – sports issues, pregnancy pains, stress … This therapist is talking about what she does from the point of view of what the customer needs. And she will be more successful in getting business in.

Take a look at what you say about your business. And then consider if you’re selling the benefits. Will it make them feel good, or save them money, or save them time? The more steps you can fill in for your audience, the more likely they are to buy.

You can read more in-depth articles about copywriting on the Wrightwell web site blog