Copywriting (2)

Posts Tagged ‘Copywriting’

What Whitewater Rafting Taught Me About Business

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

There are two kinds of rafters: People who have crashed, and people who are going to. Somewhere down the line, process of elimination, it’s got to happen. No avoiding it. enjoy it

I’ve crashed rafts. Hard. With people in them. I once crashed a raft so bad, I was thrown headfirst into the cooler in the middle of the boat, after which I stood up (still in the rapid) and said (I’m told), “Everybody put your shoes on- we’re at Grandma’s.”

So, with those experiences in mind, I wanted to make a list of things that I learned while living the wild life of a professional guide. I always thought running whitewater was pretty intense, but it’s nothing compared to being in business for yourself.

Still, I think there’s a lot that can be learned from it. One thing I understood early on was that rivers are metaphors for… well, just about everything. Here’s my chance to put that to the test.

Anticipate

Rafts don’t drive like cars. If you want to make that turn down there, you’ve got to start way ahead of time. You can move too early, but you can’t prepare too early to move. Because if you’re late, you’re done. No amount of correction can put you back on track. I got so good at anticipating out on the river that I knew what would happen way before it happened. That’s a good place to be.

Same thing goes for business. Want to impress a client at that big meeting in the future? Better do good work now. Economy is tanking? Hope you shored up your customers and pricing. If you ever miss a deadline, it’s next to impossible to convince someone that it won’t happen again. The only way to avoid those situations is to prepare.

Cover Every Option

Out on the river, everything went a lot better when I prepared my crew for what to expect. I’d talk a lot about where we wanted to go, how we’d get there, and the possibilities of what might go wrong. Invariably, people had a much better time out on the water (and we had a lot more fun in the rapids) when they knew exactly what they could expect from me.

Same thing goes for business. When I talk with our partners, we discuss exactly what the challenges of the project are going to be. We discuss tone, style, and structure. We discuss how many edits to expect. Basically, we cover as much territory as we can before, well, venturing out into the territory.

Play Through The Bad Stuff

I had a lot of great one-liners for when people fell out of the raft, or when I fell out of the raft, or when I crashed the whole raft. “Did you see any fish?” “Don’t worry, I close my eyes for all the scary parts,” and “I’ve been trying to hit that rock for years.” were all standbys. I know- cheezy. Still, rivers are one way streets. When you crash, you literally have no choice but to pull yourself back in, tighten up the straps on your life jacket, and keep going.

The same thing goes for business. If you do it long enough, you will lose that sale or get an angry client. With bad breath. If you get too wrapped up, it’s going to effect the other, great, outstanding work you’re doing. So, chin up, lil’ buckaroo. Things will get back into the main current. Keep playing.

Enjoy It

For a while, sometime in the middle of my career as a guide, I got into this awful habit of just moving downstream fast. I was intent on getting from A to B and being done. In reality, what I had done was taken this wonderful thing -my job- and forgotten why it was wonderful. It was just about the most selfish way I could have behaved, and at the time, I didn’t even know it.

That sucks, and you know what? The same thing goes for business.

In that way, even when I don’t enjoy being an entrepreneur (and it ain’t all peach milkshakes), I still enjoy it. Just the chance for me to do what I’m doing is worth everything I put myself through. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

How about you?

Tags: business relationships, content, Copywriting, marketing strategy
Posted in Digital Marketing | No Comments »

The Catch-22 Of Marketing Strategy

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Alright, here we go. I’m going to write about my favorite, favorite subject in the world (next to my kids, gravity sports, and layman-level physics. Seriously.) Ready? Here it is: Paradox.

I think I need to put in a disclaimer. If I explain why I love circular dilemmas so much, it loses it’s appeal. The explication of it gets so big and intense that the delicate simplicity of the situation just breaks down. What makes them work, stops working.

See what happened there? So, there’s that.

But on to how this effects marketing. Here’s what I see as the big Catch 22: Less-Is-More. It’s a familiar phrase that gets overlooked quite a bit, and could stand a little love and attention.

What It All Means

Less-is-more means don’t shout. It means help others, even if it doesn’t benefit you directly. It means forget competition and be yourself. It means do something amazing without seeking credit. I’m sure you can add others.

So, here’s the dilemma- companies that do less-is-more well are very successful. They can use that success to make “less” effective, because they don’t have to do “more”. Tiny companies that are struggling to start in their vertical feel as though they have to do “more”. But if that’s the route they go, they: create spam, appear selfish, play catch up, and toe the line. And other consequences.

When Less Becomes More

It’s much better to embrace it. Use less-is-more as a central tenent of marketing strategy, even though it’s tough.

And why is that? Because it feels on the surface like: no one will hear you, it’s not worth the effort, you’ll appear inexperienced, you won’t get noticed. And other fears.

That’s what it feels like. But, of course, the opposite happens. It takes time -more time than spamming, anyway- but eventually less-is-more. And as that happens:

Your voice becomes more important.
You reap big benefits from those you’ve helped.
Competition become de facto partners.
People seek you out to bestow credit upon credit upon you.
And many, many other boons and blessings.

Have an opinion, young grasshopper? Too much philosophy and not enough juice? Reply, and reveal your innermost thoughts…

Tags: business trust, content, Copywriting, marketing strategy, Social Media
Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Why Tone Matters Most

Friday, July 31st, 2009

The most important quality in writing is tone. There. I said it.

It’s true, and here’s why: tone is such a significant part of writing style, it tends to rule everything around it.

Tone determines structure. Tone accentuates subject matter. Tone focuses message. It really does make everything else better (or worse).

When you’re writing, consider tone first. Before you start. In the outline stages. What will happen is this: you’ll end up creating a message with more purpose and feeling, something that speaks to your audience in a way that isn’t possible if you ignore it.

When I first started writing here on the Matterhorn blog, I swore probably once or twice each post. But that hasn’t happened in a long time. The reason? I don’t swear much. It wasn’t sustainable in the blog because it wasn’t natural for me. And while that would be fine in a piece for one of our partners, where we take information and match tone to it, it doesn’t work here.

So the tone of the writing here, to continue the example, is very informal. The point is for Pat and I to be ourselves, and write about whatever happens to make our brains itch. The tone fits us, and Matterhorn, exactly.

It wouldn’t work for an insurance company. In fact, it would do a lot of damage to an insurance company’s credibility to have a really informal tone. That seems obvious, but think about how far it goes. In our example, informal tone also means truncated sentences and short paragraphs. So it links directly to structure. It would be next to impossible to talk about insurance this way, so the subject matter is compromised. And when those fall apart, the message is lost on the audience.

It’s worth it to write in your notes the tone you’re looking for. There are tons of ways to describe it. Light, dark, wordy, brief, grave, silly, funny, serious, direct, oblique, strong, soft, and on and on. Be specific, because you can’t really overthink it. It’s that important.

Tone connects everything you want to say to your audience. Spend some time, for both your sakes, and examine not just what you want to say, but how you’re going to sound when you say it.

Tags: blogs, content, content marketing, Copywriting, writing
Posted in Copywriting | No Comments »

Can You Afford To Be Different?

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

I recently got to do some writing for a client that was a huge departure for them. It was a big departure for me, too- because many people want very plain, straightforward, matter-of-fact copy. This was not that.

Here’s the thing: I loved writing it. I had such a good time creating the words, I can’t properly explain it. It was exhilarating. It was challenging. It was… awesome. My wife said it gave her chills when she read it (high praise- she’s a tough critic).

That’s really cool. Is it possible to do on every project? I don’t know. Is there a place for the best-of-standard style of writing? What do you think?

Tags: business relationships, business trust, content, content marketing, Copywriting, partnerships
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing | No Comments »

Why Personalization Is The New Advertising

Friday, April 24th, 2009

Last night, my wife came home after taking our son to T-ball practice. Walking into the kitchen with our baby in one arm and groceries in the other, she stopped to look on the kitchen table at a piece of direct mail from inkpixi.

The postcard wasn’t unusual,, except it had our last name, Curnett, printed in Princetown LET font on all kinds of items with the word “university” underneath. Curnett University.

It didn’t matter that all the signs of junk mail were on the postcard (Limited Time Offer!). It was enough to stop my wife in the middle of what she was doing, just because someone had thought to use our name in an unexpected way.

Personalizing Your Content

Direct mail isn’t content. But it does try to leverage personalization as much as possible. Content, before it became the basis for new marketing strategies, was usually disassociated from the person creating it.

Personalization is at the center of content marketing. For both the creator and the consumer, content’s got to be personal to have any real effect on your business. Here’s why:

When you’re creating worthwile content, it differes from, say, a trade magazine in that you can put yourself into it. It’s not just about facts, it’s about observations. Are those observations interesting enough, astute enough, to be worthwhile?

If they are, that’s unexpected. What people expect is to be bored by marketing. If you make it personal, you’re going beyond those expectations.

Personalizing Your Discussion

The other way content marketing gets personal is by interaction. With the tools available today that allow you to talk to your customers, it makes no difference if you keep putting up billboards. People want personal attention.

Maybe that doesn’t make a difference in your field right now. But it probably will. It used to be called corporate culture, but in most places, that was too fake. Authenticity is attractive.

With a personalizied approach, people will mostly buy from you because you’re you- they can get your widget from anywhere.

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, getting started in social media, Social Media
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Partnership, Social Media | No Comments »

How To Overcome Your Posting Stagefright

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

I know about posting stagefright. I’m a guy who’s spent 15 minutes agonizing over the wording of a status update on Facebook. Believe me, I’ve been there.

Here’s my advice: work through it. It’s like writer Anne Lamott said (and I’m paraphrasing here)- When I feel bad, I think that I need therapy and self-help courses and a few drinks, when what I really should do is go mow my lawn. And so it goes with writing. Sometimes we just lock up when it’s time to update content.

Here are a few tips on helping you overcome that fear of posting…

Write To A Friend

Or a colleague. Whatever. Just choose someone you have an easy time talking to, and write as if you’re writing to them. If you can capture the same tone you use when talking to someone familiar, you’ll go a long way toward creating something that people will want to read.

Get An Editor

If you’re creating content for a lot of people to see, get someone to edit it for you. Not for everything; most small writing projects you can handle just fine on your own. But for big ones, get an editor. There are a couple of methods: If you have a co-worker or friend who writes well, ask them to edit for you. If you have a really big project, you should hire a professional editor.

Just as you wouldn’t create important images without a graphic designer, don’t publish important writing without an editor. Having an editor takes the pressure off. It’s not the green-light to turn in 500 pages of free verse, but you can breathe a little easier knowing that there’s someone watching out for you.

Isn’t It All Important?

No. That’s the short answer, anyway. But for that to make sense, it needs some context and qualification. First, content marketing is about creating useful information that people will return to. That means, yes, your content is important.

But it’s not Hemmingway. In creating regularly updated content, it’s the total cache that matters. Is your writing serving a purpose? That’s what makes it important.

In other words, if you agonize over how people are going to receive you, you’ll never work up the nerve to just put what you know out there. And just get going. There are people who want to hear from you, about you, and all the details of how you can help them.

So, go help.

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, getting started in social media
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Captain’s Log- Analyzing The Personality Of Your Blog

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

Are you kind of a geek? A jock? A wordie or a foodie? A techie, or a Trekkie? How much time do you spend thinking about, reading up on, or participating in your passion?

Does that show up in your blog?

It should. There are a couple different takes on why, but they all lead to the same place. The key to successful business blogging is authenticity, requiring nothing less than your heart and soul. There needs to be genuine appreciation and interest in your subject when you blog. Why? Because that’s what makes you worth reading.

Otherwise, isn’t the news enough? Your blog is your personal take on a thing. It’s your stage. Be you.

Ahead-of-the-curve marketing guy Seth Godin and Gary Vaynerchuck, his louder, coarser doppleganger, come from the “life’s too short to be boring” camp. And while that sometimes reads as pretty freakin’ idealistic when you’re trying to pay the bills, it still makes a ton of sense. It’s inspirational, and the blogging world needs that. Hell, the regular world needs that. They’re inspired people, writing about sharing inspired ideas.

Super-Friendly Chris Brogan is all about the relationship. His blog is full of great marketing advice, but it’s put out there in an entirely conversational and personable way. That’s who he is. It’s hugely palatable for a bunch of people. In a way, super unfriendly Naomi Dunford does the same. She’s all about the relationship, too, but it’s highly selective. Her writing, and consequently, her business, is only going to appeal to a certain type of person. And that’s the way she wants it. Her voice puts her there.

I read an interesting post on this same subject yesterday by Lisa Barone about ghost blogging (the discussion in the comments is well worth reading, too). I feel like she really got to the heart of the matter with this part…

In some respects, blogs and tweets are just content. And there’s nothing wrong with hiring someone to produce content for you or to help you push it out. Without that glorious fact, I wouldn’t have a job. However, realize that if you outsource your blogs, your tweets, and your online persona to generic ghostwriters, that you’re doing yourself quite an injustice. You’re missing out on what these types of content can really provide.

That’s a razor thin line for me to walk, but I’m going to anyway (because I’m not generic, and I’m confident I can prove my point). My take is that, as a business, you can’t outsource all of your social content, or even most of it.

But if they’re genuine about the subject, do the research, and care about the client, copywriters can successfully create a portion of that content. As a copywriter, that’s what I do. I pride myself on it.

I just can’t write your portion of it. That’s how marketing through social media differentiates itself from advertising. You’re invovled. There’s no “social” to it if you’re not.

On Star Trek, the show always (usually? I’m not a trekkie, so don’t ding me on the hardcore particulars) started with an entry from the captain’s log. Now, there were plenty of other reports coming out of the Enterprise. Back at Federation HQ, they had a whole slew of data and information and personal takes coming from the rest of the ship’s crew, I’m sure of it. But only the captain wrote the captain’s log.

Your content is like the information coming from the Enterprise. You’re the capitan, so fill out the log. If you can’t write, get an editor. Contribute. The Federation’s waiting.

Tags: content, content marketing, Copywriting, Social Media
Posted in Content Creation, Copywriting, Partnership, Pay Per Click | No Comments »

How To Write Good Content Fast

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

The problem with sitting down to create that all-important, badly-needed new content for your blog or website is right there in the motivation. It’s all-important. It’s badly-needed.

Take the pressure off. There’s no way you’re going to say what you want to say when you have so much riding on it. Words lose their meaning, and phrases become gibberish.

Easier said than written. Here are a couple of methods I use to keep the good stuff coming, even when it feels like it’s all stopped up.

Make An Outline When in doubt, line it out. Making an outline can help you in a couple of different ways:

1) It’s easier than writing. Outlining only requires thoughts. It doesn’t need anything else that goes into good writing, like syntax or grammar or diction. Get your thoughts out there, and the other stuff comes.

2) It’s a way to organize your ideas. Even on small pieces like short blog posts, it’s worth outlining what you have to say. Hell, I could outline twitter updates if I was really stuck.

Don’t Stop For Mistakes O.K., total disclosure: I used my delete key 4 times while typing this sentence. Five (I just spelled “sentence” wrong). But I’m not the one who’s stuck.

This was one of the most difficult hurdles to get over as I began writing copy. I was a chronic editor. Editing as I went gave me little, perfect sentences that took 30 minutes a piece.

Save the editing for the end by turning the spellchecker off as you write. Just keep your cursor moving. When you finally look up, there’ll be a big lump of clay on your page ready for molding.

Keep It Short Nothing sucks the life out of writing like tying together ten thoughts between the capital letter and the period. Make life easy on yourself and write like you’re in third grade (just for the first draft).

What I mean is, there’s a huge difference between what you have to say and how you should say it. If you’re stuck, go with what. Worry about the how later.

You can say the what with simple, direct sentences. I use the voice of Rocky Balboa in my head when I’m doing this. Hey, it gets the job done. What I end up with on the screen is usually exactly the gist of what I’m trying to say. I just go back and clean it up when I’m done.

Besides, no one is going to read big, wordy, Faulkner-esque copy anyway. Most people read on a seventh grade level.

Keep these three tips in mind as you sit down, and again, take it easy on yourself. In fact, think of these ideas as tools you can use to do exactly that. And before you know it, you’ll be done.

Tags: content marketing, Copywriting, Social Media
Posted in Copywriting | No Comments »

5 Ways To Design Your Copy For Web Audiences

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

There are huge differences in writing for print and writing online. Most small biz owners aren’t aware of them, or don’t care.

But it’s crucial that web copy be designed for web readers. And when I say readers, what I mean is skimmers. And skimmers are actually scanners.

So, basically, you have to write your website for people who won’t read it. They want what you’ve got (or they’re at least interested), but if you make them work for it, they’re gone.

Why? Because someone else (your competitor) made their experience better. They’re easier to understand. Their info is clearer. They wrote with web readers in mind.

This is where design and copy and text and function come together. Here are five rules to follow when writing for the web:

1.) Breaking Usage Rules Is Okay Because text is so closely integrated with design, it’s fine to tweak your usage a little.

Write like you talk, and talk like you look. If your design is fun and irreverent, go ahead and make it more personal. If you go with a straight edge, professional look, match your copy to it.

2) Understand Passive and Active Space It’s easy enough to remeber that passive space is in the margins and active space is in the text, but consider how you’re using that.

Make sure your active space allows readers to separate thoughts, ideas, and catagories. And remember to keep space between bullets and numbered lists.

3) Don’t Center Your Text If every line is centered on your page, it’s hard to read. Even if you’ve used your active space well, centered text still makes eyes jump to find a different starting place for each line.

Instead, using headings and lists. Break down your text into categories, marked clearly with bold headings.

4) Keep Your Headings From Floating If your heading is the same space above the text it’s describing as it is below the text it follows, it’s called a floating header. It’s confusing. Don’t do it.

By laying the heading right on top of its text (or directly in it, like this post), you clearly define what it is you’re trying to describe.

5) Less is Way, Way More Clean pages, lots of space, direct copy, clear instructions: These are the things that comprise successful integration of copy and web design.

Try not to push every single thing about who you are at your visitor at once. Think of it as a conversation. What kinds of things would get you to stick around?

Use these five guidelines as principles for the entire process of creating text for your web page. Everything you make should fit in here somewhere.

Tags: Copywriting
Posted in Web Design | No Comments »

How To Write Headlines Like Copyblogger

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to spend an hour listening to Brian Clark, aka Copyblogger, speak at Pubcon South.

If you’re not familiar with Copyblogger, stop reading, go there now, and check it out. Along with his own writing, Brian has two or three regular contributors along with several great guests. There’s always -always- something you can use there to improve what you’re writing.

This particular session was titled “Ten Techniques for Writing Headlines that Rock”. It delivered. The techniques can work for anyone, and when properly applied, can capture readers, drive conversions, and boost sales.

But I’m not going to list those techniques here. I’m going to explain the principles behind them.

The real key to writing headlines is understanding why the techniques work. If you know that, the templates will work. If not, you’ll just be plugging keywords into holes, offering no real value- no reason to read further.

Headlines act as a promise to your readers. With those bold first words, you’re promising that your next sentence is worth their interest.

So, why do we make promises in headlines? Why do they work?

You Have Information To Share

Readers looking for information (such as How-To articles) will notice you because you’re clear about what you’re giving. If you want to share information, be upfront and give it right from the start, in the headline. You’re promising value.

You’re Specific

By using your headline to refer to a list of items, you give your reader information that’s direct. Lists, numbered and bulleted, get right to the point. You’re promising importance.

You’ve Got Social Proof

If your headline links your subject to a well-known source (wink wink), you’re telling readers that your information is valid because it’s connected to a world class example. You can also use public acceptance instead of a specific person. You’re promising inclusion.

You’ve Got A Challenge

A headline that gives a warning is a bold way to get attention. You’re calling readers out, drawing on the curiosity that naturally motivates people. If you start out with what they need to know (or what everyone else knows and they don’t), that’s compelling. You’re promising satisfaction.

Value. Distinction. Inclusion. Satisfaction. If I promised you those things in a headline, would you keep reading?

Understand the promise that your headlines make, and you’ll know how to write ones that get attention.

Fill-in-the-blanks on a headline template, and your writing won’t deliver on the promise.

Tags: blogs, content marketing, Copywriting
Posted in Copywriting, Uncategorized | No Comments »

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