KickAss Copywriter

It’s no secret to anyone that we’re living in a BAD U.S. economy.  And I’m sure that most businesses recognize they have to communicate with their customers or prospects differently.

Are you acutely aware of how to craft your marketing messages, in order to show your audience/s that you DO understand what’s changed in their lives over the past 18 months or so?

It seems pretty apparent, even in some ‘affluent’ circles that folks are tightening their financial belts, right?  So, when times are hard for so many, they respond quite differently to your messages than they used to.

For instance, most everyone is more cautious nowadays — they want to be SURE they’re dealing with someone trustworthy.  So BE that.

Also, consumers must be more ‘quality-focused,’ because they want to buy things that will last longer.  BE quality.

Millions of Americans are focused on necessities now and foregoing the luxuries.  So what do you do, as a marketer, if your products or services are things that most people CAN do without?

Hard question, isn’t it?  But, maybe you’ll want to beef up your guarantee.  Or, you could give more than you used to.  Maybe do some 2 for 1 offers, if it fits your business model.

Showing your clients, customers or prospects you care, by asking their opinions, and really listening, is another great way to connect with them on an emotional level they can feel.

Everyone wants to feel understood.  But, now more than ever, it’s imperative to show your audience you understand and are sympathetic to their challenges — and you’re doing something about it, if at all possible!

Let’s all BE the Change we want to SEE in the world.

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Hello,

Are you a business owner, with a web site — but haven’t been published, yet?

Well, I don’t want to chastise you, but you must do it!

Why?  Well there are lots of reasons, and I’ll list some of them.

7 Reasons You Want to Get Published …

1.  Get noticed.

2.  Establish yourself as an expert.

3.  After you’re seen as an expert.

4.  Enjoy the recognition from being an expert.

5.  Get more business from those who read your published materials.

6.  It’s easy to do.

7.  If you can’t do it, you can hire someone inexpensively to ghostwrite it.

And there are so many different things you can write that will give you the prestige for ‘being published.’  You can, for example, write a real book — you know, the old-fashioned, printed kind?

3 Ways to Get Published & Get Noticed:

1.  Self Publish a Print Book …

You can even self-publish and you don’t have to worry about finding an agent, who’ll represent you to the big publishing houses … with whom, your chances are slim and none anyway.

For self-publishing, there are a lot of companies, who do ‘on-demand publishing.’  That’s when you order a book online at amazon.com and if it’s an ‘on demand’ book, one computer will tell another one to print off one copy of this book and mail it to you.  (It’s seamless to the buyer.)

In fact, I published my book, The Wacko From Waco, this way, with iUniverse.  They were great!

2.  Publish an eBook …

This is super easy.  Just write your manuscript in a Word document.  Then, when complete, you’ll want to convert it to a pdf file.

If you know how to do this, great.  But if not, you can hire it done very inexpensively.

Next, decide if your objective is just to enhance your reputation — to be seen as an expert and, therefore, get more business because more people will recognize you as an expert in your field …

Or, is your objective to sell the ebook for profit?  If so, you’ll have to decide if you want to sell it on your site, assuming the subject matter is compatible.  If it isn’t, then I suggest you get a new domain name and a hosting account, so you can sell your ebook.

You’ll also need a shopping cart, of course, where you’ll upload your ebook’s pdf, so your customers can download it, after they pay for it.  A great source for how to write an ebook is Bob Bly’s site.

3.  Publish Some Articles …

Most likely, you’ve heard/read a lot about this one.  There are many article directories you can use to do this.  Aside from the obvious reason of being seen as an expert, you’ll also do this, in order to get back links to your site … that means that those who use your article will link back to your site.

When you write the article, you’ll get a ‘resource box’ at the end.  Here is where you get get to tell a bit about yourself – and provide a link to your site … the real reason to do this, IMO.

There are many of these, but the one I like best is Submit Your Article.com.

So, there you are — 3 ways you can use to establish yourself as an expert and, hopefully, get more business, as a result.  Don’t expect overnight success, though.  You need to be diligent and write often about topics your prospects would find beneficial.

And, whether you publish an ebook, articles or promote your print book on your business web site or on a different URL — be sure to get it optimized by a real expert — so the search engines will be sure to find you when someone looks for you.

I work with two excellent SEO experts.  They are very responsive, fast and know their stuff!  Aly at WordPress Consultant and SEO and Ryan at clarkeconsulting@comcast.net.  Aly has gone well above and beyond the call of duty both for my site and my blog!  And Ryan can also produce a simple web site that won’t cost an arm and a leg.

If you need help to develop an overall marketing plan or marketing strategy that will include the expertise of a kickass copywriter, I’ll be happy to assist you.

Good luck getting noticed!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

I’m sure most everyone has heard the saying, “No guts, no glory,” right? 

Well, just to be clear about my interpretation, so I can talk about it … it means this to me:

If you don’t risk, you don’t achieve.

In marketing, as in life, most business owners choose to ‘play it safe.’  The idea behind this notion, of course, is to walk the same path that’s already been forged.  It’s easier.

If something’s been done again and again (proven to work or not), most people most of the time are too timid or downright afraid of making a mistake to launch out on their own and …

Do Something Different & Daring!

As marketers, when we put on our ‘consumer hat,’ I think it’s easy to see how smart it is to be different, don’t you?

Think about it, when a technique is so overused as to become lifeless and dull, no one really listens anymore — they become desensitized or anesthetized (numb).

How many times have you heard or read the same ole, same ole copycat version of direct response techniques that they don’t even register on your mental screen anymore?  Despite what it says, here’s what you see, “blah, blah, blah, blah.”    
Dan Kennedy talks about business owners who defy conventional wisdom and DO things outside the norm, with amazing results.  In his examples, a restaurant and supermarket gave away thousands of dollars in merchandise, with a very high ROI.

And they didn’t even have to spend money on advertising.  Ooops, scratch that — you’ll think you don’t need a copywriter to write VERY different ads, letters and cards, oh my!

If you’re not a restaurant or supermarket, with food to give away (who doesn’t eat?) … or whether you do something else totally outlandish or at least unexpected — you gotta capture your prospect or customer’s attention.

Wake up!  Be different.  Do something that’ll counteract the numb. 

In order to get noticed, you MUST have guts.  Otherwise, you just lull your customers and prospects to sleep.

Here’s to guts & glory!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Q:  Who are the best customers? 

A:  Referrals.

Q:  What’s the best form of marketing? 

A:  Word of Mouth.  (WOM)

So, if everybody knows referrals make the best customers and the way to get referrals is thru WOM marketing — what are you doing to generate more WOM?

Have you considered what you can do for your existing customers that would absolutely compel them to tell all their friends and family to buy from you?  Something that’s so unique and memorable they’d just have to talk about it?

Consider Disneyland and Disney World.  When first time visitors are asked what sticks in their minds most, they say it’s the parks’ cleanliness and the authentic environments.

As Dan Kennedy points out, the marketers know that ‘clean’ is not just about maintenance crews — it’s also about good marketing!

Your customers want to feel really GOOD about doing business with you, right?  So, come up with something quirky or unusual to do for them … surprise them in some way  they won’t expect.

Going the extra mile works for personal relationships and also for business ones. 

If you can’t think of something that feels right for your business, maybe you could hire a very creative marketing mind to help you? 

Maybe that person would also be a copywriter and could not only come up with the great ideas, but also know how to promote them!

 Here’s to creating more WOM!

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Have you ever read a marketing message, attempting to sell something …

but it used stiff, proper language that only an English professor would appreciate?

Most good copywriters know to use simple words and to talk to a prospect like we’d talk to a friend or to use ‘barstool conversation’ — the way you’d talk to the guy next to you at the bar.

Another smart rule of thumb?  Use short sentences.

Long, seemingly endless sentences/paragraphs make the brain say, “This is too much to read.”  (Click.)

Short & simple paragraphs, with lots of white space, are much easier to read, aren’t they?

Another KISS principle, often overlooked even by the best of writers is to first appeal to human emotion … then back it up with logic.  It’s really not just all about price!

Your prospects aren’t going to be patient with a badly written sales message.  And, since an enormous amount of shopping is being done online, your entire web site must be:

clear, concise, easy to understand/navigate.  And easy to order.

How to Employ the KISS Principle on Your Web Site & Online Marketing … 

*  Use simple words.

*  Use short sentences/paragraphs.

*  Use lots of white space.

*  Capture their emotions quickly.

*  Show ample proof/credibility.

*  Make everything quick, easy to navigate.

*  Make ordering easy.

Starting with your web site and continuing with sales letters, email campaigns, PPC campaigns and their linked landing pages — keep it simple.

Happy Selling!

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

In the June, 2008 issue of Direct Magazine, I read something pretty interesting about the way business is coping in the current recession. 

It’s no secret to anyone, except the Feds, that the U.S. is in a recession. The economy is slowing, consumers are spending less and (as the article points out) firms are deliberating more over purchasing decisions.

What we’d expect to see happening in times like these is for direct marketers to focus on their existing customers, right?  But they are, in fact, spending more on prospecting … according to Direct’s annual forecast survey.

They say consumer firms allocated 72% of 2008 direct mail (DM) budgets to acquisition.  That, compared to 63% in 2007.  The article said B2B marketers were holding steady at 58% of their budget being spent on acquiring new customers.

The survey showed that marketing dollars are allocated to search engine optimization and other online marketing … trying to build their in-house lists.

The article said that financial services are doing more with house files than in years past … meaning, they’re not renting new lists, but just mining the ones they have.

It seems that a lot less testing is going on, for print media anyway, with 1Q08 showing a 25% drop in catalog tests, 12% drop in testing for publishers and 10% drop for nonprofits.

More companies are using email marketing to both existing customers and to prospects in 2008 than last year.  And SEO and SEM are also being used more than in 2007.

No matter what marketing method is employed, copywriting will always be vitally important.  Whether a company markets offline or online, the message still has to be right on target. 

One degree off in any direction — and missfire!

 So, whether you need an online sales letter, email campaigns, PPC ads, landing pages, squeeze pages or even postcards … it needs to sizzle. 

 The copy sells the product.  So, in these recessionary times, cut back on whatever you have to.  But whatever you put out there, make sure the copy scorches!

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Copywriting has often been defined as “salesmanship in print.” 

 This is easy to comprehend in the direct response world — crafting a sales message designed to persuade the reader to whip out his/her credit card, right now.

But, as anyone knows, a good copywriter has to know how to think really well.  Even if the writer isn’t trying to sell something immediately, they still have to think critically and analyze a lot of information.

It’s been said that the writer should have 7 times more intel than she’ll ever need.  So, a good writer collects a ton of information about the company, product and the audience she’ll be writing to … waay before a single word is written.

Gary Bencivenga says, “Every situation is unique, especially when the product or market place is different from what’s gone before.”

I, personally, abhor the notion of using the same angle or style for one client that I used for another  — just because it’d be easier.  If I thought it was the best approach, perhaps I would, but only if it were in disparate industries.

I like to forge a new path, though, and create something totally unique for each and every client.  As they say in fashion, you don’t want to meet yourself coming and going. 

Who’d want to go to a party and see ‘their’ dress on someone else?  Not I.

So, again, it’s critical to find a copywriter who can think on paper.  One with sufficient grey matter to examine all the data and come up with a new idea, a BIG idea … something unique and fresh for your business.

 There’s so much ’me too’ stuff going around … oy vey, don’t get me started! 

Whether it’s good or not, successful or not, something gets out on the Internet (especially) — and before you know it, you see the same style or tactics being used everywhere!

Where’s the differentiator?  How do you set yourself apart, when you look like everyone else?  You don’t.  You look like a carbon copy; not the genuine article.  UG!

Thinking on paper …

Critical thinking is the key.  It’s a lot like the attorney’s discovery, I think.  Then, one must draw the right conclusions from the vast body of evidence and, hopefully, be able to make a viable case for whatever product or service we’re writing about.

The ability to think clearly and confidently is also key.  I can’t think, with a lot of noise, for instance, so I have to have quiet.  I also have to be comfortable and in pleasant surroundings, with lots of natural light.

Expect the BIG idea and the BEST way to present it to emerge from an all-knowing sub-conscious … and it does.  Sleeping on it, after gathering so much information and immersing myself in it, is something I always do, as do so many other copywriters I know.

Often, I have so much information swirling around in my head, I feel I’ll never be able to rummage around and find just the right bits to use.  But, when I trust my inner knowing … it never fails me.

Think.  Think on paper.  Hire a kickass copywriter, who knows how to do this.  There are some exceptional ones out there.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

I’ve just listened to and read something amazing … and I want to share it with you!

You’ll see a great video, with the ‘bad ass’ guy, from the movie, “The Matrix.”  He’ll be talking about some scarry stuff, like the next Influenza Pandemic that most experts agree will happen.

We’re unprepared.  There is no vaccine and no antibiotic to counteract the virus.  Bad news for one and all. 

The worst outbreak the world has seen was in 1918, when 40 million people died, globally.

Then, the report goes on to discuss ‘mental viruses’ and how they infect entrepreneurs.  This is really good stuff!  (Not the best written, but the content is so insightful.)

You can travel deeper down the rabbit hole, by taking the red pill.  I suggest you absolutely take the pill. 

Charge forward and take off your rose colored glasses, as you have the chance to really SEE what’s preventing us from becoming and achieving all we can be.

It’s a 14 page, NO B.S. report called: PANDEMIC - Bird Flu of the Mind: How Underground Mind Viruses are Relegating Millions to “Living Death” and What You Can Do to Protect Yourself and Your Family

If that title sounds serious, that’s because it is serious.

The fact is, Mind Viruses are destroying the lives and business dreams of thousands of entrepreneurs just like you.

You’ll find an amazing phrase used.  Instead of ‘entrepreneur,’ they use the word ‘transfopreneur.’  Why?  Because most entrepreneurs want to transform their world in some way …

* for themselves

* for their families

* for their communities

* for the world

Go ahead, be brave and check out the red pill.  Your entrepreneural success may depend on it.

Go to:  http://www.givemetheredpill.com/letter.htm

Here’s to a higher octave marketing!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

As a copywriter (translate marketer), one of the things I do is to present my clients and their products or services in the best light possible.

Sometimes, I must confess, I have to look pretty hard to find anything genuinely distinguishing about them.  It’s sometimes a challenge to isolate one or two things that can provide something special — if not truly unique.

Many times, though, it’s only a matter of talking about an aspect of a product or service that’s not so unique, really.  But, instead, we focus on something common among all the competition … but they’re not talking about it.

The copywriter and advertising pioneer, Claude Hopkins, told this great story about how to build preeminence in his book “My Life In Advertising”…

He said:  Schlitz Beer was another advertising campaign which I handled for J.L.Stack. Schlitz was then in fifth place.

All brewers at that time were crying “Pure.” They put the word “Pure” in larger letters.

Their claim made about as much impression on people as water makes on a duck.

I went to brewing school to learn the science of brewing, but that helped not at all. Then I went to the brewery.

I saw plate-glass rooms where beer was dripping over pipes, and I asked the reason for them. They told me those rooms were filled with filtered air, so the beer could be cooled in purity.

I saw great filters filled with wood pulp. They explained how that filtered the beer.

They showed me how they cleaned every pump and pipe, twice daily, to avoid contaminations. How every bottle was cleaned four times by machinery.

They showed me artesian wells, where they went 4,000 feet deep for pure water, though their brewery was on Lake Michigan.

They showed me the vats where beer was aged for six months before it went out to the user.

They took me to their laboratory and showed me the original mother yeast cell. It had been developed by 1,200 experiments to bring out the utmost in flavor.

All of the yeast used in making Schlitz Beer was developed from that original cell.

I came back to the office amazed. I said: “Why don’t you tell people those things? Why do you merely try to cry louder than others that your beer is pure?  Why don’t you tell the reasons?”

“Why,” they said, “the processes we use are just the same as others use. No one can make good beer without them.”

“But,” I replied, “others have never told the story. It amazes everyone who goes through your brewery. It will startle everyone in print.”

So I pictured in print those plate-glass rooms and every other factor in purity. I told a story common to all good brewers …

but a story which had never been told. I gave purity a meaning.

Schlitz jumped from fifth place to neck and neck with first place in a very few months.

That campaign remains to this day one of his greatest accomplishments.  And it’s given many copywriters a very good model.

So, if your business has a product or service that isn’t really so different from others just like it … maybe you could simply tell a story about, precisely, how your product is made? 

For service businesses, maybe telling your story about exactly how you do what you do would capture the essence of something or explains it in a slightly different way than your prospects will have thought about before.

By being the first to use this strategy in your industry — YOU will have done it.  So, anyone who follows as a ‘me too’ will never be the first.  You will!  

And that’s preeiminence.      :)

You can tell your story in print, on your site, or in your email campaigns.  And if you need a savvy copywriter and marketing strategist … I just might know someone.

Establish preeiminence in your market …

Then, everyone will listen and reward you, by giving you their business … because you took the time to educate your audience in a way that made sense, while your competitors ‘assumed’ they already understood — or wouldn’t care.

Till next time, 

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Another jewel from The Daily Guru:
 
“The truth is what it is.
It’s neither good nor bad.
It’s simply reality.

Tailor your concepts to fit reality,
instead of trying to stuff reality into your concepts.
No matter what you believe,
it won’t change the facts.”

I think there’s a BIG lesson in this for us, as marketers, and I want to talk a bit about it today.

Most savvy marketers understand that the path to secure a purchase and, hopefully, a customer for life is to talk in a way that resonates with them,  and to give them what they want; not necessarily what they need.

But I still see a lot of clients, who think they can somehow ‘change minds,’ and convince their audience to think differently about what they have to offer.

No you can’t!

As marketing professionals, we must tap into what they’re thinking, wanting and feeling and to empathize with them in a way that’s genuine and authentic …
BEFORE we try to sell them something.

We all know that no one likes to be sold anything, right?  We all want & do buy things all the time, but we want to make our own decisions about what, when, how – and from whom, don’t we?

So, when you’re selling something, you have to do some or all of the following …

11 Things You Simply Must Do, In Order to Sell Something:

1. Connect on a level your audience/prospects can feel.
2. Tap into their wants, desires or pain.
3. Talk to them the way you’d talk to your best friend.
4. Don’t undermine their intelligence, please.
5. Address their wants/desires; not yours.
6. Build trust and credibility; TELL the truth.
7. Tell them how your products will provide the solution to their problem
or pain, in the same way it did for x, y, z person.
8. Make them a genuinely valuable offer they will want immediately.
9. Take away their risk, with a 100% guarantee.
10. Make it clear and easy to order.  No hoops or circuitous routes..
11. Stay in contact with them, after the sale, creating a customer for life,
and keep offering them more valuable products/services.

The lesson? 

Don’t try to bend your prospects or customers to your thinking, but rather tap into what they’re thinking, feeling and wanting. 

To the extent you can genuinely FEEL their pain, sorrow, desperation or frustration, to that extent they feel your sincerity and want to buy from you.

So it would benefit you greatly to find a marketing strategist and copywriter, who iterally feels what others feel. 

Find a writer, who is naturally empathetic … and your audience will feel it, too.

Perhaps an elaboration is in order here …

In my opinion, a great copywriter is really a great humanist.  Bob Bly touched on this in a teleseminar last night, in fact, saying this ability places an enormous premium on a copywriter’s worth to their clients. 

Find one who understands human behavior and has a strategic marketing focus, and one who’ll first help you establish/clarify your own marketing objectives.

A great copywriter will also be able to help clarify/fashion your offer, according to his/her understanding of human behavior – and not what you think they’ll respond to.

So find someone with a divergent background … someone who’s been in the trenches and who understands the human psyche. 

Find a marketing strategist, who has worked for all manner of clients and industries. 

Find one, who also just happens to know how to write in such a way that deeply connects with your prospect, because she really knows how they think and feel.

It’s a tall order, but they’re out there.

To your continued marketing success!

Carolyn
The KickAss Copywriter
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com