Drew McLellan, Author at McLellan Marketing Group

How to write an outstanding blog post

August 4, 2007

Late this Spring, Liz Strauss tagged me, asking what makes an outstanding blog post and I've been letting my answer cook until now. Which is a fancy way of saying…I'm finally getting to it.

Maybe it took me this long because I'm not sure I have the answer for this one. Honestly, some of the posts that I still love the most and touch my heart are ones that you hardly noticed. And sometimes a post that I think is just okay draws a huge response.

So clearly, I haven't a clue.

But…I have recognized some patterns. Maybe there's a hint or two in them for all of us.

It's all about you.

The best blog posts are reader centric. They respect your intelligence, your time and your need for something fresh and different. Rather than being intent on teaching you something new, they are intent on generating a conversation by acknowledging that we both have something to say on the subject, whatever it may be.

It's not all about you.

When I first started blogging, I fully intended to offer tips and commentary on the world of marketing and branding. I didn't plan to share or show you my heart. After all, this is a business blog. But, I discovered that when you write every day, you can't really avoid that. And that's when people beyond my parents and my employees started reading my blog. So, while it can mostly be about you. It actually has to be about me too. Sort of like a conversation perhaps?

I'm not you.

Some days, I find the blogosphere pretty intimidating. I read all these smart and insightful things and wonder…what the heck am I doing at this party? Thank God I am smart enough to know that I will never be as sassy as CK or as poetic as Gavin or eloquent as Liz or helpful as Mike or inspiring as Christine or as prolific as Lewis. My blog is never going to look like David's or have a subscription list like John's. I can't draw like Tony, share wry observations like Cam or connect people like Phil. And I sure can't cuss like Paul. And that just scratches the surface of the bloggers I admire and wish I could be more like.

And to try would only serve to embarrass myself. Like it or not, I've got to work with my talents or you'd recognize me as a fake and rightfully call me on it. So I offer up what I've learned over the years, in my own native voice and hope that it will resonate with you.

I only come back because of you.

Talking to myself every day would bore me to tears. I love to write but I really love the conversation. I think the biggest tragedy of blogging is that most people read the posts and never dig into the comments. That' s where the real meat is. I can serve up a topic but I promise you, the real "a ha" comes in the interaction below the surface of the original post.

So back to Liz' question. What makes a great post?

I think, for me anyway, my posts stretch towards greatness when I draw the outline of the picture and then you color it in. When I don't know all the answers, but I have a pretty good idea of the questions. When I don't think too long or too hard, but instead just toss it out there. When I don't worry about how pretty the words sound, but instead enjoy your words. My best posts are when I look around the room, marvel at the interesting people gathered and just pull up a chair.

So in the end…it seems that what makes an outstanding post for me….is you.

How about you? If you're a blogger – how/when do you create an outstanding post? And if you're a reader, what makes a post noteworthy to you?

Is your elevator speech a what or a why?

August 3, 2007

When you have 30 seconds to introduce yourself, if you are like most people you say your name and then identify what you do.

You know…"hi, I'm Drew McLellan. I work at a marketing communications agency."

Yawn.

Listen to how different and how much more relevant this sounds when I focus on the why:

"Hi, I'm Drew McLellan. We help clients discover their story so they can create love affairs with their customers."

Which one do you think would stimulate more conversation and interest on the part of the person I'm meeting?

What could your elevator speech be if you focused on the why?

The envelope please…

August 2, 2007

Believe it or not…there are books written about the variety of envelopes. And they have huge glossaries of envelope terms. As I flipped through them, I realized that some were new to me, so I thought you might like to bone up on your envelope knowledge.

B.R.E. (I started with an easy one): Business Reply Envelope. This usually has a first class permit, indicia and return address pre-printed on envelope.

Flush cut: to cut flush means to cut the top flap off the envelope.

Point: A unit of thickness equal to 1/1000 of an inch.

Blank: Paper stock that is die cut into appropriate envelope shape. When folded and glued, it becomes an envelope.

McIntyre Corners: Predominantly found in booklet style envelopes. Notches are made at the top of the two side seam shoulders to facilitate automatic insertion.

Thumb cut: A notched opening to allow easy access to contents.

Think about it….if you are sending a direct mail piece…why not improve the odds of your piece getting opened by doing something interesting with the envelope?

What have you done with the packaging of a direct mail piece to get your audience's attention?

Do you market to your own employees?

August 1, 2007

John Moore over at Brand Autopsy talks about the incredible marketing value that Apple generated when they gave every one of their employees a new iPhone. No argument from me there.

But what do you do when you're not Apple and you can't pop for a $600 phone for every team member? Most companies don't do anything. Big mistake.

Read about how one marketer made sure his employees felt appreciated in a way that any business can afford and do.

And yes, the photo is a hint.

Tag…I’ve been tagged with the tagline meme!

July 31, 2007

Ahh, personal branding with a whole new twist. Leave it up to that creative rapscallion Cam Beck from ChaosScenario. He has started a new meme and we get to play along.

Here's how it works:

You select five bloggers and give them a fitting tagline. What's the path that led here? Cam got Lewis Green, who got me. So here are my tags, complete with my take on their tag.

(I'm pretty sure if you've already been tagged, you're on a safe base and don't have to be "it" again!)

CK (CK's blog): Queen of Hearts
David Armano (Logic + Emotion): User Friendly
Gavin Heaton (Servant of Chaos): Idea Poet
Todd And (Todd Add): Make it Measurable
David Reich (My 2 cents): A Bargain at Twice the Price

Feel free to join in and play along. What would you want your tagline to reflect?

Beating Writers Block

July 31, 2007

We all experience writers block now and then. Here are some tips for breaking through a block and getting the job done that seem to work for me.

~ Start in the middle. Write your intro last, so you’ll know just what you want to emphasize.

~ Just write. No matter how rough or bad you think it is. Just get something down on paper. That leads right into tip #3.

~ Editing is easier than writing. Go through your rough copy and circle what you like and keep going. It’s much easier to rewrite than it is to start from scratch.

~ Think out loud. Work through your ideas with a co-worker. Words flow easier in conversation. And their feedback might give you a new perspective.

Most of us don’t have the luxury of waiting for the muses to strike. Check out this laundry list of other good ideas from Maartje Van Hoorn at Behind the Page.

Can you add to the lists? When you just can't seem to string two sentences together — what do you do?

What marketing advice would you pack into a solo sentence?

July 30, 2007

You've got a lifetime of marketing smarts. You're asked for your best bit of wisdom. You take a deep breath because you've got a lot to say.

Whoa there.

Do it in a sentence.

That was the request that Matt McDonald made of me and some other marketing bloggers. Before you hit the link and see what Seth, Guy and some others had to say — answer it here for all of us.

In a single sentence — what's your best dose of marketing wisdom?

No one is a demographic range: How to actually talk to people

July 27, 2007

Are you a 25-54 year old male who wants a motorcycle?

I'm pretty sure that there's never been anyone who is 25-54. Maybe 27 or 39. But not the whole range.

And yet…most marketing plans talk demographics. We describe our target audience is such broad terms that at best, they are a blur. No wonder most marketing copy (brochures, radio scripts, web sites) is vague and uninspired. If I asked you to say three things about a motorcycle that would appeal to a 25-54 year old, how in the world would you know what to say?

But, what if I said: you are talking to a 52 year old man. He's a white collar professional that just dropped his youngest off at college. His 50th birthday hit him pretty hard. He's been at the same company for 8 years and he and his wife get away for 2-3 long weekends a year and they take one family vacation a year, to the family condo time share in Boca.

This past year, he and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and he surprised her with a diamond eternity band. They like to entertain at home or go out for dinner with friends.

He likes to read thrillers and spy stories. He putters a little in the garden and plays poker twice a month with some old college buddies. He enjoys a good cigar and scotch at the poker game and is often heard saying "life is not about the destination, it is about the journey."

Now…could you come up with three things about a motorcycle that would appeal to this man? I bet your copy isn't vague any more.

Rather than trying to talk to shadows…and demographics, try creating the perfect customer. Every business has one. That doesn't mean every customer will match all the criteria, but the closer you can come, the better.

So it stands to reason, the more specifically you can talk to that target audience, the more likely you are to attract the right customers.

How do you begin to create the perfect customer? Grab a piece of paper and a pencil/pen and let's get you started.

Ready? Quickly write down the names of 3-5 of your company's best current customers.

Now, again without mental editing, list characteristics of this customer. These might include things like:

If your customers are companies:

Size of company (employees, locations, etc.)
Industry
Gross annual billings
Structure (partnership, corporation, non-profit, association, etc)
Type of work
Frequency of work
Amount of annual revenue for your company from this one
Type of day to day communication (do they need hand holding, have you ever met in person, are they a golfing buddy)
Market position (leader, #2, newcomer)
Personality of key customer contact

If your customers are individuals:

Age
Education
Daily Habits
Kind of work they do
Where they shop
What causes they are passionate about
Where in the life cycle are they
How do they dress
What kind of car do they drive
What's their leisure time look like
Attitude about work, family, life etc

Now look for trends. What do your best customers have in common? Begin to build a profile. Fill in the blanks as you can. If possible, make this multi-media. Are there colors, visuals, songs, smells etc. that you associate with this perfect customer?

Let this profile evolve over time. Tweak it as you begin to use it. If it helps, give your perfect customer a name. Aim your marketing right at that person. Write/design as though you are talking directly to them. And watch your results rise.

What do you think? If you've already done something like this, tell us about it. If you haven't yet…how might this be helpful to you?

Bad customers, branding, chasing cool and babies

July 25, 2007

If you're looking for me today, you're going to have to look all over. It's a little like "where in the world is Carmen San Diego" but with a twist. Check out my posts on these blogs:

Marketing Profs Daily Fix: No one believes in branding more than I do. But have we gone a little too far when we hire professionals to help us brand our baby?

IowaBiz: Everyone wants to be the iPod of their industry. What gets in the way of being a company capable of creating that kind of cool?

Small Business Branding: Everyone's had a bad customer. Guess what? That's our own fault. Branding done right can help us avoid those potential customers who in the end, just aren't for us.

Come catch me if you can!

Newsletter No no’s

July 24, 2007

Newsletters are a popular marketing tool. Done well, they can be incredibly effective. Unfortunately, most people's efforts end up in the circular file before anyone has bothered to read it. Why? Because they committed too many newsletter no no's. If you're the editor-in-chief of your company's newsletter, be mindful to avoid these mistakes. MMG's is hot off the press.

No grand plan: Your newsletter needs to have a vision. Without it, it's just a hodge-podge of articles that has no continuity. It's hard to build reader loyalty without it. Make sure you identify your key audiences and what you're trying to get them to do/know.

Too much ego: Sure, your newsletter is a sales tool. But be careful that you don't toot your own horn to the point of arrogance. Celebrate your product/service's excellence but do it with case studies or client testimonials rather than in the first person.

Not providing value: We live in a "what's in it for me" society. Your newsletter is fighting for your audience's most precious asset – their time. So make it worthwhile. Give them new information or insights so they look forward to receiving your newsletter.

Inconsistency: Hitting deadlines is tough and to let them slide. But, if you promise a quarterly or monthly newsletter, then it needs to come out on time. Every time. What do you think it says about your business if you don't keep your promise on newsletter deadlines?

Lack of interaction: Give your readers a chance to talk back. An e-mail address, a contest, a bounce back card, a URL that solicits feedback. Make it a conversation rather than a monologue.

Newsletters are a lot of work. Make sure all the effort you put into your publication pays off. Avoid these newsletter no no's and you'll have loyal readers for life.

Want to read a little more? Here are some good tips. And a few more.

What newsletter do you always welcome into your e-mail in box? What makes it a must read for you?

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