Copywriting Archives - Page 11 of 13 - McLellan Marketing Group

The devil’s in the details

December 7, 2006

When it comes to marketing and business communications tools, there are few things that can derail a good piece faster than a typo or misused word.

Proofreading is one of those thankless, tedious, painfully boring tasks. It’s easier and dare I say it, short-term pleasurable to skip. But, it will get you every time.

Here are some proofing pointers:

Don’t rush it. Ideally, if you are the author, you’ll set it aside for a day so you can look at your writing with fresh eyes.

Read it out loud. Sure it sounds silly, but you’ll be stunned (and relieved) at how many more mistakes you catch this way.

Don’t rely on spell-check alone. it’s fallible, as I’ll bet you have already discovered.

Make 3 passes. Read through it first for content. The second time around, check for grammatical, punctuation and structural errors. Finally, go through and watch for typos and spelling problems.

The best solution of all — have someone other than yourself do the proofing. Theres nothing more aggitating then having a mis take fowl up your good work. (how many did you count?)

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An ad come on the radio the other day and I was struck by how often they emphasized that they offered a free consultation. Yes, absolutely free. No strings attached. Yours for the asking. You know what I thought to myself? Duh.

Who doesn’t offer that? We can call it a free initial consultation, obligation free quote or a no risk trial but it all boils down to the same thing. And since everyone does it, it seems silly and self-serving to make such a big deal about it.

If that’s the only thing you have to offer or spotlight, you need to go back to the drawing board. That’s not an offer that is significant enough to make someone raise their hand and say they want to buy. That’s just the price of admission.

Pull out your brochures, web copy, radio scripts or whatever communication tools you use to sell. Circle any of these phrases that you find:

* Free consultation
* Free initial visit
* No risk trial
* Obligation free quote/meeting
* Money back guarantee
* Convenient hours
* Guaranteed 100% satisfaction

Are these important elements of your offering? Sure. Should they be bolded, highlighted and put in the center? No. They are givens. It’s the bare minimum of what people expect. Does including some of this language reassure your audience? Maybe but if they need that reassurance, you’ve still got a lot of work ahead of you.

If you can’t find it within yourself to stop including this language, be sure it’s in the background, not front and center. In the meantime, start to figure out all the reasons why someone should be tripping over themselves to get to you, not all the ways they can weasel out if they’re unhappy.

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You are boring me.

November 24, 2006

I sat across from a potential client this week while he bemoaned the fact that he kept sending news releases but no one, not TV, radio or print, would pick up his stories.

He wasn’t happy with me when I told him the reason he wasn’t getting coverage was because he was boring the reporters. (I was more kind in the delivery. ..but the point was the same.)

He was sending them information that mattered to him. But not to the reporters. It’s not their job to help him sell his wares. It’s their job to engage their audience.

Before you send your next news release, ask yourself why anyone but you would care. If you can answer the question — there’s your lead sentence. If you can’t — think twice before you bore them.

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Is that Paris Hilton jammin’ with a PS3 while calling George W. Bush a fascist?

November 22, 2006

Headline writing used to be an art. A well-crafted headline enticed the reader into your body copy. It was the appetizer, hinting at what was to come and on rare occasion, if it was tasty enough, it could actually satiate an appetite without another word or morsel.

But it seems of late, everything I read is about writing headlines to trick people to visit your blog, even though they have no interest in what you’re actually writing about. Using names of the infamous, "hot" topics and other elements of bait and switch, all for the intent of rankings, rankling, being dugg, ditched and double-dipped. It’s like having a puppet on a string, right? You tug and they jump.

Good short-term gain? Maybe. More clicks? Probably. But at what cost? How about losing the very audience that actually gives a rip about your topic? Or you.

Hype, over-promising or out and out manipulation can’t be hidden forever. People hate being made the fool. Don’t let your headlines, online or off, put them in that position.

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Creativity Tip: Ask, ask, ask

November 17, 2006

In my day job, I have to be creative on demand. As I am sure you can relate…some days, I don’t feel very creative. I can’t wait until the muses arrive. I need to be innovative, original and engaging. Now.

Yikes.

So I collect creativity triggers. Games I can play, ways to twist the common into something fresh and brainwipes…ways to clear my head of all the expected, to make room for new ways of looking something. If you too need this sort of creativity thumping now and then, I’m going to post some creativity tips every once in awhile.

Here’s one that usually serves me well.

Be like a reporter. Query the situation, problem, product that you’re needing to be creative about. Not a who, what, where, how kind of an interview, but more of an in depth character study. Do it out loud if you have to, but really dig in. Ask probing questions. Assume the persona of your interview subject to "feel" the answers. I know it sounds a little silly but you’ll be amazed at the interesting insights. Give it a spin and let me know how it works for you.

P.S. If you want a big bundle of creativity, check out Roger von Oech‘s books, blog and tools. My favorite is his Creative Whack Pack — a deck of cards with creative thinking strategies and tips. You’ll love his stuff!

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Who are you calling an SOB?

November 12, 2006

Those of you who know me won’t be all that surprised that I got called an SOB today. But in this case, it was actually a compliment!

Liz Strauss of Successful Blog recognizes a few blogs every week that, in her words…

"They take the conversation to their readers, contribute great ideas, challenge us, make us better, and make our businesses stronger. I thank every one of our SOBs for thinking what we say is worth passing on. Good conversations shared can only improve the blogging community."

I’m honored to be included among Liz’s very esteemed list of bloggers who have something of note to say. Check out this week’s list and Liz’s past honorees in her Hall of Fame links.

Thanks for the nod Liz…I will do my best to live up to your moniker SOB!

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Why do you blog?

November 8, 2006

Image by Blogging Librarian via Flickr

CK, over at CK’s blog asked a simple question. Why do marketers blog? She got so many great answers that she wanted to capture them, rather than let the scroll down to her archive and get lost.

So she created a PDF. Check it out — some great, insightful thoughts.

But…she wants to one up herself, so she’s asking the same question again. What is the single greatest value you get from blogging?

Join in the conversation.

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Is wacky marketing a good idea?

November 7, 2006

Now there’s a loaded question, eh?

The answer, of course, is…maybe. Maybe not. How’s that for decisive marketing counsel? Wacky for wacky’s sake is fun but its for you, not for your customer. Wacky for the right reasons, in the right place…for the right business? Now that’s worth looking at, from your customer’s POV.

It all wraps around the bigger issue of branding. Does your brand fit with wacky? If so, you can probably come up with an attention-getting marketing tactic that celebrates something unique about your brand. But if you’re a law firm, it probably doesn’t make much sense.

An article in an old Entrepreneur Magazine caught my eye. The author lists 10 "crazy marketing stunts." Frankly, I think most of them are bad ideas. Which doesn’t make the concept a bad one — but it does point out that being silly for silly’s sake also speaks volumes about your brand. So be wacky mindfully.

The Travelocity Gnome…great idea. It fits their brand. The lizard with the accent and the funny commercials — Geico has done a great job of making themselves different from all the other insurance guys — much like their AFLAC competitors have done with the duck.

So don’t discount wacky. But do it for the right reason. Because it fits your brand.

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Credibility is a delicate thing

November 7, 2006

Credibility is a fragile flower. You need to nurture its growth and then protect it from harsh winds.

A couple examples. The post I put up last night had a couple key Iowa political events mixed up. It was Jim Nussle, the Republican running for Governor who had the rotary conflict and his opponent Chet Culver who aced him by offering to change dates. Here’s the story. I owe an apology to the Lamberti folks for mixing up their candidate with Jim Nussle. I am fixing it now, as soon as I am realizing I mixed facts.

There’s that correction and accurate story. Still a great marketing message just wrong character’s names.

Now…onto the Lamberti lesson. Jeff Lamberti is eager to have President Bush appear on his behalf. It’s been an ugly race…and who doesn’t like having a big name endorsement, right?

Well, an endorsement is a marketing tactic that only works when it sounds credible. We’re all a little suspect of them — wondering if the endorsement is a paid spokesperson (like Jessica Simpson for Proactiv — paid or happy customer?) or if there’s an angle we are missing.

So, we listen carefully. And we weigh the strength of the endorsement on the speaker’s sincerity and how familiar he or she appears with the product, service or in this case, candidate.

So when President George Bush calls the candidate by the wrong name (Dave) a couple times, it speaks volumes. Take a look at the White House’s official website, where Bush’s speech about Lamberti is cataloged. They STILL have it wrong.

So….when you have done something that threatens your credibility, what do you do?

You correct the mistake honestly and quickly (like this post addressing the Lamberti/Nussle mix up in my earlier post. Bush should have done so on his website.)

You apologize sincerely and as publicly as you made the error (I have done that here and in an e-mail to the Lamberti staffer who first notified me of the mistake and in his comment on this blog. Again, Bush should have written a letter to the editor or done something to erase the fact that he’d called Jeff the wrong name.)

You don’t dwell on it,, but move forward in your usual credible way. You re-earn people’s trust by being authentic. (That’s for the audience to dictate, not you.)

People will forgive you the mistake and let you quickly re-earn their credibility by just owning up to it. Could I have just deleted the post and avoided the embarrassment of the error? Sure. What would that have said to any of you who’d already read it? Or heard about it later?

I hate this time of year with all the political backstabbing and half-truths. But there’s always the silver lining — lots of good marketing lessons to be learned!

Pictured is candidate JEFF Lamberti

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I wish I had written this.

November 3, 2006

Every once in awhile I run across something that so brilliantly captures an idea, emotion or truth that I wish I had written it. I felt that way after I read Joe Calloway’s Become a Category of One and Steve Farber’s Radical Leap.

I felt that same surge of both admiration and envy when I saw this. Stick with it for the entire two minutes. The twist is worth the wait.

I hope we all aspire to be this good at something!

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