The time is now

Recently I saw a new television show on HBO called “The Shop,” which is about a barber shop in the African American community that Lebron James hosts, and has interesting conversations with other African American celebrities. In African American communities, the barber shop is where people go to have discussions about politics, the economy, family dynamics, who makes the best macaroni and cheese and more. It’s a little known fact in that community that when you walk into “The Shop,” you are likely to be

When it comes to copywriting….The creative process starts in marketing.

Start by answering the question, “What am I selling?”

You need to first:

• Learn everything you can about your product and/or service.
  • What does it do
  • How does it function
  • What problem does it solve
• Use it (read back issues, take a demo, see how easy it really is, check out the competition).
• Talk to current or past buyers, subscribers, donors and/or members
• Talk with telesales, service, tech-support reps
• Analyze: why and how is this going to help me? What problem is it going to solve?

 

Project into the mind of the user what the experience will be like with your product!

The importance of Benefits….

The more you talk about how your company, product or service will improve the life of your customer (“you” copy), the higher the response.

….vs. Features

The more you talk about the company, the product, the service (“we” copy), the lower the response.

Is Your Marketing Plan…Normal?

Tonight my 4 year old was screaming at the top of her lungs to her sister “I’m not normal!’ As usual I went to scream back and ask why are you screaming in my house…Okay, maybe there is another story there in the screaming…but the point is this. Her next response. “Mommy, I’m trying to tell sissy that I’m not normal because every one of my cut outs are different on purpose.” I asked her what she meant and she further explained, “Mommy, I make cut out phones and each one is different. Some have a long handle and some have buttons to push and some have dots that I drew on. But they are all different because I don’t want to be normal. I want to be different and make sure that each phone stands out.”

I just stared at her for a second. Then I thought for another second..”That’s my baby,” haha! But on a serious note, is your marketing plan too “normal?”  And what is your definition of “normal?” Interesting right? We all know that in today’s market, we have to be innovative, we have to stand out. So how do you do it? You’ve got to remember how

Segmentation…even with Twitter and Facebook!

Segment your customers into different markets.  Once you have your customers segmented (this can be extremely detailed or not – depends on what type of life cycles you put toward the segments) you can begin targeting them in a more focused manner or you can broaden your marketing efforts.  Either way, you will understand more about your customers by the process of segmentation. Many of these techniques can be used in social media marketing as well. You can segment your followers on Twitter with the use of lists. You can segment your friends on Facebook through the use of lists through the customize tool in the privacy settings, not to mention all the different tools within Linked In, MySpace, etc. Understanding the importance of segments will allow you to better market! Keep reading to find out how.

Buying Behaviors

Past response is indicative of future response.  The most predictive piece of marketing is the

How to improve your offers on your marketing materials

An offer is a reason to act.  Focus on the offer first rather than the design of the direct mail piece.  The offer needs to be clear and a focal point on the mailer.  If there is any call to action, make sure that it is easy to find visually.  An offer is like bait for our customers to hook them.  Offers that are successful are:

Is your marketing lacking creativity? Try using a creative brief!

If it doesn’t sell – it isn’t creative

First develop a creative brief.  A creative brief is a report detailing out:

• Target Audience
• Objectives/Strategies
• Product Positioning Statement
• Obstacles/Barriers
• Action

Good creative briefs help everyone.  A creative brief will show the 3 major benefits that matter to customers (the way customers think, act and feel from the product).  Historical results should be in a creative brief if it is a similar product that has been done before. Characteristics of what the customers want and need to change should be included in the creative brief.

Science tells us that large purchases are made with 80% emotions and 20%

Creating great copy for websites is easy!

Websites need to have a focus and a clear definition from all parties that are involved so that the branding remains in tact.  Objectives may include, product advertising, promotion, sales, fulfillment, service, data collection, relationship building, investor relations, public relations, press relations, recruiting, product development and more.  Think of your site as a

How to get over writers block

Writing

To break through writers block, recognize the difference between preparation and procrastination.  Review background, take notes, make lists of key points, jot down spontaneous ideas.  Talk with people about the project.  To get started use “Cluster Writing”.  Cluster writing is a technique where you put one word

Designing your website content in 4 seconds

When designing your web page for content, you need to try to communicate who you are in the first 4 seconds.  You need to express why a user should do business with you and tell how you make their life better.  You should not just say “We do this and we do that”.  You need to sell to the needs and personality of the visitor and provide action-benefit language and links.  It is critical to appeal to

To Blog or Not to Blog

Blogging is one of the most current technologies available on the web.  There are millions of users who blog and who read blogs.  Most major corporations have a blog about their products.  People will come back and subscribe to your blog once you become an “expert” on your topics. Your blog should remain focused on a main topic. As people begin see that your content is of value, they will depend on your posts as a matter of information that they need. This will take time and not happen overnight, but if you keep these main points in mind it, will keep you from posting meaningless articles and instead stick to rich, creative information that people really want to hear about. Also, remember not to