If You Build It, They Will Not Come - Get Marketing! Create Some Buzz!
By admin | August 23, 2008
"If you build it, they will not come" is the new tag line for Web sites. Long, long ago in the not too far distant past of having an online presence on the Internet it was a whole lot easier to be in the top 10 never mind the top 100 or 1000 today. There are a lot more factors to consider when it comes to putting the right SEO / SEM into place. From more competition from thousands of sites with similar content, to ever-changing search engine algorithms, it’s a jungle out there.
For instance, it can take up to 6 months to get accepted as a listing on Google (indexed). The buzz has to get out in other ways. Strike up online conversations, make comments on forums and blogs, advertise on local Web sites - even start your own blog or discussion group. Marketing online including Social Media is only just an extension of what you’d be doing for a physical business in other media.
Sitting and waiting for business to come to you isn’t going to work. Market, market, market.
Topics: Social Media, Online Marketing, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
The Copywriting Sweatshop - SEO Anyone?
By admin | August 12, 2008
I’m contacted by a lot of potential clients looking for articles written about a variety of subjects. They want lots of articles with an SEO build so they can fill up their Web site and attract surfers. Basically filler material.
What good is filler material to the reader if it’s written haphazardly and doesn’t address what the reader was looking for? Nada. The back button is a click away and that defeats the purpose unless all you’re looking for is huge amounts of search engine traffic so you can claim site impressions from Google. But high traffic won’t happen unless you have phenomenal SEO because Search Engine Marketing isn’t going to work for this kind of site. For some companies, this is their niche. However, increased traffic and impressions are best built with repeat hits, return visitors who find what they want and value in what you provide - quality writing with the right content.
I visit dozens of sites using filler material every week while surfing for recreation or professionally. And I’m clicking away faster than you say - or think - go back. Why? Because I know that the articles are schlock. The articles or blog posts have been thrown together by writers in India or some other country who don’t have a firm grasp of the English language, or by part-time writers for a sweatshop dealing out a paltry $10 per article regardless of size or complexity. Even the most knowledgeable writer isn’t going to be able to put together a quality piece of writing in 30 minutes.
Other similar sites have plagiarized material from other sites, mirror images of articles and posts without a "by your leave" to use this information from the original author.
As a matter of fact, I find most of these Web sites when I’m actually looking for something else, which makes the whole experience that much more frustrating.
Legitimate Web sites should have original material that is truly informational and not a lure. It shows respect for the intelligence of the reader when the material is written with the reader in mind and not the search engine because insincerity can be smelled a mile a way.
An investment in quality copywriting is an investment in your readers - and your business.
Topics: Web Site Copywriting, Copywriting, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
Emotional Branding of the High Tech World
By admin | July 21, 2008
In the Simon Says column of the April 28, 2008 Brandweek magazine, Simon Sinek offers up the opinion that Advertising Agencies are making the purchasing decision too complex.
His statement, "They [marketers] can help reduce the need to think too hard by communicating the core beliefs of a brand so that we can just let the emotional parts of our brains guide our decisions."
Now, I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a general statement for marketing in all industries, or just the high tech industry considering he offered up the fact he was looking to purchase a flat screen TV and a computer. So I’ll comment about the high tech industry.
Mr. Sinek commented that many of the PC manufacturers had flooded their home pages with sales offerings. Well, they are e-commerce sites as well as information tools. In addition to promoting sales, these companies should also continue to interact with the consumer by having easy to find information about the products as well as customer service and brand fan tools like forums, games, etc. This also depends on how each company wishes to brand itself.
He went on to comment that the branding messages put forward by Sony, Samsung and Philips were inadequate. He ended by saying that Philips provided too much technical information about how LCD screens work. It seems that Philips has changed their Web site since the article was published to be much less technical and more branding.
But, hey we are dealing with technology. "Tech"-nical is built right into the name. Consumers go to online sites specifically to find information about the products they wish to purchase. Companies should allow the consumer to be as technical as they want to be while learning about a brand and its products.
So, in retrospect, Web sites for technology products may want to follow a path from simple to complex as they emotionally charge through technically "WOW" their prospective customers. Because you know, there are a lot of techno-geeks out there that do get emotionally charged by the technical "WOW."
Topics: Branding Strategy, Marketing Opinion, Online Marketing, Web Site Copywriting, Advertising, Freelance Copywriter | 1 Comment »
Is Social Media Making Direct Response Irrelevant?
By admin | July 17, 2008
Has social media got you down? If you are a member of the direct response marketing community you may be feeling the pinch from the pull of social media as companies shift more of their marketing budget to Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and other social media outlets.
But don’t despair. This to shall pass as Integrated Marketing continues to make itself known throughout the marketing sphere. As the Internet has fragmented the music industry and cable fragmented the television viewing industry, advertising and marketing has had to adjust.
This media fragmentation is keeping the industry on its toes.
But the question is, will social media make direct response irrelevant? No. For all the wanton opinions being thrown around the Internet by a product’s or brand’s fans, lovers, haters, and doubters the truly interested customer still requires direct communication to find out what a company’s products and services can do for them. They still need to be sold. And while they may have formed some kind of opinion from the multitude of information they have read and heard, honest, factual, direct response communication still turns the tide.
Topics: Direct Response, Marketing Opinion, Social Media, Direct Mail, Blogging, Advertising, Marketing, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
Don’t Go Green, Be Green and Prove it
By admin | July 16, 2008
I’ve been bashing the whole green marketing movement the last couple of posts because there is a big difference between saying your going green and being green. So I say, prove it. And the educated consumer will say the same thing. My concept takes a page out of fiction writing; Show, Don’t Tell.
Stating that you’re going green is like a kiss and a promise. Following up with statistics on how your company’s green programs are working, possibly with an independent auditor ratifying the outcome, makes good on that promise and shows the consumer that you stand behind your ideals. So, instead of just telling everyone that you’re going green, you are showing that you ARE green. Period.
And keep up the good work!
In the meantime, if your company is contemplating adding green-ness to its marketing programs, yet haven’t solidified the means and ways to reach those goals before advertising the programs, listen to Yoda. Do or Do Not, There is No Try!
Topics: Marketing Opinion, Marketing, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
An Example of Trying to Be Too Green: Sprint
By admin | July 14, 2008
Here’s a great example of what I’m talking about. http://www.sprintenterprise.com/sprintingreen/?id9=Email_0708lnlcustomer_green. Sprint is turning "Being Green" into a marketing program. And they even ask for input from customers on how they should be environmentally responsible. Here are the options.
- Reduce our carbon footprint
Offer environmentally-friendly wireless devices
Expand our wireless device recycling efforts
Ensure that our office and network facilities are sustainable
Expand our e-billing and online store options
Shouldn’t they be doing this anyway? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a marketing concept that works, but this can come back and give them a nasty bite in the tailpipe. Especially if they make any of the answers public on a large scale. If they don’t , skeptical people are going to realize this is just a stunt anyway. It acts as a very short-term image boost. But then again, any company that doesn’t "keep up with Joneses" will just look bad. If the consumer really cares. We’ll have to see what the studies say about the success of this marketing tactic.
Well, at least they do have a cell phone recycling program where they will donate all proceeds to help support Internet safety for kids. Now that’s being green in a responsible way.
Topics: Marketing Opinion, Branding Strategy, Marketing, Advertising, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
Are We Going Too Green?
By admin | July 14, 2008
It seems that every other commercial or advertisement we see these days has the message, "We’re Going Green."
Well, that’s getting old fast.
Shouldn’t it be expected that companies be environmentally responsible? Because face it, they live here too. If not in the USA, they still live on the same planet the rest of us do.
Even if a company needs to get their green message out, it better be relevant to the product or the consumer or it will become one of those proverbial trees falling in the forest without anyone there to hear it.
For example, should a company that has begun a full fledge recycling program in all 3 main offices around the country make this fact part of their advertising or branding strategy? Yes, if the recycling program involves recycling their own products that have outlasted their usefulness to the consumer and the program is to avoid having the old materials tossed into the landfill.
That’s environmentally conscious. And just plain good business.
If a company is just trying to differentiate themselves by pointing out everything "green" that it does by pulling every rabbit out of their hat, they better rethink their overall strategy. At least Kermit has an excuse…
Topics: Marketing Opinion, Branding Strategy, Copywriting, Marketing, Advertising | No Comments »
Is Your Copywriting Broken? Freshen Up Your Marketing Materials.
By admin | April 28, 2008
I was reading a commentary by Cameron Sturdevant from the April 7th issue of eWeek, "If it ain’t broke, do fix it," about how old technology, even thought it seems to work fine, can be interfering with productivity and security. Well, what about the copywriting on your Web site, brochures and other marketing materials? When was the last time your marketing message was updated?
6 months, a year, 3 years ago or more? Stale copywriting for Web sites and landing pages is the root of all evil when it comes to ranking with Google, Yahoo and most of the hundreds of directories, search engines and indexes throughout the Internet. Their algorithms are set specifically to find Web pages that offer fresh, frequently updated material that is relevant to what users are searching for…and reading. Stagnant sites drift slowly to the bottom of the Internet river where they become part of the silt, slowly getting covered up by other sites suffering the same fate until Google decides to wipe them completely off their site map (index).
Lost forever.
But all is not lost. Set up a plan of action for making your Web site material a top priority. Make a fresh start. Add new angles. Explore different aspects of your company. Even re-route your marketing focus. There’s a marketing battle being waged everyday and if you’re not in it, you can’t win it.
Besides, not only will the search engines be happier with your site (with increased rankings), your customers will be too. There is nothing worse than visiting a site and finding the same boring material. After a while they stop coming back. Even if you’re totally in love with your current message, get over it and move on. Only in very rare circumstances will the same message continue to provide top returns for very long.
Topics: Web Site Copywriting, Copywriting, Marketing, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
The Last Lecture - Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
By admin | April 9, 2008
I know this is a bit off topic. But after seeing a preview of Diane Sawyer’s “The Last Lecture: A Love Story for Your Life” that will air tonight on ABC Wednesday, April 9th, 10pm/9 CST, I had to respond to it.
It hits home, very close to home. I lost my father to what most likely was pancreatic cancer in 2001. It was diagnosed as metastatic cancer of the liver and they never found out where it spread from. They stopped looking and didn’t do a whole hell of a lot because of my father’s medical history. Being his primary caregiver, I had already seen him through two by-pass heart surgeries and a stroke in the previous 5 years. The irony is the chemicals used in chemotherapy are processed by the liver which was already compromised.
Whether my father would have consented to another surgery, I’ll never know. No one was forthright in telling me that it was most likely fatal, not even the Web sites I visited looking for more information back in 2001. He probably told the doctor not to tell me about his true condition. I know he was tired. But he basically coiled up and formed a ball for the remainder of his three months of life and was too ill to even attend my wedding on June 10. He died nine days later.
If someone had been upfront and told me about his impending death I would have handled things differently. At the time, I figured I had taken care of him through the other three medical crisis, I can do this too. But in the end I could have helped him live his last three months by traveling to visit family and maybe create a bucket list and follow it.
But not give up on life. Enjoy what you have and strive for your dreams.
I would say that’s the message that Randy Pausch, a professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction and Design at Carnegie Mellon University, had in mind when he started lecturing about “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” It’s a lesson we can take and use in our everyday lives, making a difference personally and professionally.
As a copywriter, I strive to bring to life the ideas, goals and message that my clients wish to present to their customers. To me, words are life. While a written language is not a natural thing but a created art, it does express our deepest ideas, thoughts and emotions in ways that other art forms do not.
In our haste to go from one place to another, from one end of a magazine to another, as fast as possible, we tend to skip over lots of the stuff that doesn’t immediately catch our eye and interest. The next time you pick up a magazine in the doctor’s office or train station - STOP - and look a little closer at the copy attached to the ads. Just this once. And read into the ideas and emotions that the copywriter has instilled into the words on the page.
Then go back to your fast-paced life.
But do yourself a favor and watch some of the videos online http://thelastlecture.com/, buy the book and watch the special show tonight.
Topics: Life Lessons, Copywriting, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
Organize Your Web Site for Customer Satisfaction
By admin | April 8, 2008
You’ve got a great idea for your company’s Web site. You can envision a magnitude of pages with hordes of information about you, your company, what you’ve done, how you did it and with whom — WAIT — hold that thought. Who are you creating this Web site for?
Your customers of course!
So rethink your Web site strategy and think intuitively about what your site visitors want to achieve; why they came to your site and what information they’re looking for.
Remember you only have a few seconds to capture their attention enough so they’ll keep visiting and not go searching elsewhere. Create a site map that will allow them to find the information they need as quickly as possible. Don’t make them work for it. Our overloaded, fast-paced brains don’t want extra work, especially when surfing the Net.
Have a small Web site? Put it all out on the table. Make sure the navigation is easy to understand - short and to the point.
Have a larger site in mind? Also keep the navigation simple with short descriptive titles, but make sure you don’t have information deeper than 3 clicks. It’s been statistically proven that information greater than 3 clicks deep will get lost in the shuffle and your Web site visitors will be lost also.
Lost visitors tend to find other sites to visit.
So, as creative as you want to make your Web site to look, keep your customer in focus.
Believe it or not, a Freelance Copywriter who specializes in writing for Web sites can give you a hand when it comes time to create a layout for your Web site. Working solo,or in tandem with your Web Designer or Web Developer, give your Freelance Copywriter an opportunity to provide some input into the overall layout and feel of your site.
Topics: Web Site Copywriting, Copywriting, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
Keep Your Marketing Message Honest
By admin | March 24, 2008
A very important fact to keep in mind when deciding how to present your product or service to the market place is to keep your message honest. Especially when you’re dealing with healthcare, medical and pharmaceutical markets.
Airborne Health, Inc. that markets Airborne, an over the counter cold remedy, made just that mistake. Now they are subject to a 23.3 million dollar class action lawsuit.
The Airborne dietary supplement claims to cure or prevent the flu and colds. But they have little to no facts to back up their claim. It hasn’t been tested by the FDA and what little tests that have been made public were conducted by
Knight-McDowell Labs, the manufacturers of the Airborne product.
Additionally, a medical report on drugs and therapeutics regarding Airborne, along with its emphasis that the evidence of cold prevention or treatment of the formula is inconclusive, gives reason to believe that the supplement is unsafe as directed, specifically regarding its excess of vitamin C:
"There are some concerns. First, there is no conclusive evidence that this product or any of its ingredients prevents colds or shortens their duration. Second, the adult tablet contains 1 g of vitamin C, and the directions for use advise taking 1 tablet at the first sign of a cold and repeating the dose every 3 hours as necessary. Vitamin C in doses higher than 1 g increases oxalate and urate excretion and may cause kidney stones (EN Taylor et al, J Am Soc Nephrol 2004; 15:3225). Third, the safety of this herbal extraction combination has not been established. And with herbs and dietary supplements in general, we only have the manufacturers’ word on the label for what’s in them."[4]
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_(dietary_supplement)>
Did marketing go above the suggestions of the science department? Or did they simply decide that the money they made would outweigh the damages? Instead of making claims they couldn’t back up (yet) and being labeled as false advertisers, marketing could have come up with other creative measures to boost the sales of the product.
In situations like these marketing and advertising needs to sit down with the science team to brainstorm the best route to take to make a product both safe and marketable. In this case it seems that they should have waited to conduct more thorough testing before it was brought to market.
Ironically, Airborne Health, Inc. claims no wrong doing.
Ultimately, watch your wording. Sometimes it’s as simple as changing the word "will" to "can" or "may." False advertising is easy to avoid and avoiding it is much easier on the bank account.
Topics: Copywriting, Marketing, Advertising, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
American Express/Delta Skymiles Direct Mail Blunder
By admin | January 9, 2008
OK, I admit my wife and I are not the most frequent flyers. On average we take one plane trip each year and this usually involves a family event. So we don’t rack up the frequent flyer miles that other folks do, yet we still get lots of direct mail promotional material nonetheless.
Well, yesterday we received a Direct Mail letter promoting the new Delta Skymiles/American Express credit card. And the copywriter lost me after three short sentences.
I quote: "We’re writing to share some exciting news. As of September 10, 2007, you have 0 miles in your Skymiles account. Now your next vacation can be closer than you think."
Now I added the bold, red "0 miles" for emphasis. First two lines kill the offer–dead. Period. I didn’t feel the need to keep reading. Wow, 0 miles equals, well, 0. I can’t see how this will get me any closer to anything except, well, 0. The next sentence continues by stating that I can add 17,500 more miles, but if I didn’t have an interest in critiquing direct mail that comes to my mailbox I wouldn’t have continued reading. My initial reaction was I’m being slightly insulted. Poking fun at my lack of airline usage? Sheesh!
By not taking into account prospects who don’t have a respectable Skymile total, this letter alienated a lot of folks.
What the copywriter and the company should have done is create more than one direct mail letter tailored to their target audience’s Skymile totals. Or simply leave out the sentence about the Skymiles total to begin with. In this case, "even though you only have ## Skymiles, your vacation can be closer than you think."
The first few lines of any direct mail sales letter has to hook the reader or the whole package becomes part of my kindling collection for my wood stove. Forethought and organization would have made this lead-in at least workable if not effective.
Topics: Direct Response, Direct Mail, Marketing | No Comments »
The Blog: Write a Column Anyone?
By admin | January 6, 2008
Remember newspapers? Magazines? Some of us still read those anachronisms because we like the feel of holding onto something, the rustle of paper when we turn the page, the smell. Yeah, the smell. It’s a very interactive experience sitting down to read a book, newspaper or magazine. We’re going to need smell-o-vision for our digital readers in the years to come.
But getting back to magazines and newspapers. We all have picked up on a column writer that we follow from day to day or week to week to see what they have to say about their industry or the world in general. And that’s the point of this post. A blog is just like writing a column. Pick a subject that pertains to your blog and go.
It’s actually not quite that easy otherwise everyone would be doing it. Then again, there are probably many in-the-closet bloggers out there we don’t know about.
That’s a good thing for open bloggers. Because if too many bloggers do hit the Web-waves our messages will get lost in the bits and bytes. If they aren’t already.
Now business bloggers have a tougher task of attracting readers than more mainstream blogs. Just as with any form of writing, there needs to be an audience. And the blogger has to find their voice. Once those pieces come together, with a little bit of luck, marketing and perseverence the readers will start showing up to see what you have to say that is relevant to their business or their lives.
Most importantly, once you have that following you need to make posts on a regular basis, just like newspapers and magazines. I suggest one per week to start. Any less than that and you risk losing readers.
Topics: Blogging, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »
Diversify Your Marketing Tactics
By admin | December 17, 2007
Marketing is as much an art form as it is a science. As an industry we’ve found ways to collect data, analyze it and act upon it to some degree of success, yet some demographics and products pose considerable challenges as they defy the expected results.
This keeps us scratching our heads and coming up with new ideas.
Sometimes we’re using the wrong combination of marketing venues. Or, not enough.
The idea for this post came this morning while I was driving my wife to work because her car’s windshield wipers decided that too much ice and below 20 degree weather was too much strain and they gave up. So we turned to the back up plan–me driving her to work. We switched to the car that worked.
If you’re marketing a product and one advertising/marketing method isn’t working DON’T GIVE UP. Change tactics, use multiple methods and/or venues, even re-evaluate your demographics.
Print advertisers can add online advertising. Online businesses can try a direct mail campaign etc, etc. Even though you have a picture of how you want to present your company you need to keep an open mind about how and where you end up advertising and marketing to reach customers.
Topics: Marketing, Advertising, Freelance Copywriter | No Comments »