Short & Sweet & To-The-Point

[ErinWrites]

Okay, people...

Lately, I've had a lot of new clients come to me for help editing their web
copy, brochure copy, etc.

After working on a few of these projects, I've noticed a disturbingly
common theme: we, as small business owners, tend to blather on WAY TOO
LONG about our business - in a "voice" that appeals more to other industry
types, NOT our customers.

So when developing your marketing materials, please keep the following in
mind:

1) Use your "word counter" to tally the number of words in your copy. Now
go back through and edit, edit, EDIT until you convey the same message
using only HALF the words.

2) Remember: YOU ARE SPEAKING TO YOUR CUSTOMER, not another
engineer/web designer/retailer/dentist/SEO spe******t. As interesting as the
minutia of your business is to you - your customers could care less. (Sorry,
it's true!) They don't want to know HOW or WHY it works, they want to
know how or why it will MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR THEM.

3) Refer to tip #2 when you're DESIGNING your website or brochure, too.
Clutter is a turn-off. And don't show diagrams, graphics or photos that are
only of interest to peers, not customers.

For example, I recently received a postcard in the mail advertising local
dentistry services. The front of the card was tasteful and elegant...very
nice. But when I turned it over - YIKES! - there were "before and after"
pictures of mouths, with the lips stretched back and the yucky red gums
exposing even yuckier teeth. Ew!

A better design would have been to show an attracting family smiling - full
face shots - with beautiful, white teeth. Honestly, the only people interested
in the stretched-lips, bleeding-gums closeups are other dentists...not
potential patients.

4) Think in BENEFITS, not FEATURES. Just to hammer it home, below is a
list of a product/feature and its corresponding benefit(s):

- Tourmaline face cream with SPF 30 (Timeless beauty in a bottle)

- Quality tax preparation services (Peace of mind that your taxes
are correct, freedom from paperwork)

- Full-service, small business web design (Peace of mind that your
site will perform as it should, more time since you won't be wasting
weekends trying to muddle through web design, confidence that
comes from having a professional, well-designed site)

5) If you can't (or don't have the time to) adhere to 1-4 above, HIRE A
PROFESSIONAL!

As a writer, I knew my design skills were seriously lacking. So I invested
over $4,000 in a web/graphic designer to develop my site, my letterhead,
my business card, etc. I've made that money back many times over (my
website passively attracts new clients every day) so I don't regret the
expense for a second!

BOTTOM LINE: If you don't have the time or energy to do-it-WELL-yourself,
paying a professional to develop your marketing materials is really is one
of the best investments a business owner can make - just ask those of us
who have!

Cheers,
Erin

[Ad-vice_man]

Bravo, Bravissimo

I couldn't have articulated that better myself.

Kudo's

[LisaL]

All very good points.

Lisa

[ErinWrites]

Oh, good...I hope it helps people!

I just noticed I'd been seeing the same "issues," project after project, these past few months - so I wanted to put down some basic, helpful pointers to counter these common marketing mistakes.

Cheerio!
Erin

[Gunslingergirl]

I think sometimes the hardest thing for a person to do is admit they can't do something well. I also think a lot of people have the mistaken impression that writing copy is easy and anyone can do it.

I can't second what Erin said enough. It is very good advice. No one can do all things, so know what your strengths are and pay to have someone do the rest. Your business will benefit from it.

Great post Erin.

[cbscreative]

I love your dentist example! It certainly illustrates a common problem in marketing, great post. Like you also said, the best testimony will come from people who have hired a pro. Those who try to do something themselves when they should pay someone else will never know the rewards you talked about.

The only thing I would add to your comments is that not all graphic designers and web designers are marketing people. Either hire someone who is, or hire both because impressive design without marketing won't do much either.

[ErinWrites]

Good call, Steve. I really should have touched on the QUALITY of the professional help you're getting.

Yes, you can usually get more for your money if you hire a graphic designer or writer with a strong marketing background, because they can serve double duty. They won't just put up a site or jot down some words - they'll advise you on tactics and guide you towards the strongest brand representation your business can muster.

At the same time, if you decide to do-it-yourself, it's not enough to make your site "look cool" or copy a billboard headline you once saw. Web design is not an art project. Copywriting is not an essay for your lit. class.

You need to educate yourself on marketing and advertising before you tackle anything. This is important stuff, people! If it was worth the time and effort to start your own businesss...it's worth the time and effort to get the marketing down!

Cheers,
Erin

[JWDesignCenter]

sing it sista! This is so important for businesses to understand.. Thank you for the reminder.

[cbscreative]

I for one would love to see someone post here who is not in our business and has learned this lesson for themselves, especially if you have tried the DIY approach and then hired a professional. Please feel free to share your experiences. Your testimony will be even more valuable than what I could say.

It also makes sense that someone here has had a bad experience by hiring the wrong "professional." Your input could help others here. Maybe you have made the mistake of having something "awesome looking" produced, but it lacked any clear marketing. So even if it was impressive looking, it failed your expectations.

All right, let's see those case studies...

[cbscreative]

No takers on this so far, hmmmm.

Maybe I should post an example that meets up with point #2. I was given some copy that was very much written to others in their industry and rewote it to speak to customers instead. Only thing is, I don't have permission to post it and wouldn't want to offend my client by asking. Suffice it to say, this is a very common problem.

Let's see some stories from other members here...