I have a confession … I adore human interest stories. The tug on my heart, the tear in my eye when they’re well written, well, it just gets me all verklempt.
Emotional writing, however, is not just for human interest reporters. Copywriters and communicators, too, can — and should — tap into the kind of emotion evoked by the presence of humanity in the writing.
Regardless of your subject matter, be it finance, real estate, insurance, food or something else, look for the human component of your story and put it front and center.
No CommentsThere’s an old story about a British shoe company in the early 1900s. It’s said that the company sent two salesmen into into a third-world country to investigate whether that country could become a market for the company’s shoes.
Upon visiting, the first salesman telegraphed back to the home office:
No market here. No one wears shoes.
The telegram from the second salesman read:
Fantastic opportunity. No one wears shoes yet.
Mmm. What communication, sales or marketing opportunity are you missing simply because your perspective is skewed or your biases override the unarticulated needs of your clients, customers or readers?
No CommentsGet Great Copy Shortcut #4
Writers are frequently told to “write what you know.” Okay. Great advice if you’re writing a book, an article or an essay on the topic of your choice. But when you’re a corporate writer, marketer or small- or medium-sized business owner, you’re more likely to be responsible for writing about things far less personal than, say, your passion for cooking, your experience in homeschooling or your advocacy for open adoption.
You can, however, adapt the “write what you know” philosophy. Begin with a brain dump of all that you know about your topic. (I suspect you’ll be surprised at just how much you do know.) Then roughly organize the copy into categories. Next, give each category a subhead. You’ll probably think of an additional category or two for which you have no copy. No problem. Just create the subhead and leave some blank space below for filling in.
For example, if you’re writing a history of your company for your web site, you might begin with how the company was founded, what transitions it has gone through and where it is today. Your subheads might look something like this: The Early Years, The Growing Years, Today and The Future. Or like this: History, Products & Services and Leadership.
At this point, it doesn’t matter what you write, only that you write. By using this Get Great Copy Shortcut, you’ll not only have a solid start on your potential copy, you’ll identify specific knowledge gaps. And only then will you know what you don’t know. And only then can you decide whether to investigate it and include it or leave it out altogether.
No CommentsIf you’re a corporate communicator, creative director, marketing manager, small or medium business owner, solopreneur, marketer, blogger or writer of any type, please take heed.
Stop — right now, right this minute — writing, saying or speaking these words or any variation, thereof:
In these tough economic times …
In times of uncertainty …
In these interesting times ..
Please, just stop. These words are overused, not to mention highly annoying. Why? Because they mean absolutely nothing to your customer, reader, client or audience. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nyet.
Let me be blunt about what using these words means. It means someone (you or your writer) is lazy. It means you’re not taking the time to think about your customer’s need. It means you don’t know how to communicate how current events relate to your customer through you or your product or service.
What precipitated this bold and forceful blog post? Just the umpteenth email newsletter that began with some of those very same words. Aargh. I cannot differentiate one company or offer from another. And I cannot relate to, nor care about, what these companies want to tell me. I’m doubing their perceived value in my life and my business. I may click “unsubscribe.” I may not read their next few newsletters. I may miss the important offer that was buried beneath the mumbo jumbo filler copy.
So, before you put another word in front of your customer, take 30 seconds to think about what really needs to be said. Then say it. Simply and clearly. Speak to the point from their perspective, not yours — and certainly not from some vague collective “we.”
Here’s a made-up example to illustrate my point:
Save $50 today only.
Now that is lead copy that’ll get attention a lot faster than this, wouldn’t you say?
No CommentsIn these tough economic times, everyone is looking to save money.
What’s your biggest, baddest, ugliest communication/copy challenge?
What, specifically, would you like to know about getting great copy or communicating more effectively?
What can’t you seem to accomplish with your communication/copy?
Post a comment here and I’ll answer the best questions in future issues of my Get Great Copy e-newsletter.
2 CommentsIt’s been said that the way to get people to pay attention to a numeral in a line of copy is to put a dollar sign in front of it.
Seems the theory could be true … this excerpted from direct mail guru, Bob Bly’s recent newsletter:
A company tested two e-mail subject lines:
The result? The first offer — with the dollar sign – generated nearly three times more revenue than the second offer with the percentage.
Source: The Marketing Report, 9/8/08
What this tells me is what I’ve always told my clients — be very clear and direct in your communication. Just say what you want to say plainly and in a way that customers can understand.
No CommentsThe Meijer Gas Alert program lets Meijer customers sign up to receive text-message alerts hours before gas prices go up.
What a smart way to create customer trust and loyalty and, more importantly, demonstrate real value where customers want it most — the bottom line.
Another idea for the swipe file.
No CommentsI just received an email from life coach Christine Kinney about her upcoming Declutter Bootcamp. Now, like you, I get a lot of emails offering ideas, sign ups, freebies, paid workshops, etc.
But Christine’s email was special. Novel. Compelling.
She first captured my attention with a not-so-usual subject line: “I think I’ve finally gone crazy!” Well, I had to at least take a peek and see what she was talking about.
Then I read on …
I woke up this morning with a really crazy idea.
It seems no matter where I go lately the conversation
quickly turns to the downward spiraling economy.
I can tell people are worried and anxious about what
the future holds.
Mmmm … you have my attention. Who isn’t feeling the economic pinch about now? So I kept reading …
So here’s my thought!
Since I don’t ever want finances to get in the way of
people achieving their dreams, what if I offered
Declutter Bootcamp for the Busy Christian Mom
with no registration fee? That’s right – no set price!
Instead, I will let the participants contribute based on
the value they received from the course.
Crazy! Right?
Maybe a little! But, I believe in abundance and miracles!
You just never know what will happen in your life and
finances between now and the end of the course.
There’s just one catch!
You have to be 100% committed to eliminating the
clutter from your life and realizing your dreams!
So maybe Christine’s offer is or isn’t your thing; however, it IS an enticing, timely offer presented in a “gotcha hooked” kind of way. Think about this approach for your next email.
No CommentsRecently I’ve been receiving unwanted text messages from some rogue company marketing its services to me. Aargh. It’s more than a little annoying. Especially because I don’t have unlimited texting; but even more so because I can do nothing to stop it.
IF there was something in place like the CAN-SPAM Act then I would at least be able to opt out of receiving these highly irritating messages.
Mobile marketing, however, is still in its infancy, meaning it is largely unregulated. That doesn’t mean, however, that marketers can or should be willy-nilly with their mobile messaging tactics.
Last July, the Mobile Marketing Association released privacy principles they call “the MMA Code of Conduct” to guide mobile marketers to “effectively, and responsibly, leverage the mobile channel for marketing purposes.”
Here are some highlights of the Code, courtesy of DMNews:
Notice
Provide understandable and quickly discoverable description of the terms and conditions of a marketing program.
Choice & Consent
Users have the right to control which mobile messages they receive.
Customization & Constraint
Marketing is most effective when targeted; marketing messages should add value for the user.
Security
Enact procedures to protect user information collection for marketing programs.
Carolina Choroco, a designer colleague of mine, passed along this link to the Study of Symbolism and Tradition in U.S. Presidential Logos.
The study identifies popular attributes in presidential logos for the past several elections.
After assessing the 2008 logos, Oboma’s logo is declared the hands-down winner in the 2008 presidential logo race with a score of 10 out of 10 — vs. McCain’s 2 out of 10.
Regardless of the outcome of the election … never underestimate the power of a logo.
No Comments