Change Their Lives – Even For A Day

Why do people buy “things”?  Sometimes they buy them because they need them.  Sometimes because they want them.  Still, there are times they buy for far more deep-seated reasons – and that, my fellow marketeers, is what we strive to understand and to emphasize.

For the hundreds of thousands of words I have written as a marketing consultant advice, I always tried to have one primordial thought behind my madness.  “Make the lives of my readers better.”  Whether it’s better permanently or simply for an hour or a day, I feel I have done my job.

I always pitied the copywriters who just tried to sell.  Hard pitch – soft pitch, fast pitch – slow pitch.  It made no difference – they just wanted to sell.  I was encouraged by one of my early supervisors to find something wonderful about the product or service of which I was tasked to write.  “Be proud that you get a chance to tell people about the marvelous benefit of this product and show how the product will make their life better.”
The make-up will create a more attractive you
The car that shouts (or whispers) something good about you
The vacation that will give you a lifetime of wonderful memories
The dress that will rekindle your relationship
The house that will give your family a home

Products are merely “things”.  What we make of them, what we expect of them deep down in the recesses of our psyches, are why we buy them.  Believe me, if you think about it, everything from a pen to a lamb chop can make our lives better and thus justify the choice you make.

So when you’re writing your next product description, post card, or webpage think about something wonderful that, like Cinderella’s glass slipper, will make the life of your customer better!

More Marketing Strategy And Copywriting Advice
I am a marketing and advertising consultant located in the Phoenix, Arizona area.  I give my clients advice and assistance based around messaging.  My business is writing and I love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets with you.  Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life?  Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

I’ll Trade You This Helpful Information For Your E-Mail Address

Does your website have a valuable free offer?  Is it placed on the home page “above the fold”?  Can visitors to your site download it within a minute?

If you don’t, you’re missing the boat.

Why Even Have A Website If You Don’t Build An E-Mail List?

One of the most important reasons you have a website is to gather your visitors’ contact information so you can communicate with them later.  Build an “opt-in” list of folks who voluntarily give you their e-mails to get something from you (that valuable free gift).  By doing so they give you permission to contact them.

Identify what your prospects want (usually information) and offer it to them free.  To kick-start your brain, here’s a few opt-in offers my clients (and I) have used.

Guide To Bass Fishing In The Rockies (Boat Dealer)

Savvy Consumers Guide To Auto Repair (Auto Repair Referral Service)

Home Water System Buyers Guide (Water System Manufacturer)

84 Proven Ways To Pump Up Your Marketing (Me)

Not only will you have prospect e-mails, but also the guides contain both subtle and overt selling statements from the “authors”.

Not only will you have prospect e-mails, but also the guides contain both subtle and overt selling statements from the “authors”.
Advertising and Marketing strategists write these guides and white papers for their clients all the time.  It’s one of the most valuable – and long-lasting tools we create.

More Marketing Consultant Advice

My firm helps companies with their marketing strategy on a one-to-one basis.  But I also love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets with you.  Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life?  Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

 

 

 

 

 

The Two Most Abused Grammar Rules And Why We Copywriters Do It

The two most purposely abused rules are: (Trumpets, please) sentence fragments and ending a sentence in a preposition.

Sentence Fragments

Technically a sentence fragment does not contain at least one independent clause with a subject and a verb. Copywriters routinely ignore this rule. Why? Because it interferes with the flow of the copy. And because it’s they way real people talk. Here’s an example:

My copy: “We send our child to Proof Positive Pre-School because we want her to succeed in school – and in life. And because we’re her parents. “

Grammatically correct copy: “We send our child to Proof Positive Pre-School because we want her to succeed in school – and in life. And we send her there because we’re her parents. “

Read the two examples out loud. Which flows more smoothly? Is more easily understood? If you chose the first one – you’re my kind of copywriter.

Ending A Sentence In A Preposition

There’s an old story where Sir Winston Churchill is taken to task for ending a sentence in a proposition. His response? “Sir, that is a sin, up with which, I shall not put.” This little anecdote shows you that strictly adhering to grammatical rules can be off-putting and can be a great hindrance to the reader’s understanding. If you occasionally break this rule, you’re the kind of person I’d like to have a beer with. Amen.

More Marketing Advice

For over 30 years I have been a marketing consultant advising various businesses on unique messaging, branding strategies and copywriting. I love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets. Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life? Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

Take Away The Risks Of Buying… And Sell More

For all who sell to remote customers either online, via catalog or by direct marketing, here is a virtually foolproof way of increasing your sales.  Remove the barriers to buying from your customers as much as possible.
When consumers buy remotely – especially when they haven’t done business with you before – there is always some fear present.  Will I get what I ordered?  Will it be as described?  Do I have that much money?  What if it doesn’t fit or the color isn’t as shown?  What if it breaks?  What if I just don’t like it?

It is a critical goal of your marketing to alleviate the fear by using Risk Reducing, trust-inspiring measures such as:
Unconditional Money-Back Guarantee
Try it before you buy it
No restocking fee
Easy payment plan
Perfect fit Guarantee
Strong product warranty
Do this and customers will feel more confident in buying from you – and that leads to more sales.

More Marketing Consultant Advice
As a long-time marketing consultant offering online copywriting services, I love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets.  Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life?  Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

Is Your Product Sold With Emotion Or Intellect?

For all small business owners out there, I’d like to pose a primary question, “Is your product sold with emotion or intellect?”  Now some of you will think this a silly question and immediately answer, “Both!”.  It’s not so silly.

A cruise line needs you to imagine yourself having the time of your life on their cruise.  Everything they say and do uses an emotional (experience-based) appeal.  They show images of exotic ports of call, elegant dining, well-dressed, good-looking people dancing and families having a grand old time.  Other than price, which is downplayed, is anything mentioned to get you to make your decision on an intellectual basis.  All copy is directed to describing wonderful experiences, new friends, and everlasting memories.

Tools, on the other hand, are sold using a strictly intellectual (fact-based) approach.  You’ll read about the fine workmanship, excellent materials, lifetime “replace it if it breaks” guarantees, and testimonials from professionals and “do-it-yourselfers”.  You make your decision based on facts and how the tool fits the your needs.  No “imagining” necessary.

Let’s get a head start.  Below I list, as a guide, products that most often use emotional approaches and those that use intellectual approaches.

Does Your Product Fit The Emotional Or Intellectual Model?

Emotional

• Travel
• Restaurants
• Clothing
• Beauty products
• Wine and Spirits
• Candy and Snacks
• Soft Drinks
• Fragrances
• Entertainment
• Books & Magazines

   

Intellectual

• Home repair
• Financial Services
• Auto Repair
• High-ticket technology
• Appliances
• Professional Services
• Work Tools
• Education

P.S. – There are notable products like automobiles or new homes that do use a two-tier approach.  First they use emotion to get people imagining themselves driving the car or living in the home, then use facts and figures to close the sale.

More Marketing Consultant Advice

For over 30 years I have been giving marketing consultant advice to many businesses.  I love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets.  Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life?  Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

Continually Educate Your Customers And Prospects

How many times have you heard about the importance of building a strong E-Mail Database?  You hear it so often because it has become an absolute essential for doing business.
Many go to great lengths to get valid e-mail addresses.  Being a marketing consultant in Arizona who also offers online copywriting services, I do it all the time.  I give away lots of free “How-To Tips”; you can get them by signing up on my website (MoneyWordsMarketing.com) with your e-mail.  Then I send you more meaningful tips every few weeks.

My clients like this because it refreshes what they learned and prospects that haven’t done business with me yet report they get a lot out of them.
If you can educate both your customers and prospects in a non-threatening way, you will be on the top of their mind when they have need for what you provide.  And that, dear readers, is what marketing is all about.

More Marketing Consultant Advice
As a long-time marketing strategist and copywriter, I love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets.  Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life?  Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

Be Believable Or Be Gone – Words and Numbers almost no one Believes

Whether you are writing a website, advertisement, or social media post – take care about the claims you make and the way you communicate them. Using the wrong words or numbers can turn your readers from “on” to “off” in a second.

As consumers, we have all been bombarded with meaningless claims such as “The Most Gigantic Sale In Our History” or “The Best For Less” or “The Rolls Royce Of Whatever-It-Is-We’re-Selling!” Our BS meters are always engaged when looking at advertising.

These types of meaningless claims arouse our suspicions because they are far too general and subjective. Buyers want promises but they want them to have teeth. The teeth come from being specific. What sounds better to you, “The Most Gigantic Sales In Our History” or “Our Biggest Sale In 7 Years. Save 32 – 61% on brands you love”?

The specificity of the latter claim supplies “believability”. Promises or claims that are believable are acted on far more often than puffery, platitudes and clichés.

Equally damaging to consumer response are numbers that no one takes seriously such as, “The #1 Store Of Its Kind In The Metroplex”, “50% less than competing brands”, “5-Star Service” or 1,000 Items To Choose From”.

Stop the bombast and get real! Try the following:

• Rated #1 in the _____________ survey.
• Our customers rate our service 4.88 out of 5 stars. (Awesome!)
• 1,064 items in stock!
• Save 34% on all Fishing Reels Tomorrow!

Starting to get the picture? Numbers are believable when they are perceived to be real. Stay away from round numbers like 50% or $10,000. Prospects perceive the round numbers as hype and ignore it. What’s more, they ignore you.

Use actual numbers. It’s far easier to believe a 48% discount than a 50% discount, or a rebate of $10,437 than one of $10,000. Why? Because you took the time and trouble to be specific and that shows you respect your audience. One caution though. Be prepared to back up your claim with facts – which should be fairly easy since you’re using “real numbers”.

More Marketing Tips

I’ve spent a good part of my career as a marketing consultant and freelance copywriter giving small businesses marketing strategy. I enjoy sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets. To get more valuable tips that could help improve your marketing, go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

Don’t Copy The Mega-Marketers

SBOs (Small Business Owners) are unduly influenced by Mega-Marketers like Proctor and Gamble, Coca-Cola, GEICO and McDonald’s.  They read about them in books, magazines and blogs.  They study their advertisements and try to emulate them (“We should do something like that.”).  And they cause themselves untold grief.

These behemoths of marketing use a formula that, if copied by the average SBO can bring financial ruin.  Their formula is this:  Creativity + Repetition = Awareness.  Boiled down to its essence it says this, “To create Brand Awareness

1. “Grab attention using the most creative, unexpected and provocative images, statements and characters in your advertising
2. Repeat, repeat, and repeat!

When small businesses try to copy that formula they fail because they don’t have the money to carry it out.  C+R=A relies on putting your message in front of your prospect as many times and in as many places as you can.  They can afford the production costs, airtime, and mailing costs.  P&G will spend upwards of $1 Billion and six months to introduce a brand.

If you don’t have their budget, don’t copy their methods.

More Marketing Tips

As a long-time marketing consultant in Arizona, I love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets.  Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life?  Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/ and follow me on Twitter @MA_TWIZDOMS

 

 

To Sound Like An Expert – Hire One!

Harry Beckwith, award winning marketing author and speaker, has it right. “If you want to sound like an expert – hire one!”  This is true not only for high-profile CEOs but also for forward-thinking SBOs (Small Business Owners).

Whenever you put yourself or your company out to the public, via websites, brochures, advertisements, sales calls, networking events, etc., you want to put your best foot forward.  And that foot is your Unique Branding Message.

Too often, SBOs decide that since they’re experts in their particular business, they are equally as expert in creating the messages that make prospects and customers sit up, take notice and listen.

Unfortunately, this is far from the truth.

If you’re an SBO and want to market your business successfully, do what CEOs do – hire a professional copywriting service to craft and articulate your Unique Message – and then communicate that message every chance you get.

It costs less than you might think and will return dividends for years.

More Marketing Tips

As a long-time copywriter, I love sharing my marketing tips, insights and secrets.  Interested in learning more valuable stuff that could help improve your marketing life?  Go to http://www.moneywordsmarketing.com/alans-blog/.

Contact me, the marketing consultant in Arizona for Valuable tips.

Better Writing = Better Results

Your unique Branding Message is the heart of your marketing. When the message is right everything works better and every dollar spent on marketing is more productive. To maximize your chance of success – put first things first.

I am a copywriter and brand strategist.

The central premise I work under is simple: “Better writing brings better results.”

Whatever tactics you currently employ to deliver your message and drive business: Websites, SEO, Pay-Per-Click, Telemarketing, Social Media, Content marketing, Inbound marketing, Outbound marketing, Digital, Brochures, Post cards, E-mail, New marketing, Traditional marketing, Radio, TV, Signage, Videos – even Networking…

None of these can work if your branding message is trite, predictable and uninspiring.

 Money vs Message

 We know, through various studies, that your message is the most important element of your marketing plan.  More important than the media used to convey it to your prospects. And more important than how much money you spend on marketing and advertising. Yet, for too many entrepreneurs and small business owners, the branding message is often given short shrift as they strive for calls, traffic, hits, likes, follows, etc.

One such study, from the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania set out to establish an answer to the question, “Which is more predictive of success in marketing and advertising – money or message?” The final 2500 page report came to three basic conclusions:

• There is no direct correlation between dollars invested and results gained.
• Results are inextricably linked to the message.
• Results increase with repetition.

 Craft Your Message BEFORE Deciding On The Delivery Method

 If your goal is to boost sales, do yourself a favor – spend your time and maybe some money creating as picture-perfect a brandingstrategy and message as you can. And do this before you make any decisions – or spend one thin dime – on how you deliver that message to your prospects.

An excellent message will interrupt, engage, educate, and move more people to act than a mediocre message. The result? Increased revenues, decreased cost per lead and higher conversion rates. Here, a branding strategy consultant is often an investment that can pay off handsomely down the line.

One of my heroes, Rosser Reeves, chairman of Ted Bates International and copywriting legend, once created a branding message for Rolaids. He wrote, “How do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S!” Sound familiar? Rolaids has been using this same message for over 70 years. Was hiring Mr. Reeves a great investment for Rolaids? You better believe it.

 FiveReasons To Focus On Your Message First

 

1. A unique and superior branding message is the heart of your marketing. It can make you or break you. No amount of advertising or social media hype can help sell a lousy message.
2. The message is central to all your marketing efforts.
3. Well-crafted messaging increases readership and boosts click-through and conversion rates.
4. It is far less costly to develop superior branding and messaging strategies and tools than it is to deliver that message.In my experience, only about 5% of a five year marketing budget goes to message creation and copywriting.
5. A well-crafted, successful branding message can be used for many, many years.

Now start thinking about what sets you apart from your competition, what benefits your customer values most and how to get it across to others in a short, easy-to-remember way. If you need help, an experienced, professional copywriting servicecan increase your business far in excess of the fees charged. My advice – find a copywriter you can relate to and whose expertise you can rely on. And then…take your business to the next level – and beyond.