Is Your Marketing Machine Still on Spring Break? Get It Running Again With the Right Marketing Content

Another March is flying by, and March means fun and games. Many of the tech-savvy Central Texas entrepreneurs I know flock to SXSW every spring, tweeting madly about various events, presentations and informal get-togethers. And in the midst of all this chaos, kids suddenly have the week off. The older ones go hit the live music events or take off for whatever beach they can afford, while the younger ones need supervising at home (unless the whole family is planning a week-long excursion). In short, the entire city gets massively distracted. Question is, what happens to your business's marketing in the process?

Okay, you're on vacation, or you genuinely need to be attend trade shows and panels (where you may indeed make new connections and land new clients), or you can't leave your kids at home alone during the break. But if you haven't set up a marketing machine that keep running in your absence, then your business is taking the week off along with you. Many of us can't afford that. 

As long as there are people out there who need and want what we offer, we have to keep working to get their attention and hold it long enough to convert curiosity into sales. But too many entrepreneurs are flying by the seat of their pants, marketing-wise, putting out email offers or posting blog articles when and if they have time to do so. The problem is, if you wait until you have time, then your business suffers whenever you don't have time -- which is most of the time! You have to make time for marketing, whether it's convenient for you or not.

This doesn't mean you have to skip all those industry events or personal breaks. It means you have to construct a marketing campaign that can operate more or less on auto-pilot. More often than not, it involves some degree of outsourcing. You might need to talk to a web marketing company about constructing a direct mail system that automatically routes specific messages to prospects in accordance with their various stages of interest. You may have to talk to a copywriter about creating a stockpile of blog articles that will hit your website at scheduled intervals. 

Whatever you do, don't let an established routine fall apart for any significant length of time. I once got an email from a client who had been AWOL for about 8 months, wanting to know if I could resume blogging for him. He hadn't come up with any articles of his own during all the time -- the blog had simply, and visibly, been left for dead. I told him that while I'd be happy to write some new articles for him, we'd have to rebuild whatever readership he'd gained from scratch. A little neglect, unfortunately, goes a long way.

Summer will be here soon enough. You and yours may be looking forward to a well-earned vacation. So do the necessary strategizing right now to make sure your marketing will keep its nose to the grindstone while you're having fun!

When (and How) to Take Copywriting Advice

You've come to the conclusion that you need professional help crafting your website content, blog articles, print marketing collateral or email campaign. You've found an experienced marketing copywriter with an excellent reputation, and you're ready to pay his price to get the job done. So why is he telling you things you don't want to hear -- and how should you respond?

Specialists in a given field have a nasty habit of doing that. I suppose the auto shop is an example we can all relate to. If smoke is pouring out of the back end like a secret weapon in a Bond film, the gauges and indicators are screaming redly at me, or I hear noises that can't possibly occur outside of a wild animal documentary, then I know I have a car problem. So I give it to the mechanic, only to hear that I need a new this or a rebuilt that or a massive tuneup that costs more than the car's even worth on paper. Well, I didn't want to hear that, so what are my options? I can (a) ignore the mechanic's advice and hope he's wrong (or just trying to sell me stuff), (b) ask for the minimum amount of repair that will keep the car from dying completely, or (c) authorize all the work and let the mechanic do what he does best. The final choice will be determined not just by my budget, but also by my opinion of the mechanic's expertise and integrity.

It's the same when hiring a copywriter. Say you receive a draft that doesn't quite work for you, so you ask for changes. Maybe the writer will agree that the changes are necessary and happily make them without a word -- or maybe he'll advise you against some or even all of them. wait a minute, what's happening here? You're paying this guy to do what you want done, right?

Well, that depends on how much expertise you're buying along with that copy. An experienced copywriter who knows his stuff will be able to see things you can't, either because you're not a marketing expert or because you're too close to the problem. In those cases he might say, "I understand where you're coming from, but let me explain why I wrote it this way." If his explanation sounds sensible to you, you may want to re-evaluate your evaluation. If he seems to be responding out of some kind of bruised artist's ego or a simple unwillingness to cooperate, then you can safely ignore his arguments and insist in the changes (and hire a different writer next time). If, on the other hand, you really just wanted a glorified stenographer instead of a creative partner, you're probably better off engaging a junior writer or a marketing intern; you'll certainly save money by not hiring expertise you don't need.

When you interview a professional copywriter, make sure you communicate your expectations, not only for the writing but for the relationship as well. You always have option of taking or rejecting copywriting advice -- and you'll be getting what you paid for.