Frequently Asked Questions About Frequently Asked Questions

No, the title of this post isn't some bizarre typo caused by one too many late-night writing sessions. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) pages are a fixture of Internet commerce; in fact, it's pretty hard to visit kind any kind of business site without seeing an "FAQ" tab on the home page. FAQ pages serve a valuable purpose. They can help you defuse common concerns and objections right off the bat, smoothing the way toward a purchase or at least further conversation. They can debunk popular myths about your industry, explain individual products or services, dispense important advice, explain how to place orders, and shed additional light on your business's values and mission. Having written my share of FAQ pages for clients over the years, however, I've come to realize that they can inspire as many questions as they aim to answer. So here's a little FAQ page about FAQ pages.

Q: What should my FAQ page include?

A: There's really no list of "must-have" questions and answers, which means that there's no single way to populate an FAQ page. One of the beauties of FAQ pages is that you get to decide which questions need answering. Simply ask yourself which questions you hear all the time from your clients, prospects, and referral partners, or go through old emails to see which questions you've answered over and over again. At the same time, think about including questions that you wish people would ask, or that you suspect they're keeping to themselves.

Q: How long should my answers be?

A: There are no particular rules about answer length, but use common sense. Abraham Lincoln stated that a man's legs should be long enough to reach the ground. Your answers be long enough to answer the question -- and no longer. If your reader see that his question has an interminable answer, it'll only make him more leery to wade into deeper waters.

Q: How should I address legitimate worries or known problems in my industry or product line?

A: Either don't include them on the FAQ page at all, or answer them honestly. You can always find positive ways to couch those negative situations, such as: "We know you're concerned about this issue, and so are we. That's why doing X, Y and Z to make your outcome more pleasant and productive."

Q: Should I put my company bio in the FAQ page?

A: Probably not, although you could answer some specific questions about skills, experience, et cetera. A full bio paragraph about your company or its leaders more properly belongs on your About Us page. Reserve your FAQ page for questions that might come up after the reader has perused your Home, About Us, and Products/Services pages.

Q: Should I leave some popular questions unaddressed?

A: In my humble opinion, yes. Generally speaking, marketing materials that try to cross every T and dot every I leave the reader with the impression that there's nothing left to ask -- and that could very well kill your chances of receiving calls and having productive chats that result in closed sales.

So, there's my brief FAQ page about FAQ pages. Do you feel a little better equipped to write your own? I hope so -- but if you still don't feel like bothering it yourself, rest assured that I can help you in that department too!

A New Year Calls for a New Marketing Plan

So here we are, already well into January, hustling and bustling to build new success in a new year. (I'm cooking up some new notions myself, as a matter of fact.) For many business owners, the beginning of the year is an ideal time to launch new programs, projects and directions -- including some new and improved marketing strategies to help turn all these great ideas into real-world revenue. Why? Because these folks aren't interested in continuing to run in place; they want to gain speed and move out ahead of the crowd. But before you can change your fortunes, you usually have to change your plan.

How's your January shaping up in that regard? Are you perfectly content to keep on keeping on, or are you looking to make some changes that will enable you to grow, adapt and thrive in an ever-changing environment? After all, new marketing trends, technologies and techniques spring up seemingly every day. Google adjusts its algorithm, and the entire online marketing industry changes course accordingly. Traditional websites are supplemented by mobile websites, then morph into responsive websites. In short, times change -- and so do buyer behaviors. So if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results, how sane are your current marketing strategies?

I encourage business owners to refresh their marketing plans periodically, and the beginning of the year seems as sensible a time as any. Some of the items you might want to look at include:

Your overall business plan - Does it still address your company's needs, mission, values and goals? Are its timelines and milestones still doable? Do the various budgets (including the marketing budget) need adjusting?

Your marketing content - Does your current marketing content do your business proud? Does it actively boost your conversion rates? Do your latest and greatest products and services require promotion via new content? Are you prepared to freshen the existing content on a regular basis, and if so, what's your plan for that?

Your channels - Have you fallen behind the curve in utilizing a full array of social media and other state-of-the-art marketing channels -- or do you actually need to narrow your focus in this area? Could your website be more responsive to a wide range of browsers and mobile devices? Do you need to get more interactive in handling comments and questions from current and prospective customers?

Your analytics - Do you have an information collection system that sifts incoming buyer data into metrics you can use to guide your future marketing endeavors? Do you need to engage an outside provider of turnkey Web analytics, monitoring and management? Could you do a better job of building drip campaigns that automatically send out the right marketing touches to the right customers at the right point in the relationship?

There's still loads of time to make this year your best-ever year for new business growth and development. Just make sure that your marketing grows and develops too!

How's Your Marketing Health?

For many, the transition from Christmas into the New Year represents a drastic course correction, especially in terms of health and wellness. If you've ever glutted yourself in December with the notion of transforming your eating habits come January, then you know what I'm talking about. Or maybe you'll resolve to take up a rigorous exercise regimen after a year spent lounging around in tattered underwear watching TV. Why? Because you suddenly realize that your physical health matters to you.

But what about your marketing health?

Your business or organization runs on revenue, just as we fuel ourselves with food. That revenue comes from customers who were drawn to your products and services by -- you guessed it -- marketing. That means your marketing "body" needs to achieve and maintain tip-top condition. How would you rate the health of that body's following parts?

Heart - We romanticize the heart as the seat of emotion -- but in marketing, feelings, drives and compulsions mean a lot. Not only must your marketing "heart" contain your company's mission and values, but it must also use emotion to convey those convictions to your target market.

Brain - The brain plans, conceives, evaluates and initiates everything you do; it's your master planner. Your marketing "brain" has the same job. It consists of your detailed short-range and long-range marketing plans, as well as the key personnel who write those plans, update them as needed, and occasionally throw them out entirely in favor of a new direction. Do you have these key personnel? Is your marketing plan still valid?

Eyes and ears - Your eyes and ears bring you the wide world in all its detail (with or without some help from your optometrist and audiologist). Your marketing body must see and hear clearly, too. To do this, it needs to position its "eyes" and "ears" along the huge array of media channels available to it -- from Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn/et cetera to client reviews and comments posted throughout the Net.

Tongue - To engage in normal speech with others, you need a tongue that is capable of forming words properly and stating ideas effectively. Your marketing "tongue" is your copywriter or copywriting team. These professionals can receive instructions from your marketing "brain" and translate them into the most effective message for your specific goals.

Fingers and toes - When you want to grab something, you reach out and pick it up with your fingers. Your marketing body does much the same. Its "fingers" are the advertisements, Tweets, blog posts, emails, and business calls sent out to reach prospects and clients. (They call them "touches" for a reason!) And what about the toes? Toes help you maintain your balance when standing, walking, or running. Your marketing body's "toes" are your marketing metrics -- those critical numbers that, when properly assessed and interpreted, can help you adjust your marketing efforts and keep your business upright.

Digestive system - When you eat, you don't just put food in your mouth; you chew it, swallow it, and (hopefully) digest it. Well, your marketing body can't be content simply to bring new prospects to your business. It must process those prospects by converting them into satisfied paying customers, just as your digestive system must process the food you eat before it can do you any good. Think of your conversion tools and strategies -- a well-designed website, easy-to-use points of sale, opportunities for buyer/browser feedback, big data collection and interpretation, and followup communications -- as the "guts" of your marketing body.

So while you're making those New Year's resolutions to lose weight, build muscle, increase your flexibility, or engage in smarter wellness practices, give some additional thought to your marketing wellness. Then resolve to enjoy optimal business health in the coming year!

Freelancing on the Move: How to Write from Anywhere

One of the great advantages of being a freelance writer is the fact that you can write for any client, anywhere. This opens up fascinating possibilities for people who need to earn a living but don't necessarily want to spend every moment of their lives cooped up in the same office -- or even the same city. I've heard of folks writing entire book manuscripts and other large projects while roaming the country in an RV, for instance. After all, how hard could it be? All you need is email, a Web connection, and a laptop. Right?

Well, sort of. That’s a good start, but there are other considerations to think about, too. I would expand that list to include:

• Internet/email connectivity
• Voice connectivity
• A writing machine
• A solid client base
• Peace and quiet

The technological challenges are fairly easy to overcome. Most major cell phone services have an option that enables you to use your cell phone or smart device as a mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, so you can work and communicate online as long as you’re in a place that gets decent coverage. Some RV parks offer wireless connectivity as part of their service. If your “day job” boss has sent you on an assignment that includes a hotel stay, you can simply use that facility’s Internet. Then of course there are all those free hot spots in coffee houses, restaurants and libraries across the U.S. I wouldn’t want to share sensitive information over public airwaves, but for everyday writing tasks they’re safe enough.

You choice of writing device will have an impact on how easily you can do a day’s work. For me, a proper writing machine has to have a proper keyboard, so that rules out touchscreen solutions such as tablets. I’ve found Chromebooks perfectly adequate for writing on the road, at least in most situations -- especially since you can save documents to an external thumb drive or hard drive, solving the question of limited storage. If you plan on doing a large percentage of your writing offline, however, you may want to spring for a more fully functional traditional laptop.

A solid client base is always desirable for any freelancer, but it becomes an even bigger deal when you spend long periods of time away from your home base. That’s because you’re losing opportunities to network and have face-to-face meetings with local clients and prospects. Sure, you’ll meet people on your travels, but it’s harder to turn those encounters into long-term business relationships. My advice would be to develop a deep pool of strong hometown client/colleague connections before hitting the road.

Don’t discount peace and quiet as a critical factor in your success as a mobile writer. You can’t write if you can’t hear yourself think, and that isn’t always easy when you have little no control over your surroundings. The friendly hustle and bustle of a coffee shop might boost your mood and energize your imagination -- until a screaming 2-year-old sits appears at the next table. RV parks and campgrounds can be notoriously rambunctious. Even the most sophisticated executive suite may have paper-thin walls, which is pretty much like inviting all the neighbors over to party while you try to meet that writing deadline. But don't lose hope; earplugs and iPods are among the traveling writer’s best friends. You might also get good results from synchronizing your writing schedule with quieter times of day or night.

Give these issues some thought before your next great adventure -- and then have fun writing from (and for) Anywhere, U.S.A.!

Want to Understand Your Business? Write About It!

Not too long ago I sat down with a business owner to discuss the creation of a print marketing piece. This person had owned and operated a fairly lucrative enterprise for several years, but he had never really moved beyond the word-of-mouth stage of marketing. Now that it was time to expand, I asked a few of the questions I routinely throw out in an intake interview. What was his company's stated mission? How does that mission set it apart from its competitors? What was the target market's most painful problem, and which promised solution would get them the most excited?

And every time I asked one of these questions, the client would pause, smile, and say, "Let me think about it. That's actually something I've never asked myself."

This little scene demonstrates a couple of things. First, it points out how valuable it can be to have a third party look at your business from the perspective of the general public. Second, it indicates that writing about your business can be an effective method for discovering what it's really all about. My client knew how to run a successful business. He had an instinctive feel for what the public wanted from him and how to deliver it. But he'd never put all that down in writing -- and writing sometimes makes all the difference between working instinctively and working consciously.

If you ask a business coach to help you improve your career performance or clarify your company's direction, you'll probably be told to write down your objectives, goals, challenges, deadlines, milestones and so on. Why? Because all those thoughts floating around in your head may give you the idea that you have a plan when all you truly have is a bunch of thoughts -- none of which may actually come to a conclusion or link together in a constructive way. When you put your ideas down on paper (or screen, or papyrus, or the nearest big rock), you're forced to condense, codify, and make some sort of sense out of them. Your half-baked notions become fully-realized statements. Your hopes and dreams become concrete goals with set timelines.

The same principal holds true for your marketing efforts. When you sit down to write a website or brochure, you may find yourself faced with questions you always figured you sorta-kinda had the answers to. Suddenly you have to explain to your audience precisely how you can give them the exact solution to the specific problem they're having. And to answer all those questions for your audience, you first have to answer them for yourself. What do your ideal customers want? How do you soothe their pain? What makes your company a better choice for that task than your competitors? Addressing these questions and nailing down the answers once and for all is a powerful thing, not just for your marketing but also for your ability to steer your business into the future you want for it. So when in doubt -- write it out!

Why You Should Outsource Your Rebuttal Posts

As modern marketing options continue to evolve, people seem to be engaging professional copywriters for all sorts of things that didn't even exist a few years ago. These days a freelance marketing writer may be asked to supply content for Facebook business pages, Twitter accounts, LinkedIn profiles, Craigslist ads -- the list goes on and on. But one of the most interesting jobs I had was writing rebuttal posts for a local business who'd been slammed by a disgruntled customer on an online forum.

If I recall correctly, my client leased and maintained washing machines, and one recipient had gone ballistic over a messy mechanical failure. The customer had been poisoning the Internet with a series of lengthy negative "reviews," which were mainly just angry rambles peppered with name-calling and serious (and according to my client, untrue) accusations. "We need to respond to this guy with some rebuttals to shut down his argument once and for all," he said. "But we just don't trust ourselves to do it right." So they turned to a pro. Smart move! 

Let's say your business faces the same predicament. Somebody who wants to dirty your good name is running a smear campaign, accusing you of terrible products, non-existent customer service, sluggish delivery and so on. Maybe they're even going so far as to call you a crook. You know you're in the right, so why not jump onto your keyboard and fight back? I'll tell you why not:

1. Emotion never wins an argument. When two parties are engaged in a dispute, which one comes across as the more credible -- the eye-rolling, foam-spewing screamer, or the calm, level-voiced debater? The answer is obvious. But if you're in a fresh lather of your own over what this person is trying to do to your company or organization, chances are that your response will not exactly show you at your best. You want to rebut the charges, not create a fight scene worthy of a Godzilla movie. A cool-headed third party can make sure your rebuttal sounds factual, logical, and authoritative. The original poster looks like a total crackpot by contrast. You've won.

2. Faulty writing opens you up to more ridicule. Even if you can keep your temper under control when you compose your rebuttal, are your actual writing skills up to the task? Part of crafting an authoritative, intelligent response is writing text that reads correctly and fluently, with no errors in spelling, grammar or English usage. Remember, your assailant is looking for any excuse to put you down and make you look bad in front of your target market. Don't hand him a loaded gun by posting a rebuttal riddled with mistakes.

How did the Great Washing Machine War turn out, you ask? Actually, I wasn't following the online debate as it played out, but my client told me that the rebuttals I'd written for his company were just what they wanted and needed to clear their good name in the public eye. So if you're entangled in an online fight of your own, don't get mad, and don't get even -- get a freelance copywriter to rebut your enemy into submission!

Lather, Rinse, Repeat: Why Rehashing Old Blog Topics Makes Smart Marketing Sense

A couple of months ago I inadvertently destroyed my blog database, sending hundreds of articles into the ether, or wherever they go in such situations. I've been going back and forth over whether to re-post the original articles from my archives or just keep plowing forward with fresh new content. But just how fresh and new would the content really be? Without plowing through all the old posts I've written over the years, how can I know whether or not I'm simply repeating myself? 

Then reality hit me: Of course I'm going to repeat myself. I do it all the time. So do the vast majority of bloggers. And that's okay -- in fact, it's smart.

Wait, what?

Yes, I'm serious. Coming at the same topics over and over again is actually an intelligent marketing strategy, for several reasons:

1. The same old subjects will develop new twists and turns. For instance, say you posted something about gas prices back when the late 90s, when blogging was a brand-new thing. How relevant would that information be for this week's readers? That's an extreme example, but you get what I mean. Times change, and so do the critical issues of a given topic. So of course you'll revisit that topic again and again -- you have to, if you want to keep feeding fresh, helpful information to your readers. 

2. There's always "one more thing." Columbo knew it, and so did Steve Jobs. There's no way you can possibly exhaust every enticing angle of a particular subject. Take, I don't know, any specific medical condition. You'll find that there's far, far more ground to cover than the usual tiresome roll call of symptoms, causes, treatments, et cetera. What about all the success stories of different patients who have fought their condition? What about the many different coping methods for maintaining a high quality of life? What about alternative health practices versus traditional medical protocols? You could beat the subject to death -- to the great benefit of your target audience who may suffer from the condition. And we're talking about just one ailment here!

3. New readers may not read old posts. If you're blogging regularly and promoting your brand online, you may be gaining new readers all the time. But how many of those readers will have the time or desire to click through every single article you've ever written, no matter how relevant those blasts from the past might be to them? You're better off re-introducing the subject matter in an all-new post so the next generation of your adoring throng can experience it from the most current possible perspective. 

Heck, for all I know I've written this very article before. But you know what? It feels fresh and new to me.