3 Reasons to Create as Much Marketing Content as Possible

You may have breathed a huge sigh of relief once you'd created the core content for your website, blog, print marketing, and social media channels -- and rightly so. Without those pillars in place, you can't establish and build a visible brand. However, some business owners make the critical mistake of resting on their laurels after that initial effort -- and then they wonder why their marketing isn't making the right impact on their audience.

The inconvenient truth is that you can't just create a big marketing push and call it a day. If you want to keep up with the competition and generate more revenue for your business, you must pump out a steady stream of fresh, meaningful content. That means regular blogging, frequent social media updates, periodic print marketing and email touches, and ongoing tweaks to your website as needed to keep the information accurate and compelling. Consider the following three reasons to keep creating that marketing content.

Reason 1: To Reinforce Your Message

You make quite a stir when you put out that big announcement or unveil your new online presence -- or you might not. Even if your efforts capture eyeballs, how long can you expect that initial splash to spread ripples? Consider a real-world analogy: When you tell a child to do something, how likely are those instructions to land if you only issue them once? Well, busy adults can rival children for a short attention span and vulnerabilities to distractions. That's why messages need constant reinforcement. Regular blog articles, email messages, direct mail pieces, and other bits of marketing content repeat your message until it truly sinks in and your audience finally responds. You might worry that you're repeating yourself, but if your audience wasn't paying sufficient attention the first time around, it'll be new to them, right?

Reason 2: To Boost Your Search Rankings

While nobody can really predict where Google's capricious algorithm will go next, you can bank on the search engine rewarding what it perceives as authority and relevance. How do you establish those qualities online? You keep producing more and more high-quality content to build a critical mass of evidence to that effect. You want your online footprint to grow until the search engines see you as the 400-pound gorilla of your industry or profession, at which point you can expect to rise in the search rankings. At the same time, you'll be creating more informational resources that your target market can put to good use, reinforcing that message even as you make that message more easily visible.

Reason 3: To Help Manage Your Brand's Reputation

Here's an odd anecdote, but an illuminating one. I recently got a request to create a huge amount of content for a legal professional who was incensed over some negative publicity that had gone viral over the web. This negative publicity should've made little or no impact, but it stood out like a sore thumb because anytime anyone Googled this professional, that negative publicity would leap to the top of the search results. Why? Because the legal professional had no other online presence to compete against that one unhappy article. So the guy's marketing agency engaged me to write, not just a rebuttal article, but a whole mass of favorable content. We created a website for his practice, a professional bio website, a personal website, you name it -- all with the primary goal of diverting attention from the negative publicity. Content creation also helps with reputation management by rebutting complaints from dissatisfied customers, but only if you stay on top of those comments and respond to them promptly.

As you can see, you can never have too much of a good thing where marketing content creation is concerned. Of course, all that content takes time, skill, and effort to produce. But all you have to do is contact a professional freelance copywriter and offload that work while you continue working on other aspects of your business. So contact me today, and let's get started!

If You Can Write a Letter, You Can Write Your Own Marketing Content

Anyone other than me remember Coronet Films? I was subjected to countless of these short "educational" films during my years in school, instructing young people on everything from why they should drink more water or eat more vegetables to how they should dress for different situations. Well, maybe it's because i'm frequently doing research related to my writing work, but somehow or other my YoutTube feed presented me with a 1950 gem entitled "How to Write Better Social Letters." (You know, back when people actually wrote letters by hand, on that ancient substance known to the elders as paper.) Dated as the film may be, it makes some legitimate points about how to organize your thoughts for readability and write with a specific audience in mind. You know -- like you have to do when writing marketing content.

Do you find marketing content creation intimidating, confusing, or simply alien to your experience? If you enjoy writing letters to people, you might know more about this discipline than you give yourself credit for. Think about how the following letter writing tips can apply to your copywriting efforts.

"Write how you talk." You can't expect a high-handed tone and scholarly vocabulary to come across as warm, natural, or relatable to most B2C or B2B audiences., any more than you'd expect these choices to resonate with a friend or family member reading a letter from you. In this case,  when I say"you" I mean "your brand," which will have its own distinct personality. Think of a business as a person writing a letter to someone who needs and wants that person's help, advice, and reassurance. Try to picture both your brand and your audience as individual human beings on both ends of that communication. The right tone will naturally follow.

"Tell a story." Effective storytelling and effective marketing go hand in hand. When you're recounting a memory or anecdote to someone in a personal letter -- or even talking about it over the phone -- you naturally begin at the beginning, don't you? You set the stage, introduce the events in the order they occurred, and then reach a slam-bang conclusion. This structure gives your story a logical, easy-to-read flow that keeps the audience's attention and prevents confusion. Simply follow this same kind of structure in your marketing content. Introduce a problem, throw in enough details to engage the emotions, and then segue into the solution (which, of course, is your product or service).

"Put a bow on it." It's easy to wrap up a personal letter -- you just summarize the gist of what you were talking about, add some compelling final comments, and then invite the recipient to reply, come visit sometimes, or whatever will keep the relationship rolling along. Well, that's exactly what you do when you conclude a piece of marketing content. you wrap up your points and then encourage your audience to take the next step based on what you've just communicated. It's as clear and surefire an approach as appending that final "Sincerely Yours."

See what I mean? If you know how to write a letter, you know how to create marketing content. but of course the fact that you know how doesn't mean you're obligated to do it yourself. Contact me if you'd like to hand this task over to an experienced freelance copywriter. After all, even a casual letter requires some time, effort, and skill!

What Is Your Business Doing This Summer -- and How Are You Marketing It?

Officially, we greet the first day of summer on June 21st, although here in Texas the summer heat arrives long before summer itself. We've already seen Cinco de Mayo come and go, and Memorial day will be here soon enough. When you're already out in the sun grilling and partying, you're pretty much doing summer, right? And we'll get a glut of other bg events coming up. There's Mother's Day, Memorial Day (if we're letting May sneak into the summer schedule), Flag day, Father's Day, Juneteenth day,  Independence Day, Labor Day....even such "niche" holidays as National Hot Dog Day, National Mountain Climbing Day, and National Watermelon Day. 

What summer holidays pertain to your business, what are you doing to draw customers on those days, and what marketing measures have you taken to let us know? Here are some ways to get your target audience's attention.

Festive videos - TV commercials have traditionally advertised summer sales and events, but they generally require elaborate planning, production, and editing. If you want to show the world what you're up to this summer, you'll find it quicker, cheaper, and easier to hit YouTube and other video channels with short, exciting, funny, compelling clips. You might already have some footage left over from previous summer promotions that you can cobble together in support of a high-energy scripted voiceover. You can also run some sort of video submission contest related to your upcoming summer spectacular, with creative fans sending in their own video essays or examples of fun in the sun. A lucky winner gets a prize -- and you get free promotional content!

Article-based promotions - Do you send out periodic email blasts and/or newsletters? Do you keep your business top of mind on the internet through regular blog posts? Now's the perfect time to plant announcements about your huge summer sale, fundraiser, or public gathering in the form of short but sweet articles. The articles can focus on the promotion itself, or they can be skilfully written to incorporate that information as tidbits within larger topics. If you blog frequently, you can touch on the subject multiple times without necessarily jamming the promotion down your target market's throat -- especially if the larger subject of the article deals with some other issue that naturally segues into your exciting news.

Direct mail - Don't let today's digital world cause you to ignore good old direct mail. There are always some folks who will respond better to a tangible ad, coupon, or announcement in their mailbox. The right combination of high-voltage written content, vivid graphics, and an offer they can't refuse will help ensure a big turnout or big sales figures. Better yet, targeted distribution techniques such as EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail) can help you send exactly the right pieces to exactly the right neighborhoods.

I've only scratched the surface of the many ways you can market your summer activities. There's still time to get the word out, of course, but your window of opportunity is narrowing. If you need help creating the right marketing content to make your summer sizzle, contact me and let's turn up the heat!

How to Make Your Content Creation Easier

So you're stuck with the task of writing your own website, blog, sales letter, press release, or email marketing content. Maybe you don't have a professional marketing person on your team, or maybe you just like doing things yourself. But there's no getting around the fact that marketing content creation can challenge your wits, patience, and sanity even under the best of circumstances. Sooner or later you'll find yourself staring at a blank screen without the slightest clue on how to move forward and produce the content your business urgently needs in a crowded, competitive marketplace. If you're already sweating creative bullets, here are some things you can do to make the process a bit easier and less stressful.

Start with a Plan

You can't know what content to write without first knowing who you're writing it for, what they need and want to read, and how to push their buttons so they'll respond to your call to action. That means doing your research and coming up with a buyer persona -- that imaginary person I've talked about before, one who fits all the demographics and characteristics of your ideal customer. Okay, now that you have your audience in mind, you can plan your content creation accordingly. If you intend to blog regularly, that means coming up with an editorial calendar (which I've also harped on in the past). Block out a whole year's worth of topics if possible. you can always tweak it as you go, but have some kind of plan in place to guide your way.

Use Topic Brainstorming Techniques

Do you hate having to come up with an endless stream of ideas for blog, email, or newsletter content? Talk about a brain drain! But fear not, because a few little ideation tricks can help prime the creative pump. For instance, you might start by thinking about your target audience. What nagging problem did they probably have recently? What aspects of your business seem to interest them the most? What's the most helpful advice you could give them right now? Answers may pop into your head with startling speed. If you can't dream up whole articles out of thin air, what about titles? Ray Bradbury used to type out title after title and then let each title suggest an entire story to him. Worth a try, right? 

Streamline Your Style

Do you tend to launch long, elaborate sentences and then get sort of lost halfway through them? Are you always struggling for just the right word? Maybe it's time you simplified your marketing content style and vocabulary. Focus on clear, simple statements in everyday language. Even if you work in some specialized technical field, your audience probably doesn't want to sift through a lot of technobabble. They just want the answer to that all-important question: "What can you do for me?" So streamline your style, clarify your points, and you'll find that your content becomes both more effective and less of a pain to write.

Draft Now, Fix Later

"Analysis paralysis" can strike anyone at any time, making even the most straightforward decisions needlessly agonizing. Unfortunately, it's especially common in the world of content creation. As long as that screen stays blank, you haven't made any mistakes -- and so the screen stays blank. If you're a perfectionist, you may stare at that blank screen forever, terrified that you'll write something that doesn't meet your lofty standards. But remember this: You can't fix what doesn't exist. Barf out that hopeless word salad of a draft, accept that it needs revision, and then revise it. Launch the ship, and then correct the course as needed.

I hope these tips help you move forward with your marketing content creation. If you'd rather engage professional assistance for this chore, put me to work as your freelance marketing copywriter. What could be easier than that?

Could Your Business Use Some "Spring Cleaning?"

Spring has sprung, and that means it's time for some spring cleaning. I'm not sure where the tradition started, but it seems to be fairly universal in homes across the globe. But businesses can also benefit from periodic fixing up, just a precision equipment might need occasional adjustments to remain in perfect working order. Have you allowed some slack to creep into the mechanism? Have small inefficiencies or inconsistencies snowballed into large problems over the course of the year? Allow me to suggest a few areas you might want to check for cobwebs.

Time management. Do you have a firm grip on your schedule as a business owner? Can you focus on the daily activities that actually earn you money, or do you waste time passively reacting to every emergency that decides to have its way with you? Stop and examine your schedule for "time thieves" that sap your productivity and earning power. For instance, are you still writing your own marketing content, even though that's not really what you should be doing with your billable time? Some strategic outsourcing to a skilled, experienced freelance copywriter just might solve that problem....

Money management. This area obviously relates directly to time management, but it also merits attention on its own. Has your business expanded beyond the capacity of your current money management system? Have small extra expenditures here and there drained money from your coffers in ways you never noticed? Now's the time to notice and respond. It may also be time to determine where your business needs deeper investment in specific areas so it can grow properly. Are you marketing your brand effectively? Many businesses make the mistake of trimming their marketing budget first when things get tight -- even though it's the only part of their budget that exists solely to generate revenue! If you want to bring in more money, maybe you need to spend more money on your marketing efforts.

Strategy management. Sometimes a business must make a major change in its target market, operations, products, services, or strategies. For instance, I've shifted more toward working with marketing agencies as opposed to end users, even though I'm still happy to take requests from both target audiences. I've also introduced a monthly retainer option for clients who just want to have me "on call" for any mix of writing, editing, and proofreading. You may find that your own company needs to make a transition of some sort, including a new or different approach to your marketing. Whatever changes you face, don't let fear, fatigue, or complacency sabotage your future success -- whip out that broom, and start sweeping!

 

Want to Sell More Products or Services? Market Yourself First

Everyone in business sells something. It might be a product a service, a solution, or even a dream. But if you own a business, you obviously want and need people to purchase what you offer. your natural response to this need might be, "Okay, then it's time to work on my marketing." But instead of simply throwing the spotlight on your products or services, maybe it's time you focused on marketing yourself.

What do I mean by "yourself?" Well, if you're a solopreneur or the public face of your company, you take my suggestion literally. A personality-driven company needs to market that personality first and foremost, because people are buying from you because of how they feel about you an an individual. You may therefore need to take a look at how you've represented yourself in your marketing content. Does your website's About Us page include a compelling bio about your accomplishments, vision, mission, and values? Do your blog and email articles read like they come directly from you, no matter who's actually writing them? Does your call to action invite your audience to connect with you one to one? These and other strategic choices can help people see you and your business as one and the same, offering them a direct line to the boss.

What if you're not the chief cook and bottle washer for your company? Your business still has a public face -- your brand. This brand has its own personality, one crafted by your marketing team to convey your company's overall message. Does your marketing tell that story in a consistent manner across every tool and platform it employs, from the high-profile stuff such as your website and blog down to every last press release, sales letter, and direct mail offer? If not, then it's time to put a professional copywriter and other seasoned marketing pros on the job of creating a more united picture of what you're all about.

Why emphasize yourself or brand before your products or services? Think about how many other businesses, including your direct competitors, are selling similar or even identical things to the same general target market. A commodity is a commodity, no matter how compellingly you market it, unless it's got something about it that makes it uniquely yours -- in which case, we still come back to marketing you or your brand again, don't we?

I've seen this issue come up time and time again with business owners who sell products and services through national or worldwide franchises. These business owners tell me that the franchise already has all the publicity it could ever use; what the need is marketing content that pushes people to choose them over the umptillion others associated with the same franchise. That's when we start creating a personal brand in which the business takes priority over the product or service line. If those business owners later decide to add new offerings or even switch to a completely different source, the personal brand they've established remains rock solid.

Do you need some help marketing yourself or your brand? If so, contact me and put my professional copywriting skills and expertise on the case. Remember, people aren't just buying what you sell -- they're buying you!

Tips and Tricks for Writing About Yourself

 I've posted before about the nuts and bolts of writing bios and "About Us" content for marketing purposes. But for many of the business owners I've encountered in my 25 years as a professional copywriter, the real challenge lies elsewhere than in the mechanics of the writing itself. 

I've known many brilliant professionals who could write marketing content with ease and skill -- until they had to write about themselves. Some feel uncomfortable "blowing their own horn," while others simply can't distance themselves from the subject at hand (which is understandable, since they are the subject at hand). If you're struggling to create that much-needed website, brochure, or social media bio content due to some sort of psychological barrier, the following tips and tricks may help you move forward.

Pretend you're writing about somebody else. You might feel weird trumpeting your achievements to the world -- but would you have similar trouble bragging about an employee or colleague? Try creating a fictional person in your mind who has accomplished all those admirable things -- someone who also happens to have the same passions, interests, and background as yourself. Now write that person's bio. It's a lot easier, isn't it?

Keep the content other-directed. Yes, you're writing about yourself, but who are you writing for? Any kind of marketing content you create, including bio content, must be aimed at a specific audience to make them respond in a way that benefits your business. Keep your mission, vision, and values top of mind as you write your bio. Take every opportunity to turn the information toward the reader: "I've spent X number of years helping area residents just like you overcome Y challenge." The more you occupy your mind with how your work helps others, the less self-conscious you'll feel about the words you're putting down.

Experiment with different points of view. Some people find it awkward to write about themselves in the third person because it feels pretentious or unnatural to them. Others have trouble with the first-person direct address to the audience because it strikes them as too familiar or casual. Of course, the choice of point of view will depend partly on the voice and tone you've chosen for your brand persona. But if you feel intimidated, uncomfortable, or just plain stuck, try switching from one point of view to the other. The results might surprise you -- and you can always switch back again after you've got the meat of the content drafted.

Even if you find these tips and tricks helpful, you still might prefer to have an outsider write your bio for you, preferably a skilled, experienced copywriter. In that case, contact me today so you can shine like the star you really are!