|
THIS WEEK
Copywriting: Why Your Teachers Were Wrong About English
ALSO IN THIS EDITION
| Copywriting Tip: Why Your Teachers Were Wrong About English |
This is not a let's bash teachers article – but when it comes to marketing writing, if you follow everything your teacher taught you, you will be less effective than if you break a few rules.
The reason is with marketing writing you want to convince, share ideas and educate consumers. You need to care enough about the reader to put yourself in their shoes and communicate in a way that they can understand.
 Consider this: If you follow the strict rules you were taught at school, you are not putting yourself in the readers' shoes and you are creating unnecessary blocks between you and the reader.
So what are some of the rules you were taught and why should you break them?
- Always start a letter with Dear Sir/Madam. Yawn! Opening a letter that way shows you don't know who you are writing to. Much more effective is to use the person's name. If you can't do that, then personalise the opening with something like "Dear Computer User", "Dear Wine Lover" or some other relevant opening.
- Sentences cannot be one word. Some of the most effective sentences only consist of one word. Welcome. Congratulations. Fantastic.
- Never start a sentence with "And". When writing to sell, you want to create flow and links between sentences. In many cases starting a sentence with "And" creates a seamless flow and keeps people reading. Sentences such as "And the result?", "And this is just the tip of the iceberg" and "And guess what" all create interest for the reader.
- Don't contract your words. Words such as "I would", "You shall", "We have" all can be contracted and generally are contracted in normal conversation. If you are writing to a general audience then contract your words. If your audience is a little bit more formal – then leave the words uncontracted.
- Keep it formal. Teachers always taught us to write in a very formal, stuffy style. The most powerful writing comes from the heart – in a conversational tone of voice. Write as you speak – not as if you are writing an essay.
- Don't break sentences across a paragraph. When writing paragraphs you want to gently encourage the reader to keep on reading. Breaking a sentence at the end of a paragraph and ending with ... , to recommence with ... in the next paragraph keeps the reader engaged with your words.
- Write in the third person passive form. People are more excited by active, imaginative language than they are from passive language. "Feedback from clients in relation to this product has been positive" is less effective than "Clients rave about this product – they constantly tell us they love it!"
- Finish with "please call me if I can be of further assistance". You want to make it easy for people to do business with you. Clearly tell them the action you want them to take (which is generally NOT calling you), but is placing an order, waiting for your call, requesting a free sample.
- Only use one PS in a letter (if any). PS's are some of the most powerful paper real estate you can own. After the headline, people read PS's next most often. Your PS is where you clinch your sale, reinforce key points and generate urgency to buy. One PS is good – two or more are even better!
- Keep it succinct. This is a tricky one – long copy outperforms short copy every time it has been tested. People like to read and learn about something they are going to going to buy. That said, don't ramble. Say what you need to say, reinforce the messages and keep the pace up.
Remember, you want to communicate to your reader in the most effective way possible. You want to care enough about them and their needs to communicate directly to them in a way that makes sense to them. And if this means you break a few rules of grammar – then go for it!
| HR Tip - Spelling Is Vital For Your Employees |
 One of the things that hasn't changed in business is the importance of correct spelling.
One of the scariest things I saw was the number of Registered Pharmacists coming through who couldn't spell essential words - made me triple check every script from then on!
But how do you know who can spell and if it really is important in your job?
If your role involves any form of written communication with customers, correct spelling is still important (and no ... spell check DOESN'T cover it).
Customers make decisions about your company professionalism by the language used in the communications to them. Misspelt words and ungrammatical sentences still give the impression of cheap, shoddy, non-caring employees.
I recommend a simple spelling and grammar test for all applicants prior to hiring them, as part of their selection process. Don't aim for all the hardest words, just a list of the common words they would be expected to use every day in their communication.
... and just because someone looks good and has decades of experience (translate that to a more mature worker) doesn't mean they can spell.
Every applicant needs to be tested no matter who they are or how old they are. If it is important enough for you to include in your process, it is important everyone should be tested. Take it from someone who has made the odd mistake in her day - everyone needs to be checked even the super efficient executive secretaries of the world!
Regular readers know I love Feng Shui and have worked with a number of great Feng Shui pracitioners over the years. Recently I met Julie McLeod from Kharma Consulting.
Julie is down to earth (no airy fairy stuff here!), practical and a true Aussie in her approach. But the reason Julie gets the business of the week is her integrated business approach.
She takes a concept that is a little bit out there and makes it real - she covers things like the Feng Shui of business cards, design of home offices for maximum productivity and a lot more. People warm to her practical no-nonsense style of things. Her newsletter reflects this approach with simple tips each month to get the best out of your business and life.
Julie is also very positive compared to many other practitioners who would have you rip out walls of your building and relocated major rooms. Julie can always find a solution to issues and find the positive in every situation.
Julie also combines lectures with one-on-one consultations. She is a regular fixture at trade shows - having interesting and eye catching displays that attract people to stop and chat.
Julie and her colleague have also written the "Subtle Kharma Journal" to help DIY Feng Shui practitioners focus their efforts. I can fully recommend the orange process they recommend in their journal - all I can say is it works!
Julie McLeod is at the Brisbane Home Show this week, so pop into her stand and say hi.
We were always taught that having a good handshake was important - but how important is it? In this post I look at some psychological studies that show how and when to use your handshake in business.
| Follow up from last week - Do you own your images? |
Last week we looked at the issue of Copyright and if you owned your business images and words. One of our readers followed this up with their graphic designer/web developer and received this response (yes the wording is an exact copy - see what I mean about correct spelling and grammar giving a certain impression of a business) ...
As I stated yesterday yes we do own the design and architecture and the copyright laws protect our right to recourse over the designs we create.
We are well aware of the implication of the copyright laws that protect out industry on.
... However as you can imagine if your business grows to a multinational and you continue to use the design we have created on every street corner we would of course wish to be adequately compensated. In the case of the sale of your business as brand to a much concern the copyright also applies and consideration would need to be applied.
As for you request for us to unreservedly grant full copyright this if it is a concern is something that you would bring up at the start of any contract and we would charge you on a different schedule which would have creative applied to it in different manner and a fee negotiated, we occasionally do this most often with large companies who wish to have budget certainties around a particular brand.
So - it pays to check your details or you could learn, as this reader did, that they own two bits of nothing much in particular.
Find a company that will unreservedly assign you the rights to your words and images - and make sure you ask the questions up front!
Marketing to the Generations
exuberantly yours
Ingrid
Heart Harmony
PS: This week's Small Business Tips blog also included posts about Reuse your Powerpoint Presentations & Tips to Maximise your Powerpoint Presentations.
|
email
