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Recently we have seen a massive growth in video and podcasting for businesses with a web presence, with many copywriters now being called on to help create scripts for these new areas.

We know with these mediums it is not just the words you say but how you deliver them that creates the best result, which is why I was fascinated by this study in New Scientist that found woman’s voices become more attractive when they are the most fertile in their cycle.

The study tested both men and women rating the attractiveness of women’s voices counting from 1-10 at different parts of their menstrual cycle. Both men and women rated the voices to be most attractive in the peak of their fertility and least attractive if the voice was recorded during non-fertile times. This was borne out by a second study that found lap dancers earned more tips during their fertile days.

This leads into a whole new interesting question of marketing and voice-overs. Can you imagine only recording voice-over spots during certain times during a woman’s cycle? Can you see a rotating group of female newsreaders who only present during their fertile days?

Like all marketing science, you need to test and measure to see if this makes a significant difference in your marketing results. If you are a female and do your own speeches, recordings, podcasts or videos – it certainly can’t hurt to try recording at different times in your cycle and testing the result.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – SEO Copywriter

Yesterday I was given access to a preview copy of the latest Choice Magazine article on debt relief – and while the content is very useful in terms of what to do if you are deep in debt and disaster happens, what really struck me from the article was the how the debt relief industry had adopted a very narrow view of the world.  For me it was a feeling of if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.

To give you some context, the article created two fictional people and then mystery shopped 11 debt relief companies to see what sort of advice they would be given. The advice they received was basically to go into a formal debt agreement (an expensive choice), with lesser options mentioned in passing such as call the lender, refinance and going bankrupt.

What was interesting is that no-where was seeking financial advice from an accountant or financial planner mentioned by the debt relief companies.These companies only recommended solutions from within their mental frameworks and product base – even if this meant the customer would be significantly worse off over the years.

Unfortunately this is the trend in many businesses where people are so hungry for customers that they focus on only selling the services or products they offer, rather than thinking through what the customer really needs, even if this means referring the customer to someone else. It is this sort of approach that gave used car salesmen a bad reputation and is a very old fashioned form of sales and marketing.

Modern businesses that will be around for the long term take the bigger picture. By being honest and caring for the customer’s needs, then you are more likely to gain a long term loyal customer rather than a short-term sale.

So do I practice what I preach? At Heart Harmony we believe in placing the customer’s needs front and centre – and providing advice and recommendations from that space. Just this afternoon I spoke with a lovely lady who is creating a new website and needed SEO copywriting – except that the industry she is targeting is a highly competitive one in terms of search engines.

For her to achieve the page one ranking she wanted, she needed very high level SEO and so I referred her directly to a great SEO firm that deals with complex SEO rather than try and sell her on our services. She was quite surprised and kept trying to get me to sell her something – but in the bigger scheme of things she will get the best results from going with an SEO firm that tackles her particular niche. I lost a sale, but know that this particular customer will get great results.

But back to the Choice article. The debt reduction firms by their actions will create a long term backlash against their industry unless they take a wider view.

In the meantime – if you start to see a mountain of debt appearing and are starting to lose sleep over it, check out the Choice article and then speak with a qualified accountant or financial planner to help you plan your strategy.

If you want help creating a budget – Choice has a useful on-line budget planner that makes things simple.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance writer

Readers of this blog know I love technology – the more techno toys the better!  I was stoked when I could play my Powerpoint presentations from my mobile phone – just plug it into one of the baby projectors you can get these days and I was off and presenting. But what if I could do away with the baby projector altogether?

Well … the next generation of mobile phones look like they will be carrying in-built projectors – so you can run your presentation on a handy wall. New Scientist

At present phones like the Samsung Anycall Show phone carry a low resolution chip, but there have been advances in the past few months which means high resolution projections are not too far away.

How can you use this for your business? Imagine your sales team being able to run professional presentations on the fly. What about constantly changing “specials of the day” in your store. Business meetings could take on a whole new look at restaurants and coffee shops.

Like much of the new technology there is a downside. New Scientist raised some interesting ethical challenges with this technology. In the hands of teenagers we could see some “interesting” videos being displayed on the walls of trains and buses.  Given human error is also likely for mistaken projection of private information such as bank details. It is questionable whether current legislation is tight enough to cover for these sort of situations and I would recommend all businesses review their policy manuals to cover these new developments.

And you thought mobile ring tones were annoying … imagine what is likely to happen with mobile phone projectors until we learn to self regulate. For me I say bring it on!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter

We have heard about the Ashton Kutcher: CNN battle for Twitter followers (Ashton won). We have Ellen and Oprah squaring up in the war of the talkshow Queens, but what about here in Australia?

To make it easier for followers of celebs – here’s a quick run down of some of the many Aussie Celebs on Twitter. Checking out their profiles most look like they are self-authored, with only Hugh Jackman admitting to the odd ghost-twitterer in play for some of his Tweets (some of the spelling is more US than Aussie & he did have the Opera Center gaff ).

If you want to know how to spot a real from a fake Twitter account according to my colleague Julie-Ann Amos:

• Check the posts – are they real and logical or seem slightly off.
• Is the person alive – Anna Nicole Smith apparently tweets from beyond.
• No posts = fake or spammer.
• Photo & background – check they are high quality (that said lots of Aussie Celebs are REALLY struggling with the whole background/photo thing, so it is not a deal breaker).
• Links – if they link to a domain in their profile is it an official one?

So here’s just a few of the more interesting Aussie celebrities on Twitter.

Politicians

@KevinRuddPM – Love the fact he has PM after his name in case we forget. You can DM Kevin.

@TurnbullMalcolm – Does it say anything that he has his name backwards? You can’t DM Malcolm.

TV & Celebs

@TracyGrimshaw - Very funny watching Tracy getting the hang of Twitter. At present her tweets are more like emails to her team asking for help rather than regular tweets.

@QueenKAK – Who else but Kerry-Ann. Possibly ghostwritten but interesting.

@Rove1974 – Sort of like watching a Rove show with lots of tweeting amongst mates.

@DHughesy, @hamishandandy, @peteandmyf - the usual Rove mates.

@RealHughJackman – possibly a combination of ghost-tweeting and genuine thing.

@Tara_Moss - great for book lovers.

@MaxMarkson - agent to the stars

@SoniaAndTodd – Sonia Kruger & Todd McKenney

@Guerrillas - Guerilla Gardeners

@Wil_Anderson – Will Anderson, Comedian

@bondirescue – Bondi Rescue team

@bondivet – Yes … the hunky vet himself

@sunriseon7 – Official Sunrise Tweets

@mikegoldmantwit – The man behind many voiceovers

Music

@natimbruglia - Natalie Imbruglia.

@WelseyCarr - Wes Carr.

@GuySebastian - yep Guy Sebastian.

@jessicamauboy – Another Idol made good.

If you are a dedicated celeb spotter, check out the profile of people you are interested in (and then check out who they follow. Chances are they have the “real” celebs in their follow file).

Who else have I missed? I’d love to hear of others.

Happy Tweeting!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance writers

If you haven’t heard the name Susan Boyle in the past few weeks you have been living under a rock. This is the middle aged Scottish spinster who wowed them on the Britain’s Got Talent. Many people have been asking me why her – why now – why has she caught the imagination of people around the world?

To answer this question we will delve back into psychology and go back to when you were a child. Remember back to the days when you were tucked into bed at night and your parent would read you bedtime stories of heroes and gorgeous brave women.

These stories cross all cultural boundaries and follow what is now termed archetypal stories. These are themes of universal appeal and generally include good overcoming evil, triumphing after long odds or one of the most popular archetypes of all – the person whose outside didn’t reflect their inside talent and through some form of magical transformation their beauty finally shone through.

Think of Cinderalla, the Swan Prince, Beauty and the Beast, and in more modern times Nanny McPhee.  We love to hear of stories where people are more than what they seem on the outside and are transformed.

With Susan Boyle she has all of the elements of a number of archetypal stories. Susan is the classic Cinderalla story – pure and chaste and her outside appearance hiding her inner beauty.  She also has an element of the hero’s journey thrown in for good measure – fighting the evil judges who stunned by her voice cower back in amazement.

In down economies people want hope – they crave success and transformation. They want to believe that some day they too will be recognised for their unique gift to the world. They hope and dream of being special – and stories like Susan’s show that it is possible.

Is it any wonder that she has become such a phenomenon with over 26 million people watching her video on You Tube?

What can you learn from this? Quite simply archetypal stories and parables are powerful tools to tap into the psyche of people. If appropriate, use these themes in your marketing and you will have brilliant results.

Of course – it doesn’t hurt if you have a great voice like Susan!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter

When you buy a house, you want one that is safe and in a good neighbourhood.  But what about one that is safe from the risk of strokes?

A recent study reported in Scientific American used some pretty funky maths to show that your risk of having a stroke is correlated with how many fast food restaurants are in your area.

If you have more than 33 fast food restaurants in your area, you are 13% more likely to have a stroke than those with just 12 fast food restaurants. The risk increases by 1% for every single additional fast food restaurant in your area. Fast food restaurants in this study are defined as selling pre-packaged food, offer take away service, have limited or no waiting staff and require people to pay before giving them food.

Of course some of the big fast food chains are not happy with the findings and have resorted to Yes Minister style rebuttals:

• discrediting the evidence
• undermining the recommendations
• discrediting the person producing the report

Reading Yes Minister “The Greasy Pole” episode should be mandatory for all people in marketing, government and business to learn how to deal with negative press.

What does this have to do with marketing? Well – for real estates think of how you could use this study to your benefit in your listings (13% less chance of strokes if you live here!  People would contact you if nothing else to ask you about the stats and then you could have a brilliant chance to pre-screen them for your properties). For personal trainers – how can you use the negative stats in your area to boost your business (If you live in the x district you have a 13% increased chance of stroke. Want to reduce your risk?)

The point is any statistical report is a marketing gold mine. You just need to find a way to link the report to what you are selling.  Keep an eye out for any great surveys or reports and then get creative with your marketing.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance Copywriter

Branding of your product or service is an important part of doing business. Through your logo you want people to:

• recognise who you are
• associate the image/logo with your company
• think positive thoughts when the see your image.

Product branding is something that started over 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. David Wengrow an archeologist at University College in London found that ancient Mesopotamian merchants created unique stone seals which were then pressed into caps and stoppers used to seal food and drink.

He suggests these stoppers were used to tell traders and buyers the quality and origins of the products. By looking at the symbol or stopper, consumers knew whether or not to trust the bottle or food.

Stoppers didn’t just carry simple symbols – they showed heroic warriors, gods, animals and even monsters drinking through a straw. There were also lots of violent images of people fighting and gentle images of women.

Not all that much has changed over the centuries. People still select brands that reflect the image of how they would like to be perceived. Do they want their product to appeal to blokes or women? Do they want to be seen as heroic or simply good value? Do they want to add a bit of humour or be seen as just niche people?

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up with our modern world and think we have created marketing and branding – when really it all started over 5000 years ago.  Traders just like us wanted to differentiate themselves on the market through the logos they chose. What does your logo say about you?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriter

The Queensland Tall Women’s Club invites all tall people (yes tall blokes are more than welcome) to a fun social event on the Kookaburra River Queen, Brisbane.

Lots of tall singles to meet eye to eye, as well as attached tall people to make new friends with. There are also stacks of trade providers who specialise in tall people’s clothes, shoes, physio and other great stuff.

When: Friday 1 May 2009

Time: 7.30pm – 10pm

Cost: $49 includes canapes throughout the evening, welcome drink & DJ for the evening.

Bookings: 07 3221 1300 or book online www.kookaburrariverqueens.com

For other tall women’s events visit www.tallwomensclub.org

Looking forward to seeing you there – yes I will be one of the many fabulous tall people there!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance writer

Recessions are not new. We have had them before and will have them again. There is a saying that “those who don’t learn from history are condemned to repeat it”. So what can we learn from businesses that successfully survived and thrived in past recessions?

McKinsey & Company researched past recessions and came up with some interesting data.  Of the companies that came out strongest – 83% increased their investment in their people during recession, while for those that came out weaker, only 21% increased their investment in their people.

What does that mean? Well – if you were a betting person you would look at the odds and reckon there was a better chance to thrive and grow if you invested in your team than if you didn’t.

They also found that companies that did better in down economies outdid their peers on capital expenditure, research and development, hiring great staff and buying assets as well as acquiring competitors businesses.

The twist is the successful companies did all of these things with a strategic end in mind. They didn’t just repeat what they had done before – they looked at their new realities as well as things they could reasonably forsee and took a strategic view of investing their resources.

Many businesses read the list of what to do and then just throw money at it. Smart businesses look at the list of what to do and then stop to work out what will work best for them, in their industry, with their conditions, with their organisational culture and their leadership team.

With marketing and copywriting, this means before leaping into campaigns, stopping to reflect on what goals you want both now and in the longer term before racing into print or web. Fuzzy goals = fuzzy business outcomes. It also means testing and measuring to see if you are actually achieving the goals you want – and then taking corrective action rather than blindly following the same path.

So the lessons from the past recessions teach us that now is the time to lay the foundations for the future – to strategically invest in the future of your company rather than closing the doors and hiding from the current situation.  If you do that, you will have a better chance of growing your business through the recession.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriters

In a fascinating study published in the 4 April 2009 edition of  New Scientist it was shown that people who are exposed to a smiling face are more likely to take make a higher risk decision than those shown neutral faces.

The study looked at the impact of smiles on stock market investment decisions. Subjects were tested on times based on conscious registering of the smiling face as well as subliminal registering of the face. Time was not a factor – as long as the brain recognised someone smiling, then the person was more likely to take a risky decision.

So what does that mean for business? Well … the old adage to get your team to smile at customers now has some basis in science. A smile can boost sales (particularly in a downturn economy when people are worried about spending).

If you are on the web – photos of smiling faces with your copy site will increase sales compared to neutral pictures (which is why videos with people outperform image based videos in the viral stakes).  So go get some great photos of happy smiling people and add them to your site.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony – Freelance copywriters