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Well … we have a winner for the best piece of viral marketing for the year. And the winner is (drumroll please), The Message Group.

Check out this brilliant video piece - it is absolutely perfect from a viral marketing perspective.

http://www.worldsgreatestbusinessmind.com/20081203-Ingrid-Cliff-view.html&WT.mc_id=WGBM%20Viral%7CView

And what makes it even better is it didn’t come to me from The Message Group, but the very enterprising Probity Partners who piggy-backed on the campaign and used it to promote one of their own products in the process - very clever, cost effective marketing!

Until next time

The World’s Greatest Business Mind (at least in this clip)

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - Freelance Copywriters

In these days of being time poor, many people are willing to pay extra for more convenience such as faster access, reduced queues and limited waiting.

Recently I visited Dreamworld, a theme park on the Gold Coast, where for an additional $10 you could access the park 1 hour earlier than the rest of the public and get unlimited access to the top thrill rides without the queues for that hour.   They limit the people who can buy the passes and business was certainly swift!

In many businesses you can adopt a similar strategy - premiums for fast turnaround or swift service. The trick is to make the additional cost enough to cover your costs but nominal enough to be paid easily. You need to watch you are not burning your staff or yourself out in the process of accepting these fast turn jobs. You also need not to cut into the service offered to your regular clients.  That’s why the Dreamworld model was such a great one!

In your marketing writing, people value speedy delivery of products - so make sure you specify how long it will take to deliver your product or service. If you have 7 day delivery then say so. If delivery is via courier then include that fact as well.  Adding a premium for faster delivery is an easy option to include.

Where in your business can you look at adding in a premium for fast service?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - Freelance copywriters

This ad just released in the UK is brilliant - it highlights that it is easy to miss what you aren’t looking for.

The message is a strong one and applies equally to business as to cyclists. In business we often miss clues of opportunities, unhappy customers and staff, areas needing maintenance and areas needing greater attention.

We overlook our dated web copy and tired marketing materials - missing what we aren’t looking for and ways we could easily make improvements.

What are you not missing in your business? Can you use another set of eyes to help you look at what is working and not working in your business?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - Freelance Copywriters

Most people automatically think that marketing to kids as a way to get to their parents is slightly suspect - but there are ways you can do this that creates a win-win for everyone.

I was reading the Business Mums Magazine blog where they talked about having colouring in sheets for kids (branded with your logo of course). If they are different and the child enjoys colouring the picture, it is likely the parent will proudly put it on display.

Ideally have a graphic designer or cartoonist create some unique images for you - it makes your business stand out from the pack.

Having colouring pictures available for kids to colour in while their parents are in your business is a great way to get uninterrupted time with the parent.

Another client of mine gets great success from advertising in school newsletters. The school benefits from the income, the client gets new business at very low cost (the most expensive ad cost her $15) and the kids benefit from the school funding.

So - what opportunities could you be missing out on with low cost marketing to parents via kids?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - Freelance Copywriters

After my time away I have been fascinated by what people do to relax and to make them happy.

Lately I have found a theme of people going flying - my IT Guru is off on a week gliding in the outback of NSW, and one of my favourite jewellers Annette from Under the Loupe is into aerobatics in small planes. Makes my reading and playing with the kids and pets seem somewhat dull in comparison!

But the good news is that I am the same as one out of every 2 women in my search for happiness.

According the Australian Happiness Index for 2008 released by the Leading Edge, this is what makes men and women happy.

Men

1. Entertainment 61 per cent

2. Rest and relaxation 60 per cent

3. Digital entertainment (internet) 52 per cent

4. Quality time with partner 49 per cent

5. Sex/intimacy/romance 48 per cent

6. A family meal 45 per cent

7. Pets 39 per cent

8. Helping out a friend, enjoying great food and wine, physical exercise 37 per cent

9. Drinking with friends 36 per cent

10. Learning something new 35 per cent

Women

1. Rest and relaxation 66 per cent

2. Entertainment 61 per cent

3. A family meal 55 per cent

4. Quality time with partner 54 per cent

5. Pets 51 per cent

6. Playing with children or reading a good book 48 per cent

7. Helping out a friend 43 per cent

8. Eating comfort food 41 per cent

9. Sex/intimacy/romance 40 per cent

10. Digital entertainment (internet) 39 per cent

How can you use this information? Think about your client base - are they men or women? How can you reflect what makes them happy in your marketing?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriter

It is that time of year again - where businesses are working out what are the best corporate gifts to give their clients.

I discovered this great Xmas ornament gift from Piktorize that would also be great to add your corporate logo to and “Merry Xmas from …”.

The ornament is in high gloss porcelain so looks great. Most offices have Christmas trees - so this way you would be remembered every year when they decorate their office tree.

What other great Christmas corporate gifts have you heard of?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put businesses into words

Heart Harmony - Freelance Copywriter

Many businesses try the old “put a girl in a bikini” approach in their marketing as a way of getting the attention of people. But does it work?

A number of scientific studies have looked at this issue and have come up with some surprising results.

1. If you are advertising on TV during a sexy show - you can expect the recall of your ads to be much lower than during a family show (so even though it has higher ratings you are wasting your money)
2. If you place a bikini babe in a print ad then the studies show that men make worse decisions (which includes buying decisions) rather than more neutral ads.
3. The only place where it works is at the point of sale where you WANT the male to make a non-thought through decision such as to buy your product.

The other point to consider is that women find the gratuitous bikini shot off-putting and are likely to avoid your product if you go that way (I have yet to find studies that assess the impact of shirtless hunky males on female buying decisions).

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO Copwriters

My favourite Neuromarketing blog has come up with another fascinating study - this time about the use of mirrors.

It appears that if you strategically place a mirror where people can see themselves they are more likely to be honest and less likely to steal, litter or carry out anti-social behaviour. It seems that people are less willing to face themselves being bad and mirrors reflect back this behaviour.

This could be a low cost solution to help businesses with issues of theft, shoplifting or graffiti.

There is some suggestion that mirrors can also be used for good - that people like to see themselves doing good things. So mirrors near tips cups, charity donation areas and recycling bins may be a useful addition. Feng Shui practitioners have long promoted the use of mirrors near cash-registers - looks like they were on the right path with their recommendations.

I don’t know about you, but I’m off to plaster my fridge in mirrors to see what effect that has on late night snacking!

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriters

Following on from my post the other day about re-using Powerpoint, here are some of my top tips on how to maximise your Powerpoint Presentations.

1. Think about if you need to use it at all! To be blunt, in many cases Powerpoint is a pain the butt. It distracts people from what you are trying to say. Unless you are doing it well - don’t use it!  If you must use something then consider old fashioned flip charts where you draw as you go. This engages more of the viewer’s senses and involves them in your journey.
2. One concept per slide. If you are going to use Powerpoint remember it is not a replacement for your speech - it is to only highlight a thought or idea. One SHORT concept per slide is the rule of thumb. This can be just a single word and an evocative image - but keep it simple. You are alluding to a point rather than painting a detailed portrait in oils.
3. Brand your design. You need to ensure your presentations are branded with your colours and/or images.
4. Limit your slides. We have all been to sessions where the presenter had 50 + slides that they spoke to for about a second each slide. Boring!  Keep the numbers of slides down and the impact up.
5. Call to action/the BIG idea. Presentations are another form of marketing. Be clear what is your call to action. Make sure your BIG idea stands out - what message are you trying to convey. Go back and re-read your slides and make sure your call to action and your big idea stand out.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriters

You know that I love re-using and repurposing information - articles become the foundations for books, talks become the foundations for articles and so on.

As I was checking out the Pink Heels blog I found another great way to reuse your data - you can now put your Powerpoint presentations up on the net using Slideshare.net. It is a free place you can upload your Powerpoint presentations and then embed them into your website. You can also add in audio and create your own webinar. Think YouTube for Powerpoint and you get the idea.

You can also check out everyone else’s presentations - great for research as well as brilliant to help you get ideas for the design of presentations that are not deathly dull and boring.

You can search for presentations by topic to help you find what you are looking for - I did a search for marketing and came back with an impressive 14 022 presentation results.

I have a couple of presentations I am doing to industry groups in the coming months so will certainly give Slideshare a try. How can you use it for your business?

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words

Heart Harmony - SEO copywriters