Online marketing tip: Provide useful information to increase your chance of being read

Every day our inboxes are inundated with “buy me” messages. And if you’re anything like me, unless you’re really interested in the item being offered, you’ll hit delete. But – give me some useful tips and I’m ready to pay attention.

The Magellan’s Catalog does a good job of providing information along with their product story. A purveyor of travel gear and clothing, their emails often take an editorial approach, offering helpful tips for making travel easier. And lord knows, the idea of going to the airport and facing the prospect of a full body scan isn’t exactly appealing. So anything that promises to make the experience less taxing, I want to know about.

In a recent email headlined with an engaging play on words: “Getting a Good Flight’s Sleep,” Magellan’s addressed the challenges of sleeping on the plane, i.e., small seats, lack of basic services like clean blankets, droning engine noise. Then they offered 5 bulleted tips to help you drift off aloft.

Where does the sell come in? In the side bar, with links to featured products like neck pillows, fleece blankets and noise cancelling headphones. And, they cleverly provide customer reviews of several products. Now that they’ve got you in the mood to shop, all you have to do is click on links at the bottom of the email and you’ll land on the product pages of their website.

So take a cue from Magellan’s. Before you send your next email campaign think about what useful information you can share that will make customers view you as an expert, not just someone trying to sell them something. Make it relevant to your product and their needs, and you should see an increase in your open rate, readership and click-throughs.

March 12, 2010 | Copywriting | No Comments »

Do Real Men Tweet? Not at Duluth Catalog

While working with a catalog company to help them develop a distinctive voice, I came across the Duluth Catalog. These folks are masters at knowing who their customer is and writing to him/her in a style that speaks their language. Funny, sometimes outrageous, always smart.

This full page presentation for The Writer’s Jacket stopped me in my tracks. Under the headline: Real Men Don’t Tweet, the subhead explains: They WRITE, While wearing the Writer’s Jacket.

I couldn’t wait to read on:

“America’s greatest writers and outdoorsmen were among the pithiest of wordsmiths, practitioners of great economy with words. But even they would agree that – today’s technology be damned – men don’t tweet. They expound, they document, they actually tell stories…They magna their cartas.”

Magna their cartas!

When was the last time you used language like this to connect with your customers? This colorful passage demonstrates the power of storytelling. It starts with a headline that’s impossible to ignore and pulls you in with intriguing copy. How do they get to the product? With a skillful segue: “ In that rebellious spirit we offer the Tweed Writer’s Jacket…” Then they build the case for the jacket, keeping the same voice as they extol its features and benefits.

This is an example of catalog copywriting at its best. Of course, not every cataloger has the luxury of devoting so much space to one item.  But even if you have just a short paragraph,  don’t be afraid to create an authentic, even bold, brand personality and let it come shining through in your copy.

February 15, 2010 | Catalog marketing, Copywriting | 1 Comment »

Google rankings – what page are you on?

Does your website show up on page 1 of Google? Page 2 or 3? If not,  it’s a safe bet that you’re making one or more of 5 common mistakes that prevent you from getting the results you want.   Here’s an article that details these costly blunders — everything from lack of effective keywords, to design, content and usability issues — and tells you how to fix them.

banamkung.com/wordpress

October 29, 2009 | Copywriting, SEO copywriting | No Comments »

Dropbox – a cool tool for sharing files on multiple computers

Let’s say you have a computer in the office, a laptop at home and a netbook for meetings and travel.  Having access to the files you need when you need them can get dicey. You either have to remember to email them to yourself or put them on your flash drive and hope you don’t lose it (I’ve been there…).

Here’s a great solution –  Dropbox is a free download that allows you to store, share and sync your  files on all of your computers. And,  you can share them with co-workers and clients so they can add their comments without having to use the distracting markup in Word.

There’s even an app for the iPhone which lets you download files, sync photos and videos to your Dropbox as well as share links to your files.

Download your copy here and let me know how you like it!

October 13, 2009 | Copywriting, SEO copywriting, marketing | No Comments »

E-mail marketing — these folks really get it!

I recently ordered a CD from a site called cdbaby.com. The next day I received a thank you that blew me away! It came in a plain email, no fancy graphics, but the message exuded brand personality. It had me laughing and feeling darn good about this company.  Here’s what they wrote:

“Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.”

Like it so far? Here’s more:

“We all had a wonderful celebration afterward and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved “Bon Voyage!” to your package, on its way to you in our private CD Baby jet on this day, September 23, 2009. ”

Here’s the clincher:

“We hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. In commemoration, we have placed your picture on our wall as “Customer of the Year.” We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBaby.com.

Thank, you, thank you, thank you!

Signed…

We miss you already. We’ll be right here patiently awaiting your return.”

Have they made a customer for life? You betcha.

Do your emails connect with your customers? Take a hint from CD Baby. Write them in a friendly, conversational style.  Include humor if appropriate.  And your open rate is sure to soar.

September 24, 2009 | Copywriting, email marketing, enewsletters | No Comments »

SEO copywriting tips for catalog marketers

In a recent article, SEO expert Heather Lloyd Martin takes catalog marketers to task for what she calls “10 stupid things” they do to mess up their websites.   Here are a few of her comments about SEO copywriting:

1. Uploading your catalog content without rewriting it for the online market

If the task seems daunting, she suggests rewriting your top 20% pages first, incorporating key phrases customers search for. You should see an increase in search rankings and conversions.

2. Putting every applicable keyphrase on your home page

The goal isn’t to get visitors to land on your home page. You want them to land on a page that closely matches their search query.

3.  Using the same page titles on all site pages

One of the fastest ways to improve your search engine rankings is to create unique keyword-rich titles for every page.

4.  Not researching keyword phrases

You’re not a mind reader. You may *think* you know how customers are searching but keyphrase research will either confirm your hunches or give you new ideas.

And here’s the kicker:

Hiring cheap writers who write poorly

Martin cites the example of an ecommerce site owner who went offshore for his SEO copywriting and wasted $2500 on bad writing. Remember, you get what you pay for. Hire a professional writer and reap the benefits of a better ROI.

Read the rest on Heather Lloyd Martin’s blog

September 22, 2009 | SEO copywriting | No Comments »

How to write landing pages that land you more sales

 Are your landing pages attracting visitors but not convincing them to buy?

I recently listened to a teleclass on this subject given by experts Michel Neray, an online pioneer and brand strategist, and Steve Slaunwhite, a copywriter and coach.

They shared some valuable tips for writing landing pages (aka sales pages) that  convert lookers into buyers.

• Keep it focused. Don’t load up the page with a lot of distractions.
• Give visitors all the information they need to make a buying decision — on the spot. Otherwise you may lose them.
• Write for both scanners and readers using subheads, short paragraphs and bullet points.
• Keep your headlines descriptive and loaded with benefits.
• Write in a conversational tone, don’t make the copy sound too salesy.

Once you’ve accomplished all of the above, be sure to tell them what to do next,
i.e., “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Now” if it’s a class or a course.

Do it right and those prospects are now your customers.

Need help writing a landing page that nets you more sales? Then land here: www.copywhiz.com.

July 15, 2009 | Copywriting, Landing Pages, Sales pages, marketing | No Comments »

Website Design & Copy: That all-important first impression

In her recent column in the San Francisco Examiner, graphic designer Stephanie Orma talks about the importance of working with a professional designer when creating or re-doing your website.  She writes:

“When startups and established businesses alike are looking to cut corners and save money, graphic design is usually at the top of their chopping block. But what these companies fail to realize is that good website design can literally mean the difference between being in the red or being in the black –- it’s that crucial. A website is often the first point of contact consumers have with a company. And just like in life, the first impression really does matter.”

She’s absolutely right. And the same can be said for good copywriting. As another cost-cutting measure, many companies write their own copy, even if this is not their area of expertise. And often the results are disastrous.  I’ve heard designers complain that they wait for months for the client to give them the copy. Think about all the revenue the company could have been earning during that time. Enough to have paid a professional freelance copywriter to get the job done right?

Copy and design work synergistically to create a positive online experience for your customers. Remember, you’ve got about two seconds to capture their attention.  They’ve come to your site with a mission…whether it’s to find information about your company or to purchase your product online. So that first impression is all-important.

Read Stephanie’s entire article here

March 23, 2009 | Copywriting, marketing, web copywriter | No Comments »

Copywriting clue: A little alliteration goes a long way.

Now don’t get me wrong. I love alliteration when it’s used skillfully and judiciously.  But when it's overdone, it can be downright annoying.  Today I happened upon a website that overused alliteration in an attempt to be cute and catchy with phrases like, “Promote your company with postcards that pop.” Page after page of that made me cringe. (Or do I lack a sense of humor?)

In his gem of a book On Writing Well, William Zinsser reminds us that people may read with their eyes, but they actually hear your words in their mind’s ear. So, yes, you want your copy to sing, but not off-key. Zinsser quotes E.B. White, whose Elements of Style should be on everyone’s bookshelf. White tried to rearrange the words in Thomas Paine’s famous statement, “These are the times that try men’s souls”:

Times like these try men’s souls.
These are trying times for men’s souls.
How trying it is to live in these times!
Soulwise, these are trying times.

Clearly, Paine got it right.

January 23, 2009 | Copywriting, marketing | No Comments »

Marketing 101 – You gotta have a plan.

Ok, here it is. January 2009. If you're anything like me, you know you've got to do something to get the phone to ring. We've all heard more than enough recession talk, now we've got to get busy and prevent our own recessions. So where to start?

You know you should write a marketing plan, but the notion can be daunting. A little like your resolution to lose weight--you may start out with good intentions but they soon fall by the wayside. So today in my inbox comes an email from Ilse Benun, the Marketing Mentor. She's touting her newly updated package: 2009 Grow Your Business Marketing Plan + Calendar. She even has a version for startups and one for us veterans that makes it painless to create your plan and stay with it. And, get this--every day for the next two weeks she'll send you a 3-minute audio clip with a tip to help you keep your marketing on track.

Whew, I feel better already. Check it out at marketing-mentor-store.com.

January 7, 2009 | Copywriting, marketing | 1 Comment »