Archive for January, 2008
The Copywriting Diva’s Idea of Personality Marketing
Are you getting and keeping customers the way you’d like to?
Are you making yourself the star in your own show?
If you, the business owner or CEO, are not the STAR … you’re not getting and keeping all of the customers you should be.
What do I mean by that? I mean that you should be selling YOU … not your products or services!
Let’s face it, most of the time there aren’t that many real differences between one product and another.
One dentist is about the same as another. And one automobile does pretty much the same thing as the others do …they all run on some kind of fuel, have 4 tires, windows and doors, yes?
So, the thing that sets one product or service apart from the rest is YOU.
Have you developed a unique character that folks will really like, trust or find amusing?
Are you a bit edgy? Are you funny? Do you have some kind of quirk that your customers would be drawn to – IF they knew about it?
People Buy From You Because of YOU!
In my copywriting business, I am the KickAss Copywriter, and my tagline is: Where Mediocrity is Outlawed.
Since I’m from Texas, originally, I chose a Western theme. And I have a donkey kicking out the “m” (for mediocrity).
This works for me because I’m a straight-shooter, my word is my bond, and I won’t settle for just “OK” copy for my clients.
There are many good copywriters out there, in addition to the greats we all know and respect. And, I’m sure if you develop a relationship with them, they’ll do a fine job.
Those who hire me are impressed with my work, but they are more interested in WHO I am, as a person-ality. Because I infuse my copy with personality that folks like to read.
Have YOU adopted a personality that keeps your customers enthralled with you?
A Story of the Man Who Dared to Be Waaay Different …
I have one client in Belgium, who sells projection screens. His latest addition is a sleek, sexy, black piece of furniture that totally contains the screen when not in use.
And at the touch of a button, the screen ascends skyward. Impressive. And it’s 80″ diagonal.
I’m calling this, “The Seducer in a Box.”
Why? Because there is a well-known factor – the WAF – that we have to address. The WAF is the wife approval factor, which his audience (men) all know and must adhere to! J
Its first entre’ will be in a black, sleek, sexy brochure. When it’s on the web site … I’ll reveal it for you!
You see, this owner knows that men are crying out for help with the WAF. So, he’s answering the call … with “The Seducer in a Box.”
We’re also building a ‘men’s-only club’ out of this. Members will get a T-Shirt to tout their BIG Screen-dom.
Since he’s International, we fully expect it to cause a World-wide fire!
How’s THAT for Personality-Marketing??
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
A Copywriter’s Version of How to Overcome Fear
Fear is an interesting phenomenon, isn’t it?
It can paralyze people to the point of total inaction. Or, it can render an otherwise smart, capable person into a ‘fraidy cat.’
Numerous writers have said that the only thing to fear is fear itself.
Do I believe that? Do you believe that?
Obviously, there are very legitimate reasons to be afraid sometimes. If I were out on a hiking trail and, suddenly, a big black bear appeared … I’d be very afraid! J
Unless you had taken leave of your senses, I bet you’d be afraid as well, yes?
We could go on and on, finding real life situations where anyone would be lying, if they said they weren’t afraid.
However …
This isn’t the kind of fear I’d like to talk about today.
I want to talk a bit about unrealistic fears. The kind that’s between our ears and that got put there, often by someone else we looked up to a long time ago.
You know the kind, those things we actually heard our parents say to/about us – or our interpretations of what was said or done.
Either way, we all made decisions, as children, that we carry with us well into adulthood … until/if we become aware enough to SEE that they were wrong … and change our minds!
Those Voices in our Heads:
I feel that any negative voice (idea, notion, belief) that tells us we aren’t __________________enough to accomplish or experience ______________________ is a voice that needs to be replaced with a positive voice.
What Are the Negative Voices Inside Your Head, Keeping You From Accomplishing or Experiencing ALL That You Would Like To?
Once we isolate the negative voices, we can turn them into a positive statement and alter our experiences or accomplishments — for the BETTER!
It All Resolves to What I Choose to Believe to be True.
I really feel, believe and know that what I choose to believe TODAY, in my awakened self (one who sees clearly), will be my experience.
If I don’t like the results life is giving me, then I need to examine the negative beliefs about myself that I’m holding onto. (Neg beliefs = Neg results)
When I look at the beliefs that cause me to act/respond to life in a fearful way, I find that most are not REAL.
My job is to re-write my script! It’s no harder nor easier than that. Thoughts are things, and when we change our thoughts, our outer world (results) changes accordingly.
For example, in my copywriting business, if I notice I’m feeling some self-doubt about the direction to take with a certain project …
I simply turn the negative thought/feeling into a positive statement, like this:
I am confident in my abilities. I trust my inner guidance to direct me toward the very best direction for this client. I intend it. And so it is.
Try it. Pick just one thing that you’re fearful about and consciously change your thoughts about it … for the positive … for 30 days. Then see what happens!
Let me know about your success?
My Copywriting Dream on MLK Day
I have a dream on this memorial day, honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I SEE the world as ONE also. I believe the world will show up, according to the way we view it!
If I believe in hate, or if I live with hate in my heart … that’s exactly what I will SEE manifested in my world.
Ghandi said it best: “Be the change you want to see.”
Dr. King actually visited Ghandi and, I think, he was trying to incorporate his world view, starting with baby steps in the South.
As we know, Dr. King made his mark on human history, during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, by protesting segregation.
Although it required his life to effect the change he sought, his heroic efforts led to the desegregation of the country and, ultimately, carved out the path toward racial equality for all.
Here are just a few famous quotes, from this giant of a man:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
- “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ ”
- “I Have a Dream” speech, Aug. 28, 1963
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
- Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dec. 10, 1964
Sources: The King Center; documents from the King Research and Education Institute at Stanford University; www.mlkday.gov.honor him (http://www.theolympian.com/living/story/334093.html
Question?
What will you do in your business and personal lives to foster equality for all men and women?
For me?
As it relates to my business of copywriting and strategic marketing, I pledge to remain vigilant in my dealings with clients.
I will see my clients and the potential customers I’m writing to attract as part of my family … the human family.
I believe we’re all part of this ONE family. And, to the extent that I dishonor one member, I dishonor myself at the same time.
For me, then, my copywriting dream (and my personal dream) can be summed up this way …
Do the RIGHT Thing!
May we emulate Dr. King and others who have stood for right, for peace and for acceptance of each other.
Your thoughts and comments are cherished.
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
My Valiant Efforts to Keep Professional Copywriting Real!
Admittedly, I’m having a difficult time deciding what I want to write about here on my professional blog!
Get it right and people will read it and love it. Get it wrong, and they’ll hate it and speak ‘evil’ about it … and me.
What’s a girl to do?
I’m a copywriter, so why not just jot down more overly-simplified bullet points on how business folks can write GREAT copy?
Or, maybe I could join the ranks of some copywriters and try to tell budding copywriters how to write GREAT copy? (It’d be good for the spiders, too.)
But being a great copywriter, I feel, is the result of being a good student of life.
And, I think one must be awake and aware of what’s going on in the world on a deeper level, in order to write real kickasscopy.
I AM Aware … (A blessing and a curse)
Being able to genuinely connect with people, lots of different kinds of people, isn’t because I’m a schmoozer or because I’ve learned all the ‘catch phrases’ from a self-styled guru.
I’m able to connect heart to heart because I genuinely care about and understand the human condition.
And, quite honestly, I’m appalled at the hype, dishonesty and psychological/emotional manipulation used by some copywriters to prey on their unsuspecting victims.
The Rub …
If I talk about controversial things, like politics or religion, it’s because as an ‘aware’ being, I have some views on both of these most divisive elements of our society … or any other society, for that matter.
Rather than have one political or religious view that I feel a need to harp on, trying to convince everyone of why I’m obviously right (and by contrast, they’re wrong)…
I just don’t have any specific beliefs that I need to proselytize.
It’s all insane and inane to me! (Ooops, did I offend?) J
Julius Caesar said to his wife, Calpurnia …
Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once.
I wonder if I’m just being a coward, fearing someone will be offended by what I say here on my expert copywriting blog, if I speak from my heart?
And, God forbid that a prospective client may be so offended by me that he or she wouldn’t want me to write for them! J
Conclusion? I think the real reason I’ve been derelict in my blogging is that I’ve been so conflicted as to what I ‘should’ write.
Might I suffer from cowardice?
I’m tired of worrying about it.
And, what’s more important anyway …
To please or not to please … myself?
I choose to please myself — to be brave and valiant and trust that I’ll attract others who’ll appreciate the depth and breadth of who I AM.
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
Professional Copywriters Don’t Walk on Water: Do You Suffer From “Unrealistic Expectations” for Your Internet Marketing Efforts?
Most of my clients are savvy enough to know that effective Internet marketing requires a lot of misses, before they get a hit.
But once in a while, I run into someone who doesn’t understand that copywriters can’t promise a ‘home run’ every, single time. (I usually gracefully decline these folks.)
Look at even the best baseball players … they strike out more often than they get a hit. A GREAT hitter, with a .300 batting average, misses 7 out of 10 times that he steps up to the plate.
And, then there’s the Einstein story of failure. After a thousand experiments that didn’t work, he didn’t give up. Thankfully, he didn’t cave in because the next one (#1,001) testing a tungsten filament … worked brilliantly!
And we’re still benefiting from that brilliance. So, the question is … are you a business owner, with realistic expectations, who understands you have to test, test, test? Or, are you looking for that impossible homerun every, single time at bat?
Marketing online, using Google ads to drive traffic to a landing page, for example, expecting you’ll become a millionaire in 30 days … is probably NOT going to happen, no matter how convincing the copy is!
Yes some Internet marketers, who sell information products on how other Internet marketers can get rich at least ‘claim’ to do that.
But for most businesses, whether you’re selling a product to consumers or B2B or you’re selling a service … it ain’t gonna happen.
So, what IS the realistic approach to marketing online?
If you want to be profitable and competitive over the long haul, you’ll need to test a lot. Marketing tests will reveal what works and what doesn’t.
Test the offer. Test the way you ask for the order. Test the way you ask for their email address. Test your ads. Test everything … and go with the winner.
One Google ad that I know of, increased click-thrus by 30%, just by changing ONE word.
The tests, themselves, won’t make money. But, they’ll tell you what the searchers respond to best. And that, after all, is what you care about, right?
And, when you find a winner that’s withstood the ‘test of testing’ … then you can make money, by using it again and again, with sound strategy and carefully planned roll-outs, hopefully.
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
