Archive for Business Growth
One Day in the Life of a Brave Marcom Writer!
Hello,
Today’s a surreal day for me. As the old saying goes, “what doesn’t kill me, only makes me stronger.”
I’m back, after a year’s sabbatical. Lot’s of moving around, visiting, exploring myself and the world … trying to discover what I want to do/be next.
Yet, I’m still a writer, copywriter and author. I write. I study people and life. And I write about it. I’m also an Elf, as I discovered on a little test I took on Facebook. Pretty cool. 
The surreality I refer to is the happenings in my life of late. It’s one of those things that others would find too hard to believe, unless they saw it close up — or had some experience of the same sorts.
Are you ready for this? The dominoes started to fall, with a speeding ticket a month ago. This was quickly followed by my getting the dreaded ‘boot’ on my car, while parked downtown Fredericksburg, VA on a recent summer’s eve.
The police drive around, taking pictures that feed into a database of offenders. My offense? Failing to report to the Commissioner of Revenues that I’d moved out of the city last year.
They still had me on their books, and I owed ‘09 property taxes. My, everyone’s getting really aggressive about collecting. Have you noticed that, yet? You will.
Next shoe to drop was my garnished bank account, by a large credit card company. No ‘due process,’ so I wasn’t allowed to tell my side of the story to a judge. No, Virginia is one of the few states that allow this kind of ‘Gestapo’ treatment of its citizenry.
All my money … gone! In one fail swoop, without warning. Gone. And that included the reimbursement of funds, taken by the ‘boot’ company. And everything else that came into my account, before I had a chance to stop it.
Oh, and let’s not forget hefty bank charges for insufficient funds for some auto-payments that I couldn’t stop in time — or even remember.
And what can I do about it? Well, I’ve petitioned the court for a hearing, so am waiting to see if I’ll get my day in court.
Have you ever tried to exist, without any money and NO bank account? Everything I do is online, so now I can’t pay for anything online, nor can I even have my PayPal account anymore, so clients can pay me!
Yes, this is America. So, not only can one’s assets be seized by city, state and Federal Governments — the credit card companies can do it, too.
Following this interesting, little adventure … next, a water pipe burst in the basement, where my office is located. My laptop didn’t make it, but my printer survived. I’d preferred the other way around. Not sure about my fax, yet.
My granddaughters were here, visiting, through these various fiascoes. What a time to have all your money seized!
Oh, silly me. I almost forgot. To add more insult to injury … the gauntlet finally fell on my new site.
For months, I’ve been trying to get a certain SEO company to finish my new site. Promises, stalls, more promises, more stalls. And, finally, the truth: It wasn’t going to get done. It baffles me that people don’t keep their word anymore.
So, this writer is having a lazy, rainy Saturday. I think it’s all just now sinking in. It’s really quite a jolt to the ole system, let me tell you.
If it’s true that what doesn’t kill me, only makes me stronger, I should be strong as steel by now. Aahh, yes, this too shall pass. I know it always does.
And, I’ll have a little bit more experience to add to my already rich set of experiences to assist me in understanding the human condition. Without going through some of these hard times myself, I wouldn’t be able to connect with those who have.
I wouldn’t be the person I am.
You know, I’m not sure anymore, but I used to think I created everything in my life, in order to learn. If this is true, it really sucks! However, it certainly gives me a depth of understanding and empathy I would not otherwise possess.
I am grateful. I’m still standing. I’m still smiling. I understand.
Yours in understanding,
Carolyn
Advertising Copywriter
Hello,
Are you a business owner, with a web site — but haven’t been published, yet?
Well, I don’t want to chastise you, but you must do it!
Why? Well there are lots of reasons, and I’ll list some of them.
7 Reasons You Want to Get Published …
1. Get noticed.
2. Establish yourself as an expert.
3. After you’re seen as an expert.
4. Enjoy the recognition from being an expert.
5. Get more business from those who read your published materials.
6. It’s easy to do.
7. If you can’t do it, you can hire someone inexpensively to ghostwrite it.
And there are so many different things you can write that will give you the prestige for ‘being published.’ You can, for example, write a real book — you know, the old-fashioned, printed kind?
3 Ways to Get Published & Get Noticed:
1. Self Publish a Print Book …
You can even self-publish and you don’t have to worry about finding an agent, who’ll represent you to the big publishing houses … with whom, your chances are slim and none anyway.
For self-publishing, there are a lot of companies, who do ‘on-demand publishing.’ That’s when you order a book online at amazon.com and if it’s an ‘on demand’ book, one computer will tell another one to print off one copy of this book and mail it to you. (It’s seamless to the buyer.)
In fact, I published my book, The Wacko From Waco, this way, with iUniverse. They were great!
2. Publish an eBook …
This is super easy. Just write your manuscript in a Word document. Then, when complete, you’ll want to convert it to a pdf file.
If you know how to do this, great. But if not, you can hire it done very inexpensively.
Next, decide if your objective is just to enhance your reputation — to be seen as an expert and, therefore, get more business because more people will recognize you as an expert in your field …
Or, is your objective to sell the ebook for profit? If so, you’ll have to decide if you want to sell it on your site, assuming the subject matter is compatible. If it isn’t, then I suggest you get a new domain name and a hosting account, so you can sell your ebook.
You’ll also need a shopping cart, of course, where you’ll upload your ebook’s pdf, so your customers can download it, after they pay for it. A great source for how to write an ebook is Bob Bly’s site.
3. Publish Some Articles …
Most likely, you’ve heard/read a lot about this one. There are many article directories you can use to do this. Aside from the obvious reason of being seen as an expert, you’ll also do this, in order to get back links to your site … that means that those who use your article will link back to your site.
When you write the article, you’ll get a ‘resource box’ at the end. Here is where you get get to tell a bit about yourself – and provide a link to your site … the real reason to do this, IMO.
There are many of these, but the one I like best is Submit Your Article.com.
So, there you are — 3 ways you can use to establish yourself as an expert and, hopefully, get more business, as a result. Don’t expect overnight success, though. You need to be diligent and write often about topics your prospects would find beneficial.
And, whether you publish an ebook, articles or promote your print book on your business web site or on a different URL — be sure to get it optimized by a real expert — so the search engines will be sure to find you when someone looks for you.
I work with two excellent SEO experts. They are very responsive, fast and know their stuff! Aly at WordPress Consultant and SEO and Ryan at clarkeconsulting@comcast.net. Aly has gone well above and beyond the call of duty both for my site and my blog! And Ryan can also produce a simple web site that won’t cost an arm and a leg.
If you need help to develop an overall marketing plan or marketing strategy that will include the expertise of a kickass copywriter, I’ll be happy to assist you.
Good luck getting noticed!
Carolyn
Marketing Copywriter
I’m sure most everyone has heard the saying, “No guts, no glory,” right?
Well, just to be clear about my interpretation, so I can talk about it … it means this to me:
If you don’t risk, you don’t achieve.
In marketing, as in life, most business owners choose to ‘play it safe.’ The idea behind this notion, of course, is to walk the same path that’s already been forged. It’s easier.
If something’s been done again and again (proven to work or not), most people most of the time are too timid or downright afraid of making a mistake to launch out on their own and …
Do Something Different & Daring!
As marketers, when we put on our ‘consumer hat,’ I think it’s easy to see how smart it is to be different, don’t you?
Think about it, when a technique is so overused as to become lifeless and dull, no one really listens anymore — they become desensitized or anesthetized (numb).
How many times have you heard or read the same ole, same ole copycat version of direct response techniques that they don’t even register on your mental screen anymore? Despite what it says, here’s what you see, “blah, blah, blah, blah.”
Dan Kennedy talks about business owners who defy conventional wisdom and DO things outside the norm, with amazing results. In his examples, a restaurant and supermarket gave away thousands of dollars in merchandise, with a very high ROI.
And they didn’t even have to spend money on advertising. Ooops, scratch that — you’ll think you don’t need a copywriter to write VERY different ads, letters and cards, oh my!
If you’re not a restaurant or supermarket, with food to give away (who doesn’t eat?) … or whether you do something else totally outlandish or at least unexpected — you gotta capture your prospect or customer’s attention.
Wake up! Be different. Do something that’ll counteract the numb.
In order to get noticed, you MUST have guts. Otherwise, you just lull your customers and prospects to sleep.
Here’s to guts & glory!
Carolyn
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
Word of Mouth Marketing is Still a WOW!
Q: Who are the best customers?
A: Referrals.
Q: What’s the best form of marketing?
A: Word of Mouth. (WOM)
So, if everybody knows referrals make the best customers and the way to get referrals is through WOM marketing — what are you doing to generate more WOM?
Have you considered what you can do for your existing customers that would absolutely compel them to tell all their friends and family to buy from you? Something that’s so unique and memorable they’d just have to talk about it?
Consider Disneyland and Disney World. When first time visitors are asked what sticks in their minds most, they say it’s the parks’ cleanliness and the authentic environments.
As Dan Kennedy points out, the marketers know that ‘clean’ is not just about maintenance crews — it’s also about good marketing!
Your customers want to feel really GOOD about doing business with you, right? So, come up with something quirky or unusual to do for them … surprise them in some way they won’t expect.
Going the extra mile works for personal relationships and also for business relationships.
If you can’t think of something that feels right for your business, maybe you could hire a very savvy, creative marketing firm to help you. But just DO it.
Here’s to creating more WOM … and use the ‘WOW’ factor!
Carolyn
Master Artist of Genuine, Inspired Communications
Effective Copywriting Uses the KISS Principle
Have you ever read a marketing message, attempting to sell something …
but it used stiff, proper language that only an English professor would appreciate?
Most good copywriters know to use simple words and to talk to a prospect like we’d talk to a friend or to use ‘barstool conversation’ — the way you’d talk to the guy next to you at the bar.
Another smart rule of thumb? Use short sentences.
Long, seemingly endless sentences/paragraphs make the brain say, “This is too much to read.” (Click.)
Short & simple paragraphs, with lots of white space, are much easier to read, aren’t they?
Another KISS principle, often overlooked even by the best of writers is to first appeal to human emotion … then back it up with logic. It’s really not just all about price!
Your prospects aren’t going to be patient with a badly written sales message. And, since an enormous amount of shopping is being done online, your entire web site must be:
clear, concise, easy to understand/navigate. And easy to order.
How to Employ the KISS Principle on Your Web Site & Online Marketing …
* Use simple words.
* Use short sentences/paragraphs.
* Use lots of white space.
* Capture their emotions quickly.
* Show ample proof/credibility.
* Make everything quick, easy to navigate.
* Make ordering easy.
Starting with your web site and continuing with sales letters, email campaigns, PPC campaigns and their linked landing pages — keep it simple.
Happy Selling!
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
