Archive for Just Do The Right Thing
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
Copywriting for Results, Without Hype
I recently read a post at Ryan Healy’s blog, which was talking about ‘hype’ in copy.
The upshot of the blog was that, as copywriters, we should all be sure to have sufficient proof to back up any over-the-top-sounding claim or promise we make in our copy.
As marketing professionals, we know (or should know) how vital the sales messages are that we write for our clients — our words can make or break the sale.
And, even when there are outrageous-sounding claims or promises that can be made because they are actually true, I think the ‘oh yeah, right’ factor is a big one to overcome. And this is especially true on the Internet.
What I mean by that is this: People are bombarded with SO much exaggeration and promises of more beauty, more sex, more hair, more wealth SOO much that the mere claim of more, better, different is often discounted at best and ruinous at worst.
OK, you say, how do I get my sales message heard, amidst all the loud noises out there? Good question.
I’ll try to answer it. Are you, personally, turned off when you hear a lot of ‘over-the-top’ kinds of headlines or body copy, promising you the moon if you only use this or that product? Do you feel a bit like your intelligence is being insulted?
I do.
That’s why I try to keep it down and to genuinely instill trust, by telling the truth. I try to shy away from stupid in its many forms – from falsehoods or products I wouldn’t sell to my worst enemy. (If I had one.)
Emotional copy, of course, we all know is the best kind to ‘connect’ with our audience and to offer them benefits they really want for themselves. But so much of it is pandering, placating and downright insulting.
Maybe there’s a place to talk to the poor, the gullible or the less-educated of the world and play on their ignorance … but I don’t want to write it.
I say effective copywriting doesn’t have to use hype. And hard-to-believe truths can be tempered with a wise dose of sincerity, credibility and proof.
Till next time, here’s to genuinely-effective copywriting!
Carolyn
http://www.marcommagic.com
Master Artist of Genuine, Inspired Connections
A Copywriter’s Decision: To Fight or to Just Let it Go!
I’m sure there have been times in your life when you had to decide whether something was worth the fight … or best to just let it go?
In my personal and professional life, I’ve had many opportunities to watch this choice in action.
For example, with my kids when they were little. It was well worth the fight to teach them it wasn’t nice, nor acceptable, to hit each other.
But, if they accidentally let the dog in, with muddy paws, I may have decided it wasn’t worth it to get my panties in a knot over … depending on what else was going on.
Many of the same kinds of scenarios, with partners or boyfriends have occurred. Some things are worth fighting over/for – and others just aren’t.
In my professional life as a copywriter and marketing strategist, most of my clients are great. Some have been a little testy, but I’ve been able to win their trust and calm whatever possible storm that may be a’brewin, with impeccable follow-through and a quality end product that accomplished the mission.
But sometimes, sometimes, you just gotta cut someone loose. In the case of my kids, that wasn’t an option … well, not till they grew up anyway.
But, with a problem client (or customer), it’s sometimes the best course of action.
You can see where this is going, can’t you?
Yep, I recently had this lovely experience. A new client, very intelligent. Very well-known, popular and very good at what she does, yet I found it impossible to deal with her.
Actually, the red flags were there from the beginning. You know how that works, in personal and business relationships, right? In hindsight, we can usually see what we should have seen in the beginning.
I did see it, though, and she even admitted she was hard to work with. Boy, was that an understatement. And, she even said that her grown son had refused to work with her anymore.
Well, to make a painfully long story short … she didn’t understand the process or what she really needed, for that matter.
To use an analogy of building a house, she only wanted me to paint it, before the foundation had been poured. She simply wanted (or thought she did) me to write the copy for her site to make people buy right now, without knowing the direction, theme and audience.
Everything was wrong with the site, too, which I tried to help with. She wanted suggestions, so I gladly gave them. Because without them, the site would not convert.
I tried to build the foundation, before I started painting, but she had no way of appreciating that. I could have gone ahead and grabbed some of the 2 x 4’s and started painting them, but the foundation and frame weren’t even up, yet.
Bottom line, I decided that I’d be willing to let this go, so I told her that I could only proceed under certain conditions. And that I’d refund half the fee, if she would prefer to end the misery.
In all fairness, she wasn’t enjoying the process, either. Process … she didn’t even realize there was a process!
So, she chose the refund. I was glad, because I don’t think there was any way to please her.
Sometimes, it’s just a whole lot better to part company than to keep beating your head against the wall.
5 Lessons in all this?
1. Listen to my inner voice in the beginning and follow it.
2. If someone is not really sold on their own project … run!
3. If they are a problem in the beginning, they’ll continue to be.
4. If they can’t see the amazing value in what I do — they can’t/won’t no matter how ‘on target’ it is.
5. If they nickel and dime me, they don’t understand the value of strategic thinking and copywriting that fulfills an approved strategy. Run faster.
If you’re in business, have a web site that needs to convert better or have a list you need a killer email campaign to talk to, by all means hire a copywriter with a keen sense of marketing and the human psyche.
And let them do what they do … SELL for you!
And remember, sometimes in certain situations … the fight just isn’t worth it. Let it go.
Yours in higher octave marketing,
Carolyn
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
A Copywriter’s Idea: I’m Going to Be Happy, Despite What Befalls Me!
I think the only thing that’s certain in life is this: Change.
Good times come, good times go. Bad times come and they also go.
As a wise one once said to me, “And it came to pass.” Different from, ‘this, too, shall pass.’
What he meant by that had a much more profound meaning than simply saying, ‘this, too, shall pass.”
He meant that it came, in order to pass … or, so it could pass. The experience came, it was here, it was good or bad — and then it was gone.
I think his message was most profound! And it jives with many other mystical or Eastern philosophies.
Perhaps a good metaphor could be a hub and a wheel. As the wheel goes round and round, the hub stays constant. Life’s circumstances and experiences change, going round and round, but the constant within me never changes.
So, the question I must ask is:
Do I choose to identify with lifes ups & downs, good and bad times … or do I choose to identify with the constant, never-changing Self?
A case in point — in the space of 2 weeks, I secured and lost about $13,000.00. Now, I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s a LOT of money!
When it looked as though the money was a definite, I was very happy. But when each project fell out, one-by-one, and for totally different reasons … I wasn’t very happy at all.
Truth be told, I was downright depressed.
Then, I reflected on what a wise teacher from long ago used to say … “and it came to pass,” so I asked myself what was the lesson here for me to get, gall dern it!
OK, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and asked for the answer. The answer came …
Be the hub.
Be happy and content, despite what befalls me. Good, bad, acceptance, rejection … it’s all just part of the wheel of life, going round and round, collecting some debris (bad); then washing it off in the next rain (good).
Hard to do? Oh yeah.
In case you’re interested … part of the money I lost was due to a marketing guru-type, who just flaked on me. I spent an inordinate amount of time with him, jumping through his hoops.
I justified it, because it would likely lead to a lot more work and even a revenue share. Never again.
The next one, the client had a falling out with their investor and was put on hold. OK.
The third one was due to my fee being too high. Oy vey …
Now mind you, I qualified him on the 45 minute phone-con. I even asked if he had a budget for the project, because I didn’t want to write a thoughtful proposal, if he didn’t have enough money to spend.
“No,” came the answer. No budget. He wanted me to send a proposal, elaborating on what I would do, and we’d go from there.
I complied, and he was floored! Why not just tell me what he thought the project was worth to him in the first place? Amazing.
I think I learned something from this: Always, always get a client to tell me what they *think* a project is worth.
If it’s waaay off … I’ll just walk. Or, if I tell them what I would charge and they agree to it, then I’ll write it up.
I was happy. Then I was sad. Then I decided to be happy, despite what happens on the wheel of life.
These last 3 episodes were just too close together to be coincidence. Aahh yes, but I don’t believe in that anyway. “Coincidence is where God chooses to remain anonymous,” I read somewhere.
So, if nothing happens by accident, an awake person looks for what’s really going on here, methinks. For me, for now, at least one of my lessons is:
Don’t let my happiness depend on what I label good or bad. Because, as sure as shootin’ … it WILL change.
So, I choose happiness, despite what befalls me.
To help ensure your happiness with your marketing efforts, devote a proper budget, keep your word and have rock-solid funding before calling in a marketing strategist and copywriter.
That way, we’ll all be happier, and you’ll get kickass marketing, with a high ROI!
Carolyn
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
This Copywriter’s POV: Today’s the Time to Stand Up for Right
Did you see the deplorable ‘presidential’ debate on ABC last week? Have you seen the fallout?
Maybe you don’t think ABC’s Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos acted more like lame ducks than respected TV news journalists … but I found it deplorable!
With our nation in dire need of new leadership, due to the mess our current illustrous leaders have gotten us into, and for the billionth debate … shouldn’t they at least attempt to get Clinton and Obama to talk about something more important than a lapel pin?
As I sat stunned on my couch, I was hoping against hope that Obama would stand up for right … and refuse to wallow in the pettiness of such idiotic questioning.
But he didn’t.
Was it political correctness or the response of a genuine gentleman?
In Denny Hatch’s, Business Common Sense, he captured my sentiments exactly. To Mr. Gibson’s question about the lapel pin, Barack Obama replied …
SEN. OBAMA: Well, look, I revere the American flag, and I would not be running for president if I did not revere this country. This is—I would not be standing here if it wasn’t for this country.And I’ve said this—again, there’s no other country in which my story is even possible; somebody who was born to a teenage mom, raised by a single mother and grandparents from small towns in Kansas, you know, who was able to get an education, blah, blah, blah …Among Barack Obama’s many attributes is that he is a gentleman.I was not in the mood for a gentlemanly rejoinder. I cringed with embarrassment at the question and Obama’s failure to serve a high hard one back into ABC’s court.
The Exchange I was Hoping for
SEN. OBAMA: Excuse me, Mr. Gibson. Are you going to also ask Senator Clinton why she does not wear an American flag pin on her lapel? Or around her neck? Or in her hair?
MR. GIBSON: Uh …
SEN. OBAMA: Because, Mr. Gibson, people are dying all over the world in wars and acts of violence. The price of food is skyrocketing and millions are starving in Haiti, in Africa and places in between.
MR. GIBSON: Senator Obama …
SEN. OBAMA: Let me finish. Forty-seven million Americans have no health insurance. We are involved in two endless, unwinnable wars that are costing over $20 billion a month—wars that are bankrupting our military, our country, and our children and grandchildren.
In the city of Philadelphia, where we are right now, more than one person every day is murdered. Every month, thousands of illegal immigrants are pouring unchecked into the country, bringing with them drugs and crime.
The Middle East is turning into a vast cauldron of sectarian violence, and the United States is regarded as a pariah all over the world as the invader and occupier of a Muslim nation. The price of oil is $110 a barrel and rising.
These are just some of the huge issues facing the next president of the United States, and you have reduced them to a quarter-inch-square piece of jewelry that you claim is missing from my lapel.
And, the story continues on the next page, getting even better!
Personally, I’m an Independent. But, so what? I still don’t have anyone to vote for out of all 3 of the candidates. And I know I’m not the only one, who feels this way!
With America teetering on the brink of too many disasters to even list … why can’t someone step up to the plate of ‘right’ and tell it like it is!
I fear, with all of my heart, that we could very well be on the verge of a revolt. When the people do not have sufficient leadership in Washington to run the country for the good of the country (middle class?), but rather sell-out our country to special interests, other countries and wage war under the guise of ‘freeing another country’ (after WMD didn’t work) …
a revolution may soon be the only answer.
How applicable might these immortal words, of Thomas Jefferson in 1787, be today, I wonder?
“What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? … The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
There may not be a helluva lot we, as individuals, can do about this runaway train, headed for disaster right now. But, in our own lives, as mothers, fathers, sons, daughters … at school and in our work with each other and our customers … let’s stand for right every chance we get.
In business, let your word be your bond. Let your marketing messages be transparent, without hidden traps that set out to trick, rather than honestly communicate your sales/marketing message.
I think when we stand up for the little things, they’ll accrue to the bigger things.
And, if your marketing calls for a “higher octave” copywriter, I know where you can find one!
Standing up,
Carolyn
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com
