by John Holman
If you haven’t heard of Twitter then you probably live in another world. A world where the Internet and the explosion in social networking sites doesn’t exist.
Twitter is being touted as a major business communication tool — a tool that will help organisations, business execs and me become très cool by linking us with millions of customers and potential customers who use this fast expanding social network. The idea, similar to viral marketing, is to seed a thought, a product or service, growing it into the mainstream over time, but in a subtle manner.
The Twitter people say real life happens between blog posts and emails and a huge hunk of the world seems to agree. On Twitter, life happens in one hundred and forty character bites — that’s the maximise size for each post.
So does copywriting matter if you’re only dealing with 140 characters? Well, given our business focus, what do you think?
Writing those pithy little messages to help grow a brand or develop an exec’s image obviously requires more than a modicum of writing skills. In fact, it also requires a significant understanding of the environment. So, it’s been quite a surprise reading the increasing number of stories about inept tweets – a tweet is Twitter speak for a post – by organisations who are blindly flogging products or services without a thought for the most basic marketing-101 rules surrounding ‘Place’ and ‘Target Audience’.
Twitter, as well as blogs and other social media sites, is being increasingly scanned by organisations in order to monitor comments about their products, services and staff. This allows them to jump on any adverse commentary or use growing positives to better focus their communication. Read more »
by Inge Fuglestved
One thing is for sure, 2009 isn’t going to be the same old, same old. Things have changed profoundly and for a while, business is going to have to do more with less and think of ways to stretch their marketing dollars. It’s more important than ever to stay in touch with your customers and give them relevant and useful information, but the budget for big-ticket items like advertising and promotions is now limited. So, what to do?
Enter the case study.
Case studies, testimonials or user stories, are a highly versatile marketing tool because they can easily be re-purposed for use in different media. You can publish them online or in print and include them in face-to-face presentations. The content can be used for websites, online interviews and as click-throughs for eDM’s. Case studies can be included in brochures, newsletters, internal communications, press releases and as proof-elements in seminars and product demonstrations. An investment in a case study is an investment that keeps on giving.
And they have great credibility. Why does media coverage work harder for you than advertising? Because it’s someone else saying something (hopefully positive) about your company, your products or your services. Case studies are testimonials by your customers about how they have used your solutions to achieve a better outcome for their business. This makes case studies credible and interesting to prospective customers, hopefully providing both inspiration and new ideas – a powerful tool indeed.
How to create a good case study.
Start by talking to your sales people. Find out who your happiest customers are or the ones with the most interesting use of your products. Want to sell more widgets to small business? Find a happy client in that market. Want to get media coverage for a particular product? Find a customer who’s doing something really interesting or unusual with it. It’s worth putting some effort into thinking about what you want to achieve and who has the best story to tell. Read more »
by John Holman
Everybody can write. You might not think so, but it’s true. It’s just like singing – everybody can do it (some better than others, maybe). So why not try writing your own advertising or online content? You can do it. It just takes practice, a bit of knowledge and an ear for language.
Okay, maybe I’m being a bit facetious. Maybe I’m simplifying writing skills too much — but the fact is, writing is a skill and a skill can be taught and learnt. There are many copywriting courses offered online and many books about writing ads and online content. It’s all there for you to learn and practice, if you have the time and the inclination.
Copyblogger says:
Copywriting 101: An Introduction to Copywriting
A 10-Step Copywriting Tutorial
This tutorial is designed to get you up and running with the basics of writing great copy in ten easy lessons. Afterwards, you’ll get recommendations for professional copywriting training, plus links to tutorials on SEO copywriting and writing killer headlines.
At Dymocks for $37.95 (print) or $30.95 (download):
Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joseph Sugarman
Great copy is the heart and soul of the advertising business. This guide provides guidelines and advice on what it takes to write copy that entices, motivates, and moves customers to buy.
by Inge Fuglestved
Is the new year looking a bit daunting?
Like everyone else, you’re probably looking at 2009 with some apprehension. How will you meet targets when you have less people and less budget to work with? The key has to be in working smarter.
One option is to hire professional freelance creatives and pay significantly less than you would through an agency. Copywriting, graphic design, event management, CRM — we have a collection of friends who are highly experienced in their respective fields and, like us, work from home.
$$ Note: working from home equals very low overheads…
In difficult times, it’s even more important to communicate effectively with your customers and your staff. To be creative and keep everyone motivated. We can help. We can make the difference between a project going ahead and it being canned due to budgetary constraints.
Maybe you’re happy with your current results and costs. But if you think you need a new or more cost effective approach, contact us. We’re happy to talk.
by Inge Fuglestved
After years of working as copywriters, we have noticed an interesting fact: many clients find it very difficult to produce a written brief.
Often, they are unsure of what information a copywriter needs or they shower us with too many documents, hoping we can identify the relevant information ourselves. That way lies high cost and poor results.
As with most things, briefing is a case of garbage in, garbage out. A copywriter needs succinct directions and relevant information to give you high quality work.
We have developed a simple briefing template for copywriting work which will help make it easier for you to provide the background material a copywriter needs. If you don’t already have your own, grab a copy of ours. Simply download it here – it’s free, no strings, with our compliments.
Free Download
Briefing template for copywriting work
We write for a living.
We put ideas, products and services into words to create understanding and action. I suppose you might say we’re transformational wordsmiths who can help you achieve this quarter’s objectives and sustainable growth.
Over the years we have worked with a range of clients in Australia, Asia and the USA – multinational corporations and industry leaders, as well as governments, NGOs and startups.
The process? Gain understanding, identify relevance and develop value propositions – that’s what we do.
What’s the upside of a downturn? Maybe a fresh look at an old problem.
at the beach productions pty ltd
Freelance Copywriting Services
Tel: (02) 9918-0055 :: Intl: +61 2 9918-0055
by Inge Fuglestved
Pain can be helpful. It certainly focuses the mind. If you’re in marketing, you’ve probably already faced budget cuts and maybe even lost some staff members. The business outlook might be less than rosy, so what to do?
Love your customers. Remember, they’re feeling the same pain. Look for areas where you can surprise them and be genuinely helpful. Practice empathy and connect proactively to help reduce their stress, because kindness creates trust and trust creates commitment and business.
Difficult times can create opportunities. Communicate with your customers. Find out what their needs are and how you can respond. Be creative and come up with services that help cement your relationships and differentiate you from your competitors.
There is only one important rule about direct mail: no duds.
Direct mail has no place unless it’s well targeted and relevant. Your company will quickly lose credibility and goodwill if you are not diligent about:
- your lists
- correct details and
- providing offers of interest to the recipient
Sample Email (text)
The future of your business
In critical times, it’s hard to focus on anything other than the present. But in order to ensure there is a successful future, you must plan for it now. And for that, you need sound information about trends and future challenges.
Sample eDM offer (html)
Forget the server pain
Have you got servers everywhere? Soaking up too much energy and management cost? Never enough power when you need it? Here it is, the way to get more power using less energy and better utilisation with simpler management: XX brings you The Server Painkiller to help you consolidate your hardware and reduce costs.
Get new ideas here
How are you handling increasing security concerns and changes to the regulatory framework affecting your industry? Are you comfortable with your current disaster recovery plans?
Feel like you’re drowning sometimes? Check out the resources below. We have practical, innovative answers.
Inge Fuglestved & John Holman, Freelance Copywriters
at the beach productions pty ltd
Sydney, Australia
Tel: (02) 9918-0055 :: Intl: +61 2 9918-0055
Write it like you mean it.
Make it honest and heartfelt with minimal corporate jargon. Try two-way communication, like blogs, to engage your staff and show the company appreciates their input, thoughts and ideas.
Sample Sales Memo
How would you feel about a pipeline full of carefully researched and filtered leads, large accounts in your target industry with spend potential and contact names, all at your fingertips, ready to use whenever you need them? Pretty happy, right?
Well, it’s here. The sales database is up and running, ready to use.
We did it – we met our very aggressive target and there is now $x.x billion worth of sales opportunity mapped into the database! What does that mean to you?
It means we have not only identified prospects all over the region for you, we have researched and qualified them and given you the tools to access all kinds of business information about them. You still need to apply your experience and industry knowledge, but we have given you the bull’s eye to aim all your skills at.
Inge Fuglestved & John Holman, Freelance Copywriters
at the beach productions pty ltd
Sydney, Australia
Tel: (02) 9918-0055 :: Intl: +61 2 9918-0055
The point of case studies or testimonials is to show prospective clients how your products and services have been successfully employed by other customers.
They should generate trust in your company and give your prospects ideas on how they could implement similar solutions to the same effect. The key is to provide a succinct outline with focus on the business issues that were resolved. The best case studies are to the point and, most importantly, interesting.
Related
Time to give case studies top billing
Sample case study copy
Finding the right solution
Today, when a XX executive travels or an employee moves offi ce, their phone number and profi les follow them. All they need do is log in and the network knows where to fi nd them. Voicemails are recorded as WAV fi les and sent as attachments to their email account and, if their handset or laptop is video enabled, they can videoconference instantly with any other person on the XX network.
After fire, disaster recovery plan keeps
XX in business as usual
When fire broke out at XX’s premises, it hit at the heart of the company: its laboratory and IT centre. A manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, the company distributes its products through 2,500 outlets around Australia and is dependent on the computer system for day-to-day operations – it needed to be up and running as soon as possible.
While work continued on recovering data and rebuilding the system, the company contacted their software vendors to arrange for licence keys to run their applications on YY’s hardware.
The smoke damaged computer from XX’s offi ces was retrieved, cleaned and powered up. “We couldn’t believe it – there was no loss of data at all. And just over a day later, it was business as usual, I don’t think our customers would have realised anything had happened.”
