If you’re a Mac User than you might be interested in this MacHeist deal. You get a number of useful applications for only $39. Some of the money you spend goes to charity and you get to choose which one of the ten nominated. I bougth the deal myself – but make your own evalutation. For more details here is the link:http://www.macheist.com/bundle/u/315608/
P.S. This is a limited time offer. I think there are only a few days left.
Happy New Year to all… Now, let’s not waste time, let’s get right into it. 2009 is not for the faint-hearted but it’s also not the time to put your head in your hands and think about retiring!!!
I hear a lot at the moment about obstacles to be overcome and hurdles to be jumped. Sounds very tiring and a little depressing and it really isn’t helpful. Now a challenge, well that’s different. Challenges help us grow – personally and business-wise – because they help boot us out of our familiar rut.
Do a little digging into history and you’ll find that while some businesses do go to the wall in a recession there are many that grow and prosper. In fact the last business I had started from nothing in a recession and went on to become a very successful business. Why? Because it offered something no one else did. Sure other people offered the same services we did, they just didn’t co-ordinate them and make life easier for the customer the way we did. This predicted downturn is full of opportunities for those who want to find them.
While I can’t answer this question without knowing the specifics of your business I can offer some generalisations to help you find them – or you can hire me to be more specific 
. In a recession people are looking for several things and anything you can offer that helps them will help your business.Take a look:
Don’t people always want these things? Well they should but when business is good and it all just falls in your lap there is a tendency to pay little or no attention to these things. After all the business just seems to run itself. Recessions are good, they help us become less wasteful, more efficient, offer bettter customer service, better products etc., etc.
I can’t emphasise enough the importance of good communication in this process. In my next post I’ll talk about it in more detail. In the meantime if you want a marketing overhaul, a website review or some copywriting that will help you meet the challenges your business faces then you know where to find me.
Posted in copywriting, useful tips
Tagged copywriting, great ideas, marketing, recession-proofing, useful tips
The best way to get the best work from your copywriter is to give her or him a complete, well-documented and detailed brief. I know this sounds obvious but so many times it doesn’t happen.
Well I know that’s a bit tongue in cheek but they say of computers that if you put garbage in you get garbage out and something similar happens with copywriters. If you don’t tell them who your audience is; what your product or service is; what your competitive edge is, and in a fair amount of detail, then you’ll get a half-baked job.
Well you might think so, but so many times I get asked to write content for websites from a half-page email. I had one recently which I should have turned down from the start. I had a bad feeling about it but because I like to help people and also because this person had trouble expressing themselves in English, I tried to coax information from the prospective client. Eventually I got the half page email plus what was already on the site. I quoted and it was accepted but because of my instincts I said I would only write a small part to begin with to ensure that we understood the project. You know what happened. It all fell apart…
Because of this latest experience of wasting time and money I have decided to publish on my blog a detailed list of what you need to tell your copywriter to get the best from them. And other copywriters out there, feel free to add your comments to it, or use it as part of your brief requirements. I’ll try to make this list my next post on my return from a bit of well-earned R&R.
Posted in copywriting, The Copywriter Online Blog, useful tips
Tagged copywriting, creative writing, guides, useful tips
You can have the flashiest, coolest website with the latest and greatest products and services but if your customer service is rubbish then why bother?
This is a topic that has exercised my mind before. See my blog entry. But it’s one that just won’t go away. Recently I surfed the net looking for a product and trying to find the best deal. Finally I found it but I needed to know if the supplier stocked refills for the item in question. I couldn’t find them on the site. No phone number! I had to look them up in the White Pages and when I rang I just got an answering machine. I left a message and no one replied.
Then I filled out the email form on the site. It took more than 24 hours before I got a reply. They said they did have refills and if I went to the site later in the day I could find it there and order both and get free shipping. So I went back to the site later in the day… that night… and first thing in the morning… Nothing. I emailed them again, and again. I left two more phone messages and eventually received another email saying that it would happen soon. A few hours later it did but now the price on the original item had been been increased by $10! So I wrote and asked why. No reply…
I decided I really needed this product so I gritted my teeth and went to fill out the account form. Date of Birth! Please! Why do you need my date of birth? I checked the privacy policy which in my opinion was more like an invasion of privacy policy and decided to look elsewhere.
I found another site, slightly dearer that had both the item and the refills on the site. It had several phone numbers so I called to see how much delivery was. I explained my previous problem and the guy said “I’ll give you free delivery if you buy both. Go back to the site in half an hour and I’ll have set it up for you”. I did and he had! So here’s my list for good customer service:
That’s my whinge for today and congratulations to the supplier I bought from who wants to remain nameless – great service and modest too!
Posted in useful tips
Tagged marketing, musings, thinking out loud, useful tips, web culture
This last week I’ve been doing quite a bit of research online trying to buy a number of products and services and I realised once again how difficult some people make it for customers to buy from them.
One of the main things I’m looking for when I want to buy a product is the delivery cost and I guess many of you are the same. Is it going to be cheaper for me to trek round the city looking for it or will it be cheaper if I buy online? This should be an easy to find piece of information and yet many times it is not. I’ll give you an example. I was looking on the search engines for a product and found it. The link took me direct to the product page. Nowhere was delivery mentioned. I added the product to the cart. Still no mention of delivery! I looked for a link on the site saying shipping or delivery – nothing! In the end I went to the contact page, got a phone number and called. No one available to take my call! I left a message and then kept looking elsewhere. Eventually I found somewhere where the delivery costs were up front and I bought the product. When the first company rang back I explained the problem to the sales person/owner. He was very affronted – “It’s on the home page!” he sneered. But I didn’t enter his site on the home page and none of the other pages had a link to this information.
Another “delivery information hurdle” is where you have to add the product to the cart, then register and login and then it will be calcuated. I learned long ago to give these sites a miss. Who wants to provide all their details only to find out the delivery costs are too dear?
That’s the motto web sellers should adopt. Ask yourself what information people want and need in order to buy from you and then give it to them up front. Make it easy and they stay on your site. Keep it easy and they’ll buy from you and not your competitor.
Posted in The Copywriter Online Blog, useful tips
Tagged copywriting, marketing, useful tips, web culture
Many people know what Twitter is, but for those who don’t, it is a microblogging tool. It allows messages – called Tweets – of 140 characters to be SMSed, posted on a website or attached to instant messaging software.
If there is then I haven’t found it yet! Mostly it’s trivial, ego-bloating stuff. Does anyone really care what’s in your sandwich? There are some blogs devoted to showing how this technology can be used for marketing but I’m still sceptical.
Twellow is a sort of search engine of Tweeters! You can search by category or by name. I searched for a professional category and I was amazed at what I found. I wonder if some of these people realise what effect there banal tweets can have on their professional lives. Of the ones listed I would only have approached two. The rest used foul language, or trivial and ininteresting tweets which made them appear a bit vacuous.
With Twellow and Twitter the borders between professional and private life have become even more blurry. So be aware, that if you’re listed on Twellow then people looking for your services may check up on you there and if they see foul language and the like then they, or your employer, may take a dim view of your professionalism.
A cool tool it may be but what sort of tool? Perhaps a double-edged sword! Be careful or your Tweets may come back to bite you…
Posted in copywriting, The Copywriter Online Blog, useful tips
Tagged copywriting, useful tips, web culture
Many small to medium businesses don’t have websites. They figure that they don’t do business on the web i.e. sell online, and therefore they don’t need one. I think they’re wrong and I’ll tell you why…
These days people like to do a little research before they contact a business to ask for a quote. A brochure is one way but people still want to look online and if you don’t have a website you risk looking amateurish. It’s crazy, I know but that’s what people think.
A website allows people to size you up before they contact you. It’s especially important for those businesses who are listed in online business directories. Many people don’t want to phone as a first point of contact. They want to check up on you behind your back by looking at your website.
Because many people’s first contact with your business is via the web, it’s important to give them all the information they need. To answer questions before they’re asked and to make a great first impression.
Obviously your website must look professional but it must also have a “human” touch. Sounds strange doesn’t it? What I mean is that if you make your business seem so cool, polished and impersonal you’ll scare people away. They want to know that your not too big or too aloof for them to do business with. That’s why, in addition to professionalism, you need to develop a voice for your business which communicates in a clear, friendly, yet professional manner. That’s where copywriters come in. We can help you develop a voice that is right for your business.
Posted in copywriting, useful tips
Tagged copywriting, marketing, useful tips, web culture
There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of copywriting websites offering “killer headlines”. But what makes a “killer headline” and will it work for your business?
“Killer headlines” are headlines that are supposed to grab the attention of your customers in such a way that they give them a virtual lobotomy, stifling all rational thought and objections and making them reach for their credit cards and the “buy Now!” button. Do they work? Obviously on some people they do but maybe – just maybe – that product or service would have sold anyway if it offered great value and had quality copywriting of the non-sleaze variety.
Why do they work? They usually work on curiosity. They lead you in and then the body copy does the rest. (That’s the way all good copy is supposed to work.) The problem I see with them is that the pages they appear on – often call “squeeze pages” -usually look sleazy and if you pay attention you can feel yourself being manipulated. That maybe OK if you have a product that you want to sell once but if you want any sort of relationship with your customers then my feeling is that they are counter-productive.
If your business has a solid reputation and the products and services you sell offer genuine value, my feeling is that using “killer headlines” and “squeeze pages” devalues your business. It lumps you in the “make undreamt of wealth from the internet” category of business.
Killer headlines and squeeze pages may get you fast, even spectacular results, but for how long? They are becoming so common that the public is waking up to the manipulation and even non-web-savvy people recognise what’s coming. Relationships, referrals and repeat business are what success is about. That’s built on trust not manipulation. Remember the turtle wins the race!
Posted in copywriting, The Copywriter Online Blog, useful tips
Tagged copywriting, creative writing, marketing, useful tips, web culture
In my preceding post - “Blogs – why you need one” – I said I’d address how to make sure you have adequate content for your blog. So here are my tips.
Tips for managing your blog content
You need to make sure that you add posts frequently or regularly (at least once per week). Here are some ideas:
Posted in copywriting, The Copywriter Online Blog, useful tips
Tagged blogs, copywriting, guides, useful tips, web culture
Many businesses I know are resisting having a blog on their site. And I can understand why. It’s a lot of work. But just focusing on the negative aspects of blogging can blind you to the undeniable benefits.
I like to keep my blog posts short but useful, so instead of waxing lyrical about the benefits in a short essay, I’ll give you a list.
Certainly it takes time to write blog posts but they don’t have to be the size of War and Peace! It’s really all a question of planning and I’ll tackle this in my next post. For now all I’m advising is, don’t dismiss blogs out of hand. Think seriously about adding one to your site.
Posted in copywriting, The Copywriter Online Blog, useful tips
Tagged blogs, seo copywriting, useful tips
