When Uriel Maimon contacted me to do some copywriting for his site, Nominal Accounting, I was more than happy to help out. As we worked together I was able to make suggestions which he took on board. It also transpired that he had other business requirements which I was also able to help him with. Here’s what he had to say about collaboration:

I would like to thank you for your help with copywriting content for our website and user guide.You have been very responsive to all my queries and flexible with our engagement.

I especially would like to thank you for assisting me with additional things like coming up with online support options and your awesome work on the IVR script and recording!

Above my expectations.
Thanks again and I am sure we will work together again soon.

Uriel Maimon
www.nominal.com.au

Mine is a small business in a hobby industry, nevertheless, the sort of image I present to the public online is important to me.

I struggle at times to stay on top of the administrative duties and recently my blog had fallen behind. Munaiba Khan, came to my rescue!

Munaiba’s ability to turn a few short and jumbled notes into an attractive, smooth-flowing, and interesting read has been very helpful. I found her quick grasp of the topic most helpful and I am very impressed by her ability to adapt her writing style accordingly.

Munaiba was patient when dealing with some complicated software and proved to me her thorough grasp of copywriting.
Munaiba is a true professional, I have enjoyed working with her and I have no hesitation in recommending ‘The Copywriter Online’ to anyone needing assistance of this kind.

Good value for money.
Barb Cowan The Quilt Connection – Brisbane Australia

This one is from Catherine Saxelby of www.foodwatch.com.au

Munaiba Khan adds value to our business on two fronts.  Firstly, her copywriting skills are outstanding. She makes our web content sparkle, adds punch to our marketing material and lifts the tone of articles and product reviews.  With her honed editing eye, she makes the text read so well, it ‘sings off the page’. It’s a pleasure to read.  Best of all, now we never have an embarrassing clanger of a typo out there anymore!

Second, in addition to copywriting, her web knowledge is extensive, having had experience as a web developer and website backend admin expert. She’s across web structure and language so she knows what can and can’t be done. She can make sense of that geeky tech-speak that so many developers use these days.  We have used her as a consultant on two re-developments on our Foodwatch site and found her professional and thorough with an eye for detail.  She is responsible in a great part for the success of our current site.  I would have no hesitation in recommending her for copywriting or web work and have in fact given her details to several of my small business colleagues.

Catherine Saxelby

Nutrition and DirectorFoodwatch Nutrition Centre

www.foodwatch.com.au

Catherine Saxelby (left) and Munaiba Khan

The speaker was Valerie Khoo of the Sydney Writers’ Centre and she spoke very eloquently and amusingly of her journey through the social media minefield.

Valerie Khoo

There were four take home messages from her talk and these were:

• educate yourself even if it’s only by reading “Social Media for Dummies”. You need to know what to do to get your business seen online.
• engage in a conversation – social media is about multi-way communication not a monologue.
• create relationships; really engage with others and business will follow.
• be authentic and reciprocate kindnesses, information sharing and help.

Written out like this these all seem like common sense – and they are – but many people tend to regard social media as “gimme”. They just want to take and not contribute. Obviously there has to be a balance but my thoughts are that you if you’re only out for what you can get it will show and you’ll put in a lot of effort for nothing.

Hollow transactions

This has been a pet hate of mine for some time and I thought I’d have a little rant about it here because I think it’s relevant. Have you ever signed up for a free eBook only to find out that there is very little of value just a thinly disguised advertising spiel? Did you buy? Probably not. That’s what I call a hollow transaction. You were promised 10 Sure-fire Tips for something or other and what you got was an ad pitch. I see so much web content like this these days and I really think it is counter productive. Yes you may get sales, but only once. Maybe if you get thousands of one-off sales you don’t care but if you want a reputable, long-term business then be authentic. Interact with your customers and potential customers as a human being and not a money grabbing machine.

Sometimes you get ripped off in the process, it has happened to me, where I have spent time and effort helping someone only to have them go to someone cheaper armed with the knowledge I have given them but you know what? They wouldn’t have made a good client anyway so it’s no real loss.

Thanks valerie Khoo

Thanks Valerie for an enjoyable and informative talk and thank you Catriona Pollard for organising the event. I know it took lots of work and it is much appreciated.

How to recognise the signs of “buy out”

There has been a lot of talk about getting “buy in” but it seems to me that we are often more concerned with this than recognising the tell-tale signs of what I’ll call “buy out”. So what are the signs? I think there are two main categories of signs. There are the ones that you must recognise in yourself that are going to prompt the action in the buyer and then there are the ones in the buyer that are telling you they’re about to change their minds.

Our actions that put off buyers

• talking too much after the buyer has offered to buy (what used car dealers used to call “buying the car back”)
• not knowing the product well enough, being unsure of what exactly it can and can’t do
• vacillation – whether in possible appointment times, availability of product or delivery dates
• using the wrong tone of voice or turn of phrase ( usually related to stating something from our point of view rather than being customer centred)

Signs the buyer is cooling off

• no longer making eye contact
• use of phrases like – “perhaps I’ll think about it”; “don’t bother now, just let me know when you can get it”; “I want to discuss it with my spouse”
• you are doing all the talking, the questions have stopped.

There are many more and perhaps you have some you’d like to share. Feel free to comment.

What to do about it?

• know your product inside out
• listen to the customer
• be aware of the non-verbal cues customers give you
• be customer-centred
• if you can’t avoid some vacillation then preface it with a phrase that shows you understand their position e.g. “I realise this isn’t ideal and you need to know when we can deliver so you can organise your day but I’ll find out as soon as I can and let you know at the earliest opportunity.”

Most of all we need to be aware that it is possible to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  Be aware that we can successfully sell our product or services and then scuttle the deal by failing to notice the signs in our actions or those of our customers.

Count the cost

There are several costs that can be involved in relaying inaccurate information to a client or customer. Here’s a list I’ve come up with but there could well be more:

1. You could lose the sale
2. You could have your business “bad-mouthed” by the customer and this could be in person and on the internet. Who knows how influential they are and how wide their circle is?
3. You could make the sale and then have a dissatisfied customer which could then cost you time and possibly money in complaints-handling, a law suit, a consumer affairs formal investigation as well as being “bad-mouthed” (see No: 2)
4. You could lose future sales from your client because they no longer trust you.
5. You could lose referral business.

It seems to me that moral questions aside (and personally I think these are the most important) it is a very risky and potentially expensive business to give inaccurate information to your clients.

How to overcome this

Whenever we write something we need to ensure that our descriptions of our products and services are accurate, clear and not open to interpretation. Hiring a professional copywriter can assist you here. However that’s not the only way. If you can’t afford a copywriter then you really need to get several people of differing backgrounds to read your sales pitch and see if they understand what you intended to convey.

In addition to this you need to ensure that your sales staff have all the information at their fingertips. They should be trained NOT TO GUESS. If a customer asks a question they are not sure of then the response should be “I’m not sure but I’ll find out for you”. If you bring in new products, warranties or whatever then you need to train your staff and give them the material they need to answer all questions honestly and accurately.

Most of us are doing the best we can

Most business owners and sales people are honest. We do the best we can. But it seems to me we need to ensure that our clients thoroughly understand what we are going to do for them before we do it. Misunderstandings happen in all human relationships and small ones can be apologised for, made up for in some way and generally smoothed over  but serious ones can ruin your business.

Turning a complaint into a triumph

It is possible to turn a complaint into a triumph by the way you handle the complaint. I’ll be blogging about this soon….

Many people think that because they know their product inside out that they, or one of their employees, are the best person to write the user manual. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here are 10 good reasons why you should not write your own product or user manual:

1. You know your product too well. This causes you to assume a certain base line knowledge which others may not have.
2. You tend to think in terms of features not benefits and although this is not a sales pitch you need to come from the same headspace as your customer and they want to implement the benefits your product offers.
3. You see the bigger picture and not the smaller steps that may be needed.
4. It’s difficult for you to be objective about your product the way your customer will be.
5. A professionally written manual will save you money due to a reduction in customer help enquiries
6. A well-written, easy to understand manual can reduce warranty claims due to the fact that your customers, use, store and maintain the product correctly.
7. Great product manuals yield satisfied customers because they don’t get frustrated trying to use the product…
8. … and that leads to valuable word-of-mouth product endorsements and the likelihood of increased sales.
9. A well-written, authoritative manual adds to the status of your product as a professionally produced product that can be trusted.
10. A well-written manual enhances customer satisfaction and promotes brand loyalty.

Save money on reduced enquiries and warranty claims and let The Copywriter Online write your next product or user manual.

Contact us for a quote.

All savvy marketers use newsletters. Why? Because they can help to build relationships with customers and potential customers. A regular newsletter from you will keep your business in the mind of the customer so that when they come to the part of the buying cycle where they’re ready to buy, they’ll think of you.

What’s more, because all newsletter lists have to be “opt-in” lists, all of your subscribers are qualified leads so you can target your message more easily.

The down side

There is a down side to sending regular newsletters. In fact there are two. The first is that they are labour intensive. Someone has to spend the time thinking of something to write and then they have to write it.

The second is that if the content is not relevant, clearly written and interesting, it won’t get read. It’s a real challenge to send a regular newsletter with fresh, interesting content.

The solution

The solution is to engage a professional copywriter to write the copy and to advise on new and interesting topics to include in the newsletter. Newsletters are wonderful marketing tools so don’t throw away your investment in managing your list by sending out a humdrum publication that no one is going to read. Make the most of this opportunity to speak to your target audience. Contact The Copywriter Online to talk about your newsletter today.

Paper vs email newsletters

There are pros and cons to both. On the pro side, e-newsletters are cheap to send and cheap to put together; the major con being that they won’t reach customers who don’t have email.

The pro side of paper newsletters is that you can reach people who don’t use the internet and paper is easier to read than a computer screen. The major con here is cost. They can be very costly to produce and also to send.

A few e-newsletter tips

Make sure you have a great phrase for the subject line. “My company newsletter Issue No 4” just won’t cut it. Take the lead story and use that in your subject line. If you don’t, your newsletter may just go straight to the recycle bin!

Don’t make your newsletter too long. People don’t mind scrolling a bit but don’t make it longer than a full screen page and a half and don’t send it too often. We’ve received many interesting newsletters. Some which we really like to read but they come everyday or every week and we don’t have the time. In our view once every 3-4 weeks is an ideal frequency.

A few paper newsletter tips

Don’t make it too thick. People don’t have time to read another magazine. Many businesses think they are “adding value” by putting irrelevant, general interest items in their newsletters. They’re not. What are they are doing is making the relevant information harder to find and increasing the likelihood that it won’t be read.

Put an easy-to-follow table of contents on the right of the first page. Put some advertisements in for your own products or services as well as the articles and include response devices in them.

Take the pain out of your next newsletter and improve its response rate by letting The Copywriter Online write it for you. Contact us today!

Some people find it exhilarating and others just want to curl up and die. Either way, it is easier to do if you have a well-written, well-rehearsed speech.

As a past president of a Toastmaster’s International branch,  I am well-placed to help you, not only with your speech but also with a few tips and tricks to overcome nerves and increase your confidence.

The audience wants to hear what you have to say

Unless you’re on the hustings or you’re a PR Manager in damage control then it is important to realise that most of the audience starts off by wanting to hear what you have to say.

Engage their interest

If you can engage their interest and a build a rapport with them in the first few minutes then the rest should be plain sailing. This is where a good speech writer can be invaluable. A strong opening to your speech will set the tone for the rest of the delivery.

What makes a good speech?

Good speeches have several features in common. These are:

• They are not overlong
• They establish a rapport with the audience quickly
• They are not read
• They have been well-rehearsed
• They are interesting
• They use language the audience can understand – this means that for a generalist audience you would not use jargon or technical terms without explanation.
• They have a beginning, a middle, and an end
• They leave the audience with something to ponder – it could be a challenge, a joke or a new way of looking at something.

Make a memorable speech

Whatever the occasion, make your next speech memorable and ask The Copywriter Online to write it for you. We can help you with Business Presentations, Luncheon or After Dinner Speeches and Information Events. Contact The Copywriter Online to talk about your next speech.

Blogs are great for keeping your site up-to-date and as a tool for regularly communicating with your target audience. They don’t have to be lengthy, even a couple of paragraphs once a week is sufficient to maintain the relationship with your customers and potential customers.

What is a blog anyway? OK, I know by now most people know but just in case you don’t…

A blog is an online journal. It’s what you’re reading now. The name derived from web log. Blogs make your website interactive and interesting instead of just a series of electronic brochures. You get to hear what your customers like and dislike. You get to respond and you get sales leads. Technorati – a site devoted to publishing the latest blog contents as they hit cyber space – currently tracks 112.8 million blogs! So you can see that if you’re not blogging then you’re conceding the ground to your competitors.

The pros and cons of blogs

As with anything there are pros and cons to incorporating a blog onto your site. Here is a list to help you evaluate their usefulness to your business:

Pros

• they make your site more interesting
• they allow you to interact with your customers
• they let you react to things quickly
• they have an immediacy that a static site doesn’t have
• they provide you with sales leads
• they let you see into the minds of your customers allowing to you develop products and services that they really want

Cons

• they take time to research
• they take time to write
• they make your site look dated if you don’t post regularly

The Copywriter Online can blog for you

Most business people are time poor and a blog comes a long way down their priority list. We like to make life easy for our customers and that’s why we offer a blogging service. We can write – and research too, if required – your blog for you. Call us today for a quote on your blog and bring your website up-to-date.