Have You Fallen Off Your Marketing Wagon?

Are You So Deeply Involved In Your Business That You Have Forgotten To Market Your Business?

We all know that the day to day issues in our business keep us so busy, that often we forget the big picture…. Our customers….

Even though we may see them every day and communicate with in relation to our business dealings we often forget to appreciate them….

Soon they are just another number in your daily routine, not long after that you might forget the importance of them all together…

What Happens To Your Business Then?

If you don’t love your customer you will not have them for long!

So what is the key to begin good to your clients…. Remember them….

Every now and then it doesn’t hurt to have a special promotion just to say thank-you for being a loyal client.

It can be a Free Cup of Coffee or a Complimentary Dessert…. The point here is that they will feel appreciated and more like a friend than a client.

So tomorrow….

When you start your day…. For five minutes… think about what you could do for your first customer!



Rachel Wadsworth

 www.iwantgreatcopy.com

www.rachelwadsworth.com

 
Email: rachel.wadsworth@bigpond.com
Skype: rachel.wadsworth
Phone: + 61 409011175

Let me know what you think about this post.
Good, bad or otherwise! Be honest.
You can also link this page back with my full permission for your own content as long as all links remain.


How To Become A Great Copywriter In Seven Simple Steps

So you have finished your latest course and you are ready to take action. The problem is you don’t know where to begin….

At your finger tips the power to change your life forever…You’ve invested in your education and have the power to make the change you need.

So what’s stopping you?

Is it fear, or uncertainty?
So may people never take action for fear of failure or disapproval from their peers.

Don’t be an education statistic… Take Action!

If you live by these 7 simple steps, you are sure to be a part of the elite group of copywriters who are truly great…

1. Know what you want. Who do you want as clients? Go after them, a little bit of ambition is the perfect fuel. However do not be so obviously ambitious that you alienate all your colleagues.

2. Be the Expert. In any project that you take on be the most informed person on a particular project.

• Take the time to read; text books, trade journals, research reports, and marketing plans on the subject.
• Know more than anyone else in your firm or in the market place.

• Be your clients best friend.

• Spend time physically researching the product.

• Use it yourself, talk to customers about their thoughts on the product.

• Visit your clients competitors, study their advertising campaign.

3. Work twice as hard as other copywriters. Hard work will pay off in the long run…Roman wasn’t built in a day!

4. Make yourself a specialist in a niche market. Start writing copy for a market that you are familiar with, one that you know the in’s and out’s of.

5. Make great presentations to potential clients - use the wow factor… Sell the plans and campaigns to your potential clients. Sell you.. after all they are buying your expertise’s.

6. Don’t discuss your clients business. Keep their secret papers under lock & key… Ensure that you are the only person who knows the intimate workings of their campaign.

7. Write one good article every year and have it published in the Harvard Business Review.

Most of all always remember to love what you do… When you write with passion and excitement your readers will feel your passion.

When you communicate with your clients show them the passion you have for their products.. Love them as much as they do.


Rachel Wadsworth

 www.iwantgreatcopy.com

www.rachelwadsworth.com

 
Email: rachel.wadsworth@bigpond.com
Skype: rachel.wadsworth
Phone: + 61 409011175

Let me know what you think about this post.
Good, bad or otherwise! Be honest.
You can also link this page back with my full permission for your own content as long as all links remain.


Have Your Advertisements Stopped Getting The Level Of Sales They Once Were?

Does Your Copy Need A New Style? Do You Need A New Angle?

If your copy needs a new lease on life perhaps all you need to do is try a new style of writing to spark a readers interest again.

It seems like a simple answer doesn’t it!
In everything we do there are times when we loose focus and need a change; the same is true for your copy.

Sometimes we just need a simple change to make all the difference.

So what type of copy should you use in advertisements, and which styles should you avoid?

There are a number of styles of copy, which can create a different angle on the same content.

The simple answer to give you copy a new look is to simply change the way your write to your target market.

To give you the inspiration that you need, why not try using one of the following angles.

1. Straightforward Copy – this style of copy presents the advertiser’s story in a simple, logical manner. It is devoid of style or rhetoric. It merely states the facts in the most understandable way possible.
2. Story Copy – the appeal of this type of copy is the human interest aspect, which first draws the reader in, this is then followed by the story with the moral of which is to buy the advertised product.
3. “You and Me” Copy – has a conversation directly with the customer, in a friendly chatty way, just as a good salesperson.
4. Imaginative Copy – this kind of copy highlight’s the reader’s interest in the product by describing it in imaginative terms.
5. Factual Copy – Advertisements written with a large number of facts sell the most products, therefore the more you tell the more you sell.
6. Forthright Copy – Sometimes a writer can increase the believability of an ad by admitting that there are some weak points as well as strong points in the proposition she is selling.
7. Superlative Copy – In this type of copy you step right out and blow your own horn as loudly as possible. This kind of advertising is effective if you have the facts to back it up.
8. Teaser Copy – Instead of trying to sell him, it challenges the reader to take action.
9. News Page Copy – The advertiser buys space, usually a page, in newspapers or magazines. The page is made to look like typical editorial matter, with headlines, copy, pictures and often including a regular small ad. The only difference is that instead of being written by reporters, a copywriter writes everything with the product sold as hard in the ‘news’ items as in the regular advertisement.
10. Competitive Copy – This type of copy compares your product to that of the competition, on a quality basis.

The reality is when you are selling any product or service you needed to be constantly developing new ways to remind customers why you are fantastic.

So now all you have to do is think about what is going on in your clients lives at the moment that will make you appeal fantastic to them.

 Rachel Wadsworth

 www.iwantgreatcopy.com

www.rachelwadsworth.com

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth

 

Let me know what you think about this post.

Good, bad or otherwise! Be honest.

You can also link this page back with my full permission for your own content as long as all links remain.

 

 


Is The Artist In You Destroying Your Advertising Campaigns

You know the style of advertisements I am talking about, the ones that win awards and gain recognition from the commercial art exhibitions and the like.

What’s wrong with these ads…

Or should I say the question is have you ever purchased anything from an advertisement like this?

I could almost guarantee that you although you may look at theses advertisements and think how pretty they are, you probably would not be motivated to take action.

The question is why?

The answer is really quite simple….Art and design are created to tone within the surroundings, and to please the senses.

Why does this not work for an advertisement… If you think about a park bench they are generally always green to blend within the environment, imagine if that same bench was bright red with pink spots. It would certainly gain your attention and spark your interest as to why there was a bright red bench seat with pink spots….

Do you want your advertisement to be creative and not spark the readers interest?

Or do you want the advertisement to gain the readers attention and ensure that they take action.

At the end of the day you are creating advertisements to sell your particular product or service, so make your next campaign work for you.

Here are a few tips on how to create a great advertisement?
1. Use a font that people are familiar with which is easy to read.
2. Use strong, black readable type for headlines.
3. User clear cut type for your copy.
4. Make your headlines large enough and bold enough so that even the most careless glancer cannot help but catch your message.
5. Use pictures that create value in your advertisement. Don’t use pictures that are not relevant to the product you are selling .
6. Try using a picture of the product in use.

The key to a great advertisement is in essence ‘don’t be to cleaver’, however do tell your potential customers in your text and with images why they should purchase your product.

Avoid weird, outlandish, or far-fetched pictures that have nothing to do with the product or service you are selling. Use pictures that attract buyers, not curiosity seekers.

If you try even a couple of these tips, it is guaranteed to make a difference in your next advertising campaign.

One final tip is to remember to test your changes. Make sure you understand what change has made the difference.

The aim at the end of the day is to sell products or services, so if your advertising is not working give it a review what you are doing to and implement a change one step at a time.

 Rachel Wadsworth

 www.iwantgreatcopy.com

www.rachelwadsworth.com

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth

 

Let me know what you think about this post.

Good, bad or otherwise! Be honest.

You can also link this page back with my full permission for your own content as long as all links remain.

 

 


Get Your Copy To Work Quick And Effectively With These 10 Tips…

You have done all your homework, you understand your target market, yet you are not sure how to go about writing your copy…

Your copy needs to reach your clients on a personal level, it has to be something that makes them want to get off the couch and take action.

So how can you achieve this?

To get you started use the following guidelines;
1. Use Present Tense, Second Person – It is important to talk to the person directly as if you were having a conversation with them. By communicating in the second person, ‘you would love, or ‘you would enjoy’ rather than ‘A man would enjoy’. Remember you need your clients to think of you as their friend.

2. Use Subheads – practically all mail order advertisers use three or more subheads in every full-page advertisement. Why? Subheads tell the story in a brief form to gain the attention of glancers who don’t have the time to read the entire advertisement; they also ensure that the copy is read when it may not be read.

3. Put Captions Under Illustrations – Captions add to the interest of the illustrations and help explain their meaning.

4. Use A Simple Style Of Writing – reduce to a minimum the time it takes the reader to figure out what you are trying to say.

5. Choose Simple Words – Use short simple words to express your meaning.

6. Give Free Information – to arouse interest give free information as well as sales talk in your copy.

7. Selling Copy Versus Style Copy – style copy is based on assumption that customers are swayed by flowery language and elaborate adjectives, and unsupported claims, whereas selling copy supports its claims with proof.

8. Arouse Curiosity – Curiosity is a powerful selling tool when properly used by the copywriter. On the other hand, the copywriter who satisfies the reader’s curiosity, instead of arousing it, is apt to lose customers.

9. Make Your Copy Specific – It is important to be specific in your copy, actual figures speak louder than an average.

10. Write More Copy Than Is Necessary To Fill The Space – A great strategy is to write more copy than you need, you can always edit later, which will generally ensure that you get the best copy.

With these 10 simple tips you will be well on the way to writing great copy.

For more ideas on writing great copy visit www.iwantgreatcopy.com, not only will you find a wealth of information but you will also have to tools to really evaluate you business like you never have before.

The answer to great copy is finding the right market, the right approach, and a get campaign.

 Rachel Wadsworth

 www.iwantgreatcopy.com

www.rachelwadsworth.com

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth

 

Let me know what you think about this post.

Good, bad or otherwise! Be honest.

You can also link this page back with my full permission for your own content as long as all links remain.


Recession, Recession, Recession… Are You Tired Of All The Doom And Gloom..

All week the papers have been constantly talking about the economic downturn and the recession..

Jobs have been lost in a large range of industries and they predict more to come..

Are you tired of hearing about how bad things are?

This morning I was driving my girls to Childcare and listening to the radio about how bad the world is and how much trouble we have to come..

By the time I got back to my desk I was completely deflated… I was unsure about everything and I wondered which direction I should be going.. What should I focus on first….

It wasn’t until the end of the day when I was trying to figure out why life seemed so hard that I realised that all the negative comments I had listened to during the morning had really put me in a bad, depressed mood..

So I made a decision…

I decided to stop and focus on the glass half full, rather than the glass half empty!

Instead of worrying about where the world was financially…

I decided that I should focus on how I could weather the storm, or should I say how I could not only survive the recession, but to actually get ahead…

Do you want to know the secret?

Advertise your business…

That’s right.. It’s not rocket science..

If you bury your head in the sand and cut all your advertising budgets, what is going to happen to your business.

Will anyone see you? You will be like everyone else who is doing the same thing!

So stand out from the crowd and be unique.

You have nothing to loose but to profit from a smart advertising campaign that makes people want your product more than ever…

The key is to think about what is important right now to your clients… Perhaps have a restaurant and you have noticed a decline in your business lunch cliental.

What can you offer them that is going to make them eat out every day next week?

  • Two meals for the price of one, then upsell on the wine and dessert?
  • 25% off the total bill…
  • A weekly lunch package for after your third lunch your fourth is on the house.

The point is more than ever you need to give your loyal clients something back. Give them a reason to choose you over your competition.

More than ever you can profit from advertising and rewarding your clients, each and every time they have a business transaction with you.

So tomorrow instead of working on how you can save costs, start working on how you can give something back. You will be rewarded beyond your wildest imagination.

 Rachel Wadsworth

 

 www.iwantgreatcopy.com

www.rachelwadsworth.com

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth

 

Let me know what you think about this post.

Good, bad or otherwise! Be honest.

You can also link this page back with my full permission for your own content as long as all links remain.

 


Finding Your Passion To Write Great Copy Is As Easy As Looking Within

It’s 5.00am and as I hit the snooze button I realize that I have been dreaming about my next great Copy Writing piece…
 
Some may think that I have gone completely mad or that I have become obsessed by my passion for writing… for me it is the realization that not only have I gone to the next level with my love of writing but it is also become a part now of who I am.
 
What am I talking about?
 
Over the years I have had many different jobs. The jobs I have really loved and have been the most commitment to generally used to keep me up at night thinking about the day ahead. Many may think this is an unhealthy process… which is probably true!
 
For me it means you truly love what you are doing and have a deep passion to be the best writer you can.
 
How many people do you know that really love what they do?
 
How many people go to the same job, and do the with the same company all their lives?
 
The same is true for advertising, a person with no passion will write copy with no passion…
 
If you truly love what you do it will show in your business.
 
If you have lost the passion find it… Do whatever it takes to remember what it is that you loved about your business, why did you first get into business.
 
It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day struggle of our lives, so it is important to remind ourselves what is important to us..
 
The foundation for great copy comes from passion…
 
In order to write brilliant copy you need to whole truth about your topic.

So the next time you sit down to put pen to paper remember not only who it is you are writing to but.. why you are writing in the first place.

Rachel Wadsworth

 

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth

Does Your Product Offer A Cure To One Of Life Greatest Problems?

A heat wave is currently gripping South East Australia where I live…as a consequence I went to the local hardware store yesterday to purchase a fan…
 
I shouldn’t have been surprised to find only one left on the shelf.. What would I have paid for this, as a temporary cure from the 40 + degree weather we have been experiencing over the past couple of weeks..
 
At the time I probably would have paid any amount of money just to get a little relief from the sweltering heat..
 
Imagine if the hardware store had run an advertisement in the local paper for that week selling fans as an immediate cure from the extreme temperatures, with an image of a mother and baby suffering in the heat and a headline…’Babies And The Elderly Are A Most Risk From Heat Stress.. Don’t Suffer Any Longer’
 
What is important about selling a cure to a problem, it reaches people on a truly personal level.
 
Listerine did it with the cure to Halitosis (or bad breath) and ran successful campaigns focused around how bad breath can effect your life. They provided a solution for both men and women. Their advertisements focused on the females want to meet someone and get married. They used this angle for both men and women…
 
Always the bridesmaid but never a bride…
Halitosis makes you unpopular…
I could be happy with him in spite of that…
 
Imagine a mother who has a baby with colic, if there was a cure for this she would do anything to get it..
 
Beauty product companies have been using this angle in their marketing campaigns for years..
 
The solution to wrinkles
The solution to unsightly cellulite
The solution to keeping your youthful looks
 
Providing clients with a solution using your products is a highly effective way to market your product.
 
It is a play on your client’s insecurities and appeal to their deepest emotions.
 
Your task is to find the one unique aspect of the product that will be life altering…
 

To have the one true answer to a problem you face on a daily basis is worth it weight in gold.

 Rachel Wadsworth

 

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth
 


Are Diamonds Truly A Girls Best Friend? Or Is Our Belief In Diamonds Something We Were Taught From A Brilliant Marketing Campaign?

When we think of diamonds we automatically associate marriage, romance and life time commitment.
 
That is something my generation was always told and the famous line from Marilyn Monroe, “Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend’ is ingrained in my memory from child hood.
 
Can I tell you what exact date or even at what age I was told about the whimsical ‘diamond engagement ring’ but it always the stuff of fairy tales and handsome princes…
 
Just like the magic of the first kiss it brings that glimmer of hope that someday you will find your prince charming, and live happily ever after….
 
As my friends and family get engaged and marry, 99% of them are given a diamond ring.
 
And might I say not just any old diamond ring, it still custom today for the diamond to be the value of two months salary…
 
The question really is when a diamond was given such important value…
 
At the end of the day, a diamond is really just a shiny stone. There are many other stones that are just as pretty in a variety of colours; pink, blue, purple, green and many more.
 
So what makes a diamond so uniquely special…..
 
An ingenious marketing campaign and alliance created by the diamond mining companies in the 1930’s… In essence they join forces to create an advertising campaign focused on making diamonds appear uniquely beautiful and to market them as the ultimate expression of love, and a lifetime commitment.
 
So how did the creative genius of N.W.Ayer and Sons (the brains behind the campaign), come up with such a strategic positioning campaign;
  • They conducted extensive Research – they interviewed 2,073 married women, 2,042 married men, 480 college men, and 502 college women
  • Their findings were –
    • First post war generation did not associate diamonds with the marriage, and
    • Men did not know how much to pay for a diamond
  •  Creating an alluring appeal in the advertisements – Ayer employed French Artist for the Illustrations with the likes of Maillol, Derain, Piccasso, Matisse and Edzard to create artist impression of famous honeymoon spots around the world.
  • The Copy – ‘A Diamond is Forever’ and they went on to say ‘How can you make two months salary last forever?’  
 
So the question in my mind is how special is a Diamond?
 
For me ‘A Diamond Is A Girls Best Friend’ even if it is a marketing ploy…
 
There is nothing more special that the glitter of a new diamond ring, I think at least for the first year I was always surprised at how my engagement ring would catch the light and it would remind me of everything I had in life.
 
 Rachel Wadsworth

 

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth
 
 

Does Your Personality Shine In Your Copy Writing

So much can be said about writing good copy that sells, but what is often neglected is that copy needs to be written with flair and personality.

We are all unique human beings; we all have a lifetime of stories that make us who we are… Why then, should our copy be any different…

What makes good copy is that the personality of the writer often shines through. It doesn’t matter if you are modeling the copy off one of the great’s (we have all done that)… What is important is the writing copy is about reaching the reader on a one to one basis.

A good copywriter makes his copy reader friendly… The copy is not written in a traditional manner as you were taught by your English teacher… it is written as you would be having a conversation about a topic or product.

 If I was to tell you how great the new restaurant in town was… I would not start the sentence with ‘Black Pepper’ Best Restaurant In Town…

I would be more likely to say… ‘We Had A Great Meal At Black Pepper The Other Night, That New Restaurant On Queen Street’

 Give the reader what they are used to…

 It’s really that simple…

 A great idea would be to sit down with a group of clients and get them to talk about your restaurant. Then use the ideas to come up with your next Marketing Campaign.

My husband is a chef… I am constantly listening to he and his chef friends talk about food and the way the industry used to be. I realized that if the chef missed eating out at restaurants that actually cared about what they were putting on a plate… Then the general public probably felt the same way.

 I launch the campaign with this headline;

 Attention food lovers!

Are you tired of the same food options, looking for a place where you can enjoy honest good food!

 
Do You Dream Of How Food Used To Be, With Meals Prepared By Chefs, The Way They Used To Be…? From Scratch Not Out Of A Box!

 

This was a highly successful campaign it put the restaurant we were promoting on the map, its appeal came from the heart and reached people on a level that was important to them.

It worked because it answered a call. People were looking for a new place to eat that offered great healthy, not over complicated food.

 The point is give the reader what they want.

Talk to the reader in a language that they understand and ensure that you talk with your personality.

 Rachel Wadsworth

 

Phone - +61 0409011175
Skype – RachelWadsworth

 


Next page »