Copywriting Archives - Page 10 of 13 - McLellan Marketing Group

Let’s get really personal

January 30, 2007

Remember when it was cool when we got a personalized pen in the mail? Or when the magazine came with our name printed on the cover photo?

Personalization used to be noteworthy. But like all marketing tactics, after awhile they go from "wow" to "ho hum." Eventually, we barely notice.

Unless of course, they get it wrong.

Probably like you, I get a lot of those free mailing labels from non-profits seeking a donation. They know my name, address, and if I have sent them money before. No doubt, they know much more than that. They probably have my income range, my giving patterns, whether I have children and what magazines we subscribe to. They probably know what we had for dinner last night.

And yet, even know they know all of that…they sent me labels decorated with flowers sprouting out of watering cans and other fresh bloom images. Hardly the kind of labels most men would find valuable. (I know, I am generalizing. Stay with me for the marketing message.)

Is this a big deal? Not in the grand scheme of things.

But remember, they are competing with the other 3 non-profits that also sent me labels that very same day. All of them are fine charities, doing good work for our world. But like most people, I don’t send money to everyone who asks. So I am going to make a choice.

You see…that’s the reality we live in today. Our products and services are not going up against companies who are incompetent and unable to meet the customers’ needs. The nuances between our offerings and theirs are minuscule. So every detail matters.

It’s not the big things that win or lose business for us. It’s in the details.

These two sets of labels came on the same day. Both from reputable and worthy organizations. Wouldn’t it be a shame if the first charity lost a donation over something as trivial as flowers versus flies?

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Clever or cut to the chase? I need your input!

January 26, 2007

This has been rattling around in my brain for quite a bit and I’d like your take on it.

If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time — you’re used to my "quirky" post headlines.

Could you be a super hero? (about inspiring your employees to live your brand)

Baby, it’s cold outside (about up-selling by asking good questions)

Shhh, you’re being too quiet! (about inadvertently drawing attention where you do not want your consumers to look)

There are two very distinct camps on the headline issue.

One camp, as illustrated by Mack Collier’s recent post Hey look kids! Free buried treasure! leans towards creative posts piquing the interest of the reader.

The other camp illustrated by Brian Clark aka Copyblogger in posts like 7 Reasons Why List Posts Will Always Work believes that the more straightforward your headline is, the more likely it will get read.

I have to admit, I write my headlines the way I do because I like them better. (Perhaps not the best marketing message, but the truth) I assume my subscribers/readers are pretty clever so I am hoping to tickle their clever bone as well. But does it cost me readers and exposure?

What’s your headline philosophy? Which camp do you fall into? Would you prefer a more cut to the chase Drew or are you getting used to my odd sense of enticement?

Do you think your philosophy applies only to blog posts or is it true for all headlines, regardless of the medium?

flickr photo courtesy of TimmyGUNZ.

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:60 ticks marketing tip: How many words?

January 23, 2007

Grab it fast…it’s gone in about a minute. A :60 ticks marketing tip is 150 words or less…so read it in a minute and implement it in the next!

When it comes to writing compelling radio, you need to pace yourself. Too often, copywriters shove about 50% too many words into their scripts. Here’s a good rule of thumb:

60 seconds — 150 word count

30 seconds — 75 word count

15 seconds — 36 word count

That’s it….go put it into action!

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A writer’s tool (instrument, device, etc)

January 21, 2007

Boy, do I love this!

The Visual Thesaurus has added a whole new dimension to the age-old tool. It adds connectivity. When you enter in a word, it displays the word…and shows you how it connects to synonyms. When you click on one of the synonyms, it opens up a whole new "word web" with related words.

This is what I see when I enter the word "count."

This is what happens when I click on the word enumerate, from the count page.

You really have to experience it 3-D to understand how powerful a tool this could be for you.

You can take it for a test drive, but if you fall in love with it like I did, you’ll have to shell out some cash.

You won’t care.

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:60 ticks marketing tip: Hold Me!

January 9, 2007

Grab it fast…it’s gone in about a minute. A :60 ticks marketing tip is 150 words or less…so read it in a minute and implement it in the next!

Don’t waste an opportunity to brand every customer experience. If you have to put a caller on hold, what happens? Consider these options over being lazy and just playing muzak or a local radio station.

Record client testimonials
Ask provocative questions (the current one at MMG is "if you were a superhero what would you insist went on your utility belt?") that reflect your brand
Answer a few frequently asked questions

Whatever you do, give them an option to hit a button and get to a live body. No one’s brand includes frustrating the stuffing out of a caller because they are caught in a voice mail maze.

That’s it. Go put it into action!

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Have you committed a Cardinal Zin?

January 6, 2007

This marketing truth stings. Just because you care about it, doesn’t mean anyone else does.

Whether you are the creator/inventor, business owner, assembly line foreman, sales manager or marketing genius — what matters to you may very well not matter one iota to your consumers or potential consumers.

In other words, they don’t want to buy what you’re selling.

That doesn’t mean they don’t want to buy. It means you need to get out of the way. It means you need to be smart enough to learn what matters to or influences them.

Roberta Rosenberg over at Copywriting Maven talks about the need to understand your audience before you open your marketing mouth.

Let’s look at a concrete example. 90% of wine drinkers know or care very little about varietals (vine types), bouquet (aroma), depth (layers of taste) or any of the factors that wine makers and connoisseur think are most important. If you owned a winery, because it matters to you, you’d assume it matters to the consumers. You’d be 90% wrong.

For a very long time, wineries seemed to market their product based on either quality (which most of us didn’t understand or know how to evaluate) or price. But, as Valeria Maltoni tell us over at Conversation Agent, product packaging is changing the way wine is evaluated.

Admit it, you’ve bought wine simply because of the name or label. They make us laugh or we think they’re cool or they create an aura we want to be a part of.

We can’t tell a heady bouquet from a cloudy composition. But we can tell whether our friends would be amused by sharing some Cardinal Zin or Cat’s Pee on a Gooseberry Bush!

The wineries are starting to get it in a big way. Are you?

Do you sell your product or service based on your level of knowledge or interest? Are you using terminology that makes your consumers feel like an outsider or stupid? (Anyone else ever feel the clutch of panic when the waiter pours the dribble of wine and then waits for you to evaluate it?)

Maybe it’s time to look at your sales materials, website, presentations and other marketing tools. Are they written based on what matters to you or your customer?

UPDATE: Seems like we are all talking about wine this weekend! Check out what Lonely Marketer Patrick Schaber discovered on a recent wine bottle.

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Do you have any idea what he’s selling?

January 4, 2007

I received this direct response solicitation today via e-mail. Other than my comments (in red), I swear to God, I did not alter a thing. Truth is funnier and sadder than fiction. I checked. This is a real business in Des Moines.

I have changed the names to protect the guilty. But, this is why we all have jobs. People actually send this garbage out.

Mr. McLelland, (Not how my name is spelled)

My name is Name Here and I (am?) the new Principal (is it a school?) at Vague Name Here. Vague Name Here is a company with over 20 years or (of?) serving the region. We recently have taken a new direction and with the new year are re-introducing ourselves to our communities. I want the name Vague Name Here to be synonymous in your mind with quality service. More than synonymous–I want them to be one and the same. In fact, when you think "quality," "reliability," "versatility," or "power," I want you to think Vague Name Here. (How aboutâ¦telling me what the heck you do??)

We are a leader. We work with leaders. And our history of innovation and support to keep you ahead of the curve. (Is this a sentence that makes sense to anyone?) Our experience in the management, finanical, (Is that a spelling error from the company who wants to be synonymous with quality?) technology and other fields proves (prove not proves?) this and our unique approach to helping your business succeed through our management seminars and strategy sessions is always a way to start the new year to help focus your staff on their goals and directions in the new year. (The longest sentence known to man. And I have no idea what he was trying to say.)

It is my pleasure to introduce the new Vague Name Here Management. It’s focused on the customer, listening to his or her issues and challenges, and finally meeting those challenges with products, services, and resources unmatched in quality and functionality.

Vague Name Here is better than ever.

With resources in four states we can cover you as you expand through the country.

With a unique insight into technology and business we can help you better utilize you (your?) technology within your business increase (perhaps to increase?) productivity, and revenues while decreasing your cost structure.

With our relationship with many financial (look, he spells it right here!) institutions we can assist you in keepin (is that folksy for keeping?) a sustainable capitable (seriouslyâ¦this is how he spelled capital?) base allowing your company to grow and prosper.

With our management and marketing resources we can assist you in delivering performace (some of us actually spell it performance?) to your business accelerating growth and reaching height (heights?) previously thought to be unattainable.

And that’s just the beginning. Take a moment to discover the new Vague Name Here. And then visit our new website to see how we’ve changed. I will be calling in a few days to schedule a time I can stop by your office and discuss with you ways we can assist you as you successfully run your business. We are committed to your satisfaction and welcome your feedback. We’ll do all we can to make your experience with us positive.

As always, thank you for choosing Vague Name Here.

Name Here
Principal
Vague Name Here Management Inc.
www.vaguename.com

That is not sad, it is pathetic. I still have no idea what they sell. The author should have checked out Grammar Girl’s post on proofreading tips!

Any suggestions on what I should say if/when he calls?

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How high is your water level?

December 23, 2006

People rise to expectations. Or sink to them. How high do you set the bar for your employees, peers and customers?

So often marketers create copy thinking that they have to live by the 3rd grade reading level rule. I say that’s ridiculous. Unless your product is for 3rd graders.

It’s okay to expect them to get clever. It’s okay to treat them with respect. It’s okay to expect them to make good choices.

I just learned of a company that has “employees cannot sleep while working” in their employee manual. Come on. If you have to say that in writing, you need to revise your hiring policies.

Go ahead, expect a little more and watch your boat rise with the tide.

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No friend of mine

December 16, 2006

We know the drill. A company wants to do a little one-to-one marketing. They determine their right audience, design their direct mail piece and buy a list.

My full name is Andrew. But really, unless you’re my mom and I’m in trouble, no one calls me that. So when I get a letter addressed to Andrew, I know its no friend of mine.

Here are the options available to the mailer (not counting the option of not sending the piece.)

They can address each letter individually, knowing that some Kathryns, Andrews, and Elizabeths are going to be on to them.

They can "guess" on nicknames. In my case, they’d guess Andy. And they’d be wrong. Kathryn could be Kate not Kathy and Elizabeth could be Betsy, not Liz. So perhaps risky business but odds are they’d be right as often as they’d be wrong. So have they reduced their risk by 50%?

They can address the envelope but not personalize the letter (just use a letter block format) and reduce the impact of potentially using the wrong name.

What do you think? Do consumers excuse the misuse of their name? Or does it make them feel less kindly towards the sender? Do you think they even notice? In a recent post, Seth Godin suggests that people thrive on seeing their name. Does that mean it really ticks them off to see it incorrect?

Salutation or irritation? That’s my question.

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Make ’em wait to see your turtle

December 9, 2006

I’m in Kansas City tonight because I am facilitating a board of directors retreat (for Variety the Children’s Charity) tomorrow. So…I’m sitting down in the hotel bar people watching and eavesdropping while I wait for a business colleague. (I know it’s rude but it’s one of my many flaws!) Two twenty-something women are at the bar, talking loudly.

Clearly the first twenty-something has brought her new boyfriend (he’s stepped away for a moment) to the bar to meet her friend. As soon as he walks away, she declares (quite loudly, in my defense) "He finally let me meet his turtle. I’ve been waiting for weeks!" (Admit it, you would have perked up at hearing that too!) Her friend responds enthusiastically about the meeting. Eventually, they discuss how cool it is that he has an exotic pet, etc. etc.

(Stay with me, there’s a marketing message in here somewhere.)

Her boyfriend, whether he knows it or not, has the makings of a marketing genius. He understands the power of anticipation. All too often, marketers work so hard to get a prospect’s attention that when they do get it — they panic and data dump. It might be the only time they get to share the information, so they’d better tell the prospect everything. Right?

Wrong. That’s why we see ads that have no white space and your eyes surrender before they get past the first sentence. It’s why we have brochures packed with text and no visuals. And why some web sites are so difficult to navigate. Too much, too soon.

If you try to tell them everything all at once, first you probably have a terrible execution. But even deeper than that — if you tell them everything, why do they need to contact you to learn more? You are telling a story. Take advantage of the power of anticipation and curiosity. Let them build a little.

Repeat after me…make ’em wait to see your turtle.

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