Category Archives: Copywriting for Small Business Owners

As a small business owner, writing is not necessarily your first (or your best) skill. Reading these posts on copywriting for small business owners can help. One of the most important lessons is the best ways to spark your readers’ interest. You’ll find out how to write great headlines, and why actual writing isn’t always necessary. Since the headline is the first thing people notice, it’s important to use one that’s compelling.

You’ll also discover whether it’s better to sell using emotions or logic. In addition, these posts will teach you how to use emotional triggers and fascinations to write more persuasive copy.

Plus, you’ll learn techniques for structuring your sales letter or landing page to make sure you get attention, grow desire, and ask for the sale.

And, you’ll find out the deadly copywriting mistakes that are nearly guaranteed to make you lose a sale. Don’t make them!

A Marketing Tip from a Musical (Using Reciprocity to Get More Conversions)

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

Remember this lyric from the musical Chicago?

There’s a lot of favors
I’m prepared to do –
You do one for Mama
She’ll do one for you!

In the musical, Mama (the warden) is singing about “reciprocity.” She promises that if you do a favor for her, she’ll do one for you.

Does a musical work in real life?

Sure, people in real life generally don’t stop and break into song in the middle of the street, but using the technique of reciprocity does.

It’s a strong persuasion technique which was famously proven by Robert Ciadini in his book “Influence”.

He reported that Ethiopia (an extremely poor country) donated large sums of money to Mexico after a devastating earthquake. Why would a poor country do that? Because Mexico had supported Ethiopia when Italy invaded years before.

When you’re good to mama, mama’s good to you

The idea is that if you do something for someone, they feel obligated to reciprocate in some way. So, you offer a sample chapter of your book, or a free report, or a free blog. Then you ask (and you have to ask) for something in return.

It doesn’t have to be a request to buy something (and probably shouldn’t be right away). Instead offer something that the reader will find valuable and useful. It can be a free landing page assessment or a report in exchange for filling out a survey.

The photo on this post is licensed as Creative Commons, which means I can use it, so long as I reciprocate with a link and attribution to the original source.

Reciprocity!

Oh, and feel free to tweet or Google Plus this post.

A Powerful Little Email Marketing Tool That’s Often Overlooked

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

There’s a little email marketing tool that people often forget about. Many marketing posts tend to focus on writing the perfect headline, finding the right image for your post, and how to structure your offer.

But there’s another, humble tool, that’s less flashy than a great headline or a photo or an offer, but a tool that can have a big impact on your marketing results.

It’s the P.S.

Why use a P.S. in your email marketing

It may seem like an afterthought, but the P.S. is the second place most people look at a letter or email (the first is the return address on a physical letter or the sender in an email). With all those eyeballs going to that spot, it’s important to use that attention to your advantage. It works on physical letters, emails, and landing pages. People look at the headline, scan the photos, and then check the P.S.

Your offer: miniaturized

It’s a mini-summary of your marketing: your offer, an important reason to buy quickly, or another benefit of using the product. It’s the chance to add an extra little push. focus attention, and tell readers to go back and look at the rest of the page.

The fifth “P”

It’s sometimes called “the fifth P” (after Promise, Picture, Proof, and Push). Marketers selling to other marketers sometimes treat it ironically (here’s that P.S. again, you know the one where we promise to make you better looking, taller, and increase your IQ to genius levels), but it still works. If you’re pitching to a more button-down audience, play it straight.

P.S. Just one more thing (no, I couldn’t resist, could I) … I wonder if that’s why Steve Jobs did that at the end of Apple presentations.

P.P.S. I was reminded while looking for an image for this post that TV cop Lieutenant Columbo used to do the same thing.. and he always solved the case!

Image: flutterby

Should You Sell with Emotions or Logic?

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

When you’re trying to sell something, especially technology, it can be tempting to make long lists of facts and technical specs: the storage capacity, the number of years of development, the size of the programming team.

All those are useful, but they don’t really sell anything. Logic isn’t what sells.

What really works when you’re selling

The real “sales star” isn’t hard, cold facts. It’s something else entirely.

Something you may not have thought of.

Stories and emotions.

Stories, especially with an emotional punch, sell art. They sell books. And they sell your business too.

We’re hardwired for feelings and stories more than facts. The emotional charge people get from a story helps them remember you, think well of you, and like you.

The story of the painter and the leopard

For example, this one from Canvoo (Clint Watson, the author of the post, used to run an art gallery):

Richard Iams (one of the artists he represented), occasionally painted wildlife. Once, he hired a handler to bring in a leopard (for reference photos). However, the leopard had other ideas, broke away, and leaped on top of Richard. Luckily, he was a large fellow, managed to stay upright, and escaped without harm.

Clint says he sold a lot of paintings telling that story.

Why? Because it made his painting memorable. It also gave the buyers a great story to repeat to their friends.. That made them feel good too. And then those friends could pass the story on to their friends.

Inside the artist’s studio

Here’s another one from Clint’s post:

Brian Kleiwer started telling little stories (via email) to his “tribe” about each painting he created. He’d talk about what he was thinking, how he felt at the time, the music he liked to listen to – things that made a connection between himself, his painting, and his tribe. He sold 82 paintings in around 100 days.

Special delivery

Someone on Amazon bought a copy of a physics textbook. The copy he received had missing pages. He wrote a review on the site, complaining bitterly. The author saw the review, got on a plane (during the holiday season), and personally delivered a brand-new corrected copy of the book.

Emotions beat logic

I guarantee that the people who bought those paintings and the man who bought the textbook all told their friends, their families, and their colleagues the stories about the art and the book.

Were Richard’s paintings suddenly “better”? No, he sold more because the paintings and artwork now came with a good story, which buyers could pass on to their friends and be entertained by.

Brian didn’t suddenly get more talented either. Posting the videos and the behind-the-scenes thoughts created bond between himself and his buyers. People weren’t just buying from an artist, they were buying from a friend; a person they now had an emotional connection with.

Same with the physics textbook. That author went above and beyond any standard expectation of service. He now has a good story too. I bet he sold a lot more textbooks after that!

Telling a story is far more effective than reciting lists of tech specs or rational reasons to buy something (even with tech-oriented businesses). People buy what makes them feel better.

What stories can you tell about your business? And how are you making emotional connections with your clients?

7 Common Mistakes That Can Sink Your Freelance Project

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

This post was inspired by 10 Freelancer Mistakes That Damage Your Success on Men with Pens. It’s not just freelancers who can make costly errors. Sometimes, the freelance hiring mistakes are made by the companies who hire them. And, those mistakes can be costly, in both time and money.

Someone in the comments on the Men with Pens post that a post from the company’s point of view would be useful

So, here are seven common mistakes that companies make when hiring freelancers.

1. Hiring the wrong specialty

If you need a screenwriter, get a screenwriter; if you need a speechwriter get a speechwriter (and so on). Copywriting, for instance is a particular skill, requiring that you know why people buy. There’s been some discussion recently about whether it’s necessary to specialize – but I know that as a copywriter, I haven’t the slightest idea how to write a screenplay.

2. Choosing by price

Price isn’t what matters. Value (and return on investment) is. As a creative, it’s part of your “job” to show them why you’re worth it (think Lamborghini vs. Hyundai).

3. No contract

A handshake is fine for trading bubble gum cards (do they still have those?). If you’re doing business, write down what each party is responsible for. Make it clear what the objectives are, who does what, when they’re supposed to do it, and how much it will cot. This protects both of you.

4. Unclear objectives and budget

Before you hire someone, you need to be able to tell them what you want. “I need copy for a web site” is too vague. You want to say something like, I need a 10 page website to sell our widgets. We want to increase sales by _______. We have a budget of $___________ and a deadline of ________________.

5. No ideal customer

If you don’t know who you want to reach/appeal to, your designer or copywriter won’t be able to doing her job properly. Before you start working with someone (heck, before you start your business at all), you should know that your ideal customer is _________ . Their problems are ____________ and __________. You solve those problems by ________________.

6. Lack of milestones

Most creatives will ask for tiered payments based on milestones. Often this is a payment to start work, a second payment on delivery of draft copy or mock-ups, and a final payment on completion. Set clear deadlines for delivery – and hold up your end too (they can’t start work or move forward without clear instructions).

7. Poor communication

Tell the designer what you want (see point 4). If you’re not sure about something, ask. If something changes (deadlines, personnel, concepts) say so. Respect their time and professionalism – don’t call at all hours.

What mistakes have you seen companies make? What’s the biggest problem you had working with a client?

How to Write Better Ads

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Jodi Kaplan

Image via Wikipedia

In last week’s post about how to design an ad, I promised that I’d tackle how to write better ads.

The first thing you need to consider when writing ads is the headline. Some prefer to write it first, others last. I tend to put in a placeholder headline and then go back to it later. Sometimes, I just get a great idea straight off; other times I need some headline writing inspiration. Whichever you do, spend more time on the headline than anything else.

Copy before design

Write the copy before you tackle (or hand off) the design. It’s much easier to adjust copy to fit design (say too long for the space) than the other way around. Get it as final as possible before the design stage. If it’s going online keep it in plain text. Microsoft Word makes an awful mess when you upload it to the Web. And, never, ever use the text to HTML feature – that makes an even bigger mess.

Make a dummy

This is called a copywriter’s rough – it’s just a rough indication of where different elements should go (headline, illustration, etc). Be sure to indicate where the headlines and subheads are so that the designer can emphasize them.

It’s not about you

Readers don’t give a fat rat’s fanny about you. When you write your ad, focus on how you can help them with their problem (not how they can help you by buying).

Paint pictures when you write

Not literally, but with words. Show them how your service or product solves that problem. Use emotional triggers, then support the emotions with facts.

Prove it works

Write your ad with testimonials, demonstrations, or other social proof, like millions sold or thousands of subscribers. People don’t want to be “sold,” but they do want to buy. Make it easy for them to decide that your product will help them.