What the iPad and Homeopathy Can Teach You About Using Hype in Your Copywriting

February 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment

protest sign

You often hear about how we’re imminently entering a new era of transparency and authenticity in marketing. Social networking is giving people the power to sidestep and slice through cynical marketing claims; you can’t just drench people in enough messages and hope something will stick.

Based on these two examples, the new era of transparency might not be too far away and has serious implications for the claims you might be occasionally tempted to drop into your copywriting.

‘iPad sucks’ – 644,00 Google hits

Following the success of the iPhone, it’s no wonder people were expecting something special when they heard rumours about Apple’s latest gift to the world of technology. But when the iPad was unveiled many felt Mr Jobs’ use of the words ‘magical’ and ‘revolutionary’ were ill advised.

Within hours a backlash had ensued. The web’s influential army of tech bloggers were up in arms and launched a barrage of critical posts pointing out what, they saw as, the iPad’s ‘backbreaking failures’.

The ‘iPad sucks’ backlash is a lesson to copywriters everywhere on the dangers of hype backfiring when the reality fails to live up to the expectation.

‘Homeopathic overdose’ – 581,000 undiluted search results

UK pharmaceutical chain Boots recently found itself the target of an anti-homeopathy campaign when hundreds of sceptics ‘overdosed’ on homeopathic remedies outside its doors in protest against a range of products they describe as ‘scientifically absurd’.

Whether you believe in homeopathy or not, it’s interesting to note that (according to The Guardian) one pill maker spends more than 16 times (€108m) on marketing than it does on research (€6.5m). A ratio high enough to make any pharmaceutical company blush.

The homeopathic overdose campaign was grown and coordinated by an online community of sceptic blogs and podcasts. It shows how people now have the tools to rebel against, what they view as, misleading marketing claims.

So if you feel tempted to describe a product as ‘magical’, or use a similarly vacuous term, think carefully. Because your customers can now respond (and fill up Google’s search results) with adjectives of their own.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Copywriting, Marketing 

Should I Market Myself as an Individual or a Brand?

December 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Reeling in bigger fish

In the freelance writing world it would appear that we’re still struggling with the same sexist attitudes we snort at when watching Mad Men. This has been the experience of James Chartrand, anyway, who revealed on Copyblogger this week that he’s actually a woman, and felt forced to promote herself as a man to attract clients.

Whilst this is a sad indictment of outdated attitudes in 2009, it reflects how we’re free to promote ourselves however we like online. Her post is particularly timely because marketing under a different persona is something I’m planning on doing myself.

A common dilemma for freelancers is whether to promote yourself as an individual or a brand. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer, but it can be influenced by:

1. What sort of clients you want to attract

2. Your future expansion plans

3. Whether your brand name is SEO friendly

In my case, I want to take my business to the next level and start attracting bigger fish (and higher pay). Whilst I’m perfectly happy writing for the clients I do now, I think it’s time to step up to the next level and start taking on more demanding work writing for higher stakes.

But in order to reel in bigger fish, I’ll need a larger hook.

Unless you’re already an established name in the copywriting world, I think high profile companies are more attracted to branded agencies. So I’ll need to adjust my persona accordingly.

The Copywriter’s Crucible gets a face lift

During the quiet January period I’m planning on updating my website with one of these great Wordpress themes (found thanks to a Copywriter Underground Tweet). The aim is to mirror the appeal of an agency by marketing myself as a brand, rather than a plucky freelancer living by his wits and word processor.

However, in this connected digital world we live in, transparency is key for building trust . Any attempt to pull the wool over a client’s eyes, and pretend to be something you’re not, will only backfire in the long run (although not in James’ case, might I add). So my ‘about’ page will detail exactly who’s pulling the levers at The Copywriter’s Crucible.

Will it make any difference? There’s only one way to find out. I’ll run the branded theme for a month or so and let the stats and (hopefully) enquiries decide.

The next stage will be coming up with a logo, which will be another project all in itself.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Marketing 

Laser Branded Cornflakes?! Why’s that a USP?

October 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Whenever asked to write about a new product or service part of the copywriter’s job is to come up with ideas on how it can be pitched. The aim is to give it a USP (unique selling proposition), which makes it sound more appealing than the other options available.

A USP can be anything that suggests a sense of superiority or added benefit, such as extra speed settings, a wider range of accessories or free upgrades. It’s the copywriter’s job to use the USP to give people a reason why they should buy a particular product.

With this in mind, it seems odd that Kelloggs should announce plans to start laser branding Cornflakes as a way of differentiating them from cheaper imitations.

Now, I’m sure it must be frustrating for Kelloggs to come up with all these cereals and then have them copied and repackaged by supermarkets under their own label. But are Kelloggs’ customers really going to care whether their morning bowl of cereal has logos in it or not?

People make buying decisions based on how a product makes them feel and the benefits it offers. When buying cereals this mental process generally takes place before they’ve opened the packet.

It seems to me unlikely people are going to buy Cornflakes because they’re ‘branded’ when this offers them no real benefit (unless they’re in the habit of fooling the kids with cheap cornflakes served from a Kelloggs box).

One of the most notable facts to come out of this story is that sales of Kelloggs Cornflakes have actually gone up during the recession, as people opt for the reassurance and sense of luxury of having a branded box on their breakfast table.

Perhaps Kelloggs should stop messing around with lasers and promote this in their marketing instead.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Marketing 

Why You Should Redefine Your Services to Attract More Clients (and Better Pay)

September 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

[This week’s post is a familiar theme for regular Crucible readers. But as I seem to have attracted a few new subscribers in the last couple of weeks I thought I’d show them what The Copywriter’s Crucible is all about]

With summer behind us it’s time to pack away the sun lounger and get down to business. Everyone is back at work, which means now is a prime time to start trumpeting about your services.

But, as we all know in the writing community, it can be tough to attract clients when the web is saturated with so many writers fighting over the same jobs.

“So how can I stand out from the crowd?” I hear you ask. Well, you can start by considering what additional services you can offer and how you can promote them offline.

After all, businesses are now in need of more content than ever. These days, they need a constant flow of blog posts, emails, newsletters and sales pages to feed their marketing machine.

Clients want internet marketing expertise, as well as words

Instead of offering to write blog posts and press releases consider defining your services as ‘content marketing’ and ‘online PR’ expertise.

When approaching clients, offer to remove the complexity of internet marketing and to show them what they need to be doing to be found on the web.

Rather than restrict your job search to the web, try:

  • Promoting yourself with a press release announcing your new copywriting/internet marketing services and article marketing packages
  • Send a letter or post card to clients you’d like to work with highlighting the benefits of Wordpress and your blogging/content marketing service
  • Contact local internet marketing firms to offer SEO copywriting expertise (I’ve head that time spent on site is now part of Google’s algorithm, which means content MUST be useful and well written, rather than just keyword packed)
  • If you’re feeling brave, pick up the phone and contact local PR agencies because many are crying out for help with SEO, social media marketing and online PR

These are all skills you can easily teach yourself. And the time you invest in improving your services will make you a more valuable asset to clients, and your income will increase as a result.

Latest posts from bda (another blog I contribute to)

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Copywriting, Marketing 

Why Copywriters Shouldn’t Rush to Go Digital Because 60% Prefer Print

July 23, 2009 | 7 Comments

It appears as though the printed word is on its deathbed. The Yellow Pages is now more widely used as a doorstop, whilst many newspapers are wheezing their final breaths.

Many expect direct mail to go the same way.

So is learning how to write direct mail, brochures and sales letters a waste of time for aspiring copywriters?

Are people so plugged into the digital world that they won’t turn away long enough to read your printed words?

Print advertising in freefall, whilst internet marketing grows nearly 20%

According to recent Advertising Association figures, last year in the UK press advertising fell 11.8% and TV fell 4.9%. Spending on the internet, however, shot up a recession busting 19.1%.

eMarketer has also poured more fuel onto print’s funeral pyre, with estimates that online spend should grow a further 10% by 2011, as companies chase after eyeballs focused on pixels.

So should your copywriting expertise follow the same trend?

Does print marketing need to be recycled permanently?

60% are more likely to respond to print than email

In the face of such relentless attacks on print, Pitney Bowes has come charging to the rescue whilst sounding its bugle on research of its own.

In a pan-European study it found that 60% of people are more likely to visit a website in response to direct mail, compared to 24% who’d respond to an email or sponsored web link.

This follows on from previous research in which Pitney Bowes found that 73% prefer to receive offers and promotions in the mail, rather than their email inbox.

So, whilst print is indeed expensive and should shuffle its feet in embarrassment at its ROI, Pitney Bowes’ research indicates there’s life left in the old warhorse yet.

In fact, print can be the introduction to digital campaigns, and its ROI can be improved by being more targeted, personalised and relevant.

So copywriters shouldn’t rush to abandon the printed word just yet.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Copywriting, Marketing 

Should Your Website’s Copywriting be Informative or Persuasive?

May 19, 2009 | 4 Comments

“For six months I read all the car ads in search of information. All I found was fatuous slogans and flatulent generalities…If their engineering was as incompetent as their advertising, their cars would not run ten miles without a breakdown.” – David Ogilvy

With magazines and TV struggling to cope with haemorrhaging ad revenue (and competition from the internet), it’s easy to get sucked into thinking that persuasive copy isn’t what people want to read.

Today’s consumer is more cynical of sales messages than ever, and can get annoyed when their attention is wasted on content that has nothing of value to offer.

So does the approach of your website’s copywriting need to adjust accordingly?

Should your content focus on hard facts, product info and objectively written cases studies?

Or does persuasive copy, with its slogans and emotion driving power words, still have a role to play?

Facebook and the rejection of advertising

For years Facebook has been struggling to work out how to monetise itself, and to pluck dollars from its millions of members. But how do you extract money from an audience that hates sales messages and thinks the entertainment should be free?

Facebook’s failure to generate revenue from its ads, despite its massive user base, reflects how people ignore, reject and refuse to respond to blatant sales messages online.

People use the web for information, not advertising, and like having control over what they want to consume. So, an effective way of engaging people with your website is to feed this hunger for informative, useful content.

The benefits of informative copywriting

Publishing useful, informative content on your website offers numerous benefits:

  • Improves your search engine ranking for your keyword phrases
  • Increases traffic
  • Keeps visitors engaged with your business for longer
  • Assists your prospect’s buying decisions
  • Positions yourself as a knowledge leader
  • Builds trust and confidence in your expertise

With so many benefits to choose from, informative copywriting can indeed be effective at converting browsers into buyers (even if we don’t have a quantifiable ROI for it yet).

So, does emotion driven persuasive copywriting still have a role to play? Or will the whiff of a sales message have visitors running for the door?

Why people buy

It’s easy to jump on the anti-advertising bandwagon and think that all people really want to know is the nuts and bolts of what something does and why they should buy. But the fact is  people still make buying decisions based on the same impulses they always have: emotions.

Along with useful info, your website needs to satisfy your prospects’ emotional needs, with a persuasive pitch weaved amongst your website’s words.

Now, this doesn’t mean using hype, exaggeration and fakery to seduce prospects into falling in love with your brand – people hate it when they think they’re being sold a lie.

Instead, your copy should present a clear, logical argument which states the reasons why people should buy your product or service backed up with emotionally charged imagery of what their life would be like if they click ‘buy’.

The strategy of combining useful, informative content with a persuasive pitch is already used by legions of eBook and digital product sellers. Whilst I can’t promise that using these tactics will make you an internet millionaire (although plenty would), combining logic and emotion is a potent mix for turning clicks into sales.

So, should your website’s copywriting be informative or persuasive? The answer is both.

Latest from the bda blog

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Content marketing, Copywriting, Marketing 

Are You Ignoring Your Offline Marketing?

April 24, 2009 | 3 Comments

Like many people, when I first started getting into internet marketing (blogging in particular) I got sucked into all the hype on the millions that could be made from digital products and how, after a few months work, you could look forward to sipping cocktails on a beach whilst the sales poured in.

Whilst it might have come true for some people, for the vast majority the internet marketing dream has remained precisely that. And new research shared on Graham Jones’ blog shows how difficult achieving online success can be.

Of the 179,000 applications on Facebook less than 1% have generated more than $1000 in the last two years.  Whilst you could question whether a study of fickle Facebook users is an accurate sample, Graham suggests that the data is a fair reflection of online success on the whole.

Rather than the conversion target of 5%, trumpeted by many internet marketing gurus, perhaps 1% (at best) is a more realistic target for your digital venture.

73% prefer to receive offers in print

So, I think the lesson to be learnt from this is not to base your marketing plan on chasing traffic and generating content on your website alone. Offline promotion still (and probably always will) has a vital role to play.

Many of those who have found success online have done so due to their success off it. And as a Pitney Bowes study suggests, the majority of people still prefer to receive promotional offers in print.

In fact, modern integrated marketing campaigns often comprise of an initial direct mail promo to build interest before directing people to a website or a personalised URL to develop the sales process online.

Don’t just build it and hope they will come

If, like me, you’re a freelancer it’s therefore unwise to base your business plan on building a website and praying enough clients find you. Whilst I’ve written for companies in Hong Kong, Australia and the U.S., the majority of my repeat business still comes from those I’ve met in person.

So if you’re struggling to find success online, print off some business cards, polish your shoes and start contacting target clients in your area, whether it’s cold calling, attending networking events or sending off a post card marketing campaign.

Because, as the research suggests, you could be ignoring the importance of offline marketing at your peril.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Marketing 

Grow Your Subscribers with this Unblockable Pop-up Wordpress Plugin

February 18, 2009 | 3 Comments

My persuasive writing eBook is currently in the operating room undergoing surgery.

The different parts didn’t assemble as neatly as I’d hoped. I started off discussing business writing in general but by chapter seven I’d started focusing on sales letter and landing page copywriting.

So I’m now in the process of cutting unwanted material with a hacksaw and implanting fresh words to try and create the eBook I’d planned.

Whilst it’s still on the operating table, I thought I’d investigate how I can use my free eBook to convert visitors into subscribers.

I’ve noticed in recent months that more websites (and not just blogs) are using pop-up subscription boxes to signup visitors to their newsletter or RSS feed.

As  every internet marketer knows, few people are going to buy your product or service on the first visit. So you need to be able to maintain contact and build a relationship over time; using a pop-up subscription box makes signing up visitors to receive your content that little bit easier.

Unblockable (for now)

After a brief search, I stumbled upon a free Wordpress plugin for creating a subscription pop-up screen.

The MaxBlogPress Unblockable Pop-up plugin is a breeze to install and start using. You simply upload and activate as you would a normal plugin, and then you  create your Pop-up within minutes using the straightforward editor.

You can specify your pop-up’s size, how you’d like it to appear and (most importantly) how frequently you’d like it to display.

Mine in action:

My pop-up in action

Whilst the temptation might be to flash up your offer at every opportunity, obtrusive pop-ups can be as annoying as a pushy salesman and risk causing visitors to leave and never come back.

So I’d recommend displaying your ad once or twice and then allow visitors to browse in peace.

Unfortunately I don’t think it’s going to be possible to use the plugin to to give away my eBook without using a separate autoresponder, so I’ll probably just add the eBook as a link in the footer of future posts.

Hopefully if the surgery is successful my eBook will be out of the operating theatre and ready to start seeing visitors next week.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Content marketing, Marketing 

Copywriter, PR Writer or Brand Journalist? You Decide

October 21, 2008 | 8 Comments

Matthew Stibbe of bad language fame recently blogged about the difficulty of defining what he does at dinner parties. Should he say he’s a writer (and risk disappointing the dinner table when admitting he’s not the creative kind), a marketing copywriter (when people hear ‘copyright’ and yawn) or a modern day ‘Mad Man’? Well, if you’re a business writer defining what you do is getting complicated, and it’s all thanks to the internet.

A copywriter can be defined as ‘a person employed to write advertising or publicity copy’. However, now that people are using the web as a fountain of knowledge for solving questions and looking up product and service information, copywriters need to add a journalist’s hat to their wardrobe.

Allow me to explain why with the aid of this handy chart (courtesy of Mark Smiciklas at Intersection Consulting):

Prior to the web, businesses were reliant on the traditional media to get their messages heard.

Whether it was paying for magazine inches or mail bombing journalists with press releases, businesses had to constantly push their marketing onto consumers at every opportunity. The thinking being that the more times people read or heard your name the more likely they’d choose your brand when browsing supermarket shelves or flicking through the yellow pages.

Well, times have changed.

Google’s impact on marketing

When you’re looking for answers it’s becoming common to tap a few keywords into Google and then click on the most relevant result. So being on the first page when people tap in your product or service name can be like tapping into an oil well, with seemingly limitless reserves.

So how can you get setup and drilling on the first page? Well, you could spend your budget on pay-per-click ads (a short-term solution which receives less clicks in the UK compared to the natural results), pay an SEO agency a monthly fee or you could invest in valuable content.

Valuable content keeps your website updated with useful, relevant information and can attract links from other sites, the two keys to unlocking a page one ranking.

Useful content which answers questions and solves problems can also help convert browsers into buyers because sticky content keeps visitors glued to your website longer, giving you more time to build a relationship with them.

This is the ‘new marketing’ you might have heard so much about: using the web to engage the shared passions and interests of your customers. Marketing isn’t one way anymore, but an ongoing ‘conversation’ between a business and its customers in which the language is that of transparency, relevancy and value rather than sales spiel and corporate speak.

Customers want to engage with businesses which help to solve their problems and present answers to their questions, exactly what great content can achieve.

The only drawback for businesses is that they now need to find someone to write all this great content for them, which is where you come in.

Are you a copywriter, PR writer or brand journalist?

Great content sells through education. It responds to the information needs of customers, allows them to sleep better at night and soothes their pain. It’s not about praising the business, but focusing on the customer.

Whilst thinking about the customer instead of the product might seem a waste of words to some old school marketers, the fact is that useful content is what people want to read. They want storytelling, editorial and honest answers which will help their buying decisions, not a sales pitch.

So whether you call yourself a copywriter, PR writer or brand journalist, being able to engage customers with valuable content, which relies on the soft approach rather than the hard sell, is a skill that’s going to be in demand.

Brand journalism might have first been coined by McDonalds’ global marketing officer, but it has got nothing to do with peddling cheap junk which leaves people hungry soon afterwards. Brand journalism is about offering high quality information in exchange for attention, and is how businesses need to think about marketing online.

Procter and Gamble continue to be the poster child for engagement marketing, but the UK’s TopSkips and Englishcut are two smaller scale examples just waiting to be imitated.

But don’t just take my word for it. Here are a couple of recent podcasts in which two of the internet’s smartest marketing brains discuss the importance of great content now and in the future:

David Meerman Scott author of ‘The New Rules of Marketing & PR’

Joe Pulizzi from Junta42 author of ‘Get Content get Customers’

Next week I’ll offer some tips of my own for launching and running a content marketing campaign. But I’ll leave picking a new job title up to you.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Content marketing, Copywriting, Marketing 

One-to-one marketing and its implications for copywriters

September 18, 2008 | 3 Comments

In recent weeks, I’ve discussed why you need to adjust your copywriting’s personality to appeal to different audiences. It just comes with the territory.

Well, the rise of one-to-one marketing means the ability to mould your language and style to match your target market could soon be in greater demand.

What is one-to-one marketing?

With marketing budgets being dragged towards the guillotine, marketers are scrambling to deliver campaigns that provide a better return on investment.

The cost of mass, untargeted campaigns is becoming harder to justify, and annoying prospects with irrelevant messages is to be avoided when customer retention is so high on the agenda.

In order to improve their relevancy and appeal, marketing campaigns need to be personalised to match the preferences of each prospect. This can be achieved by capturing data on customers (e.g. with personalised URLs) and then using it to customise future campaigns.

Subsequent email and direct mail messages can then be delivered that feature the products and services a target has shown an interest in. Better one-to-one targeting in this way means campaigns can be more relevant, generate more sales and stave off a marketing budget’s execution.

So what has this got to do with copywriters?

As far as I’m aware, currently the main elements personalised within one-to-one campaigns are the name, images and products offered. However, as more data is added to the pile then future campaigns can be more finely tuned and personalised to match the profile of each customer.

With the personality of copy so important to marketing’s effectiveness, it’s not a wild leap of faith to envision the language of campaign’s being customised to appeal to the personality type of each prospect.

Different personality types (B2B buyers, the technically minded, service orientated etc) respond to different emotional triggers. So it would make sense to be able to adjust the copywriting of one-to-one marketing campaigns to match each segment.

Speculation, but worth considering

If your product is targeted at a wide cross section then delivering one-to-one marketing with copywriting customised to appeal to a particular profile type could reap rich rewards.

Pure speculation at this stage, but something worth ‘added value’ copywriters being aware of because the effectiveness of one-to-one marketing means it’s a strategy that’s set to grow.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Blog, Copywriting, Marketing 

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