Yes, I know – if you could answer that, marketing your business would be a doddle. You’d be able to second guess precisely what they want, provide it for them and keep them happy forever.

That’s a nice dream but it will never be a reality.

The dilemma is that your products and services have to fit the needs of your customers – if they don’t, they won’t sell.

One of the biggest mistakes businesses make is to believe that their customers want what they want.

Let’s think about that for a second. I enjoy going to the gym, watching F1 and going out to dinner. So does that mean all my clients and indeed my friends like those things too? Probably not.

Your customers aren’t like you

However you market your business – through social media, website, brochures, networking etc. – if you base your activities on your beliefs rather than what your customers want, you could be in trouble.

To make your business a success you have to do some serious leg work and that means researching your market.

You have to find out:

• What they want
• What they’re willing to pay
• Where they hang out (to find the optimum marketing avenue)

When thinking about your social media marketing strategy research is vital to work out where your customers are and what platform they use the most.

Common marketing mistakes

Let’s start by looking at B2B companies. It is often perceived that their customers don’t ‘hang out’ on social media platforms. Well if you think about, the vast majority of companies are using social media these days so, yes, they are there – you’ve just got to find them.

Do you use Facebook? If you do, when do you update your status? Many companies add stuff during the day but the problem is most fans won’t log in until the evening. So if you want to generate a buzz and get some participation going on your page, you must update when your fans are about.

One more think about using Facebook, if someone ‘likes’ your page that’s not the same as opting in for your marketing emails. If you start bombarding them with unsolicited emails you’re going to lose them as fans very quickly.

Research, research, research  

It doesn’t matter what business you are in – IT, retail, telecoms, copywriting etc., you have to research your market to make sure your products and services match the needs of your target audience.

Don’t use guesswork – ask them or survey them and find out what they really want. Only then will your marketing hit the spot every time.

 

Social media isn’t always an easy thing to get to grips with. It’s like any new thing – it takes a while to get the hang of it and a lot of practice. And understanding it is unlikely to happen over night; it will take time and patience.

Let’s face it, communicating via a computer, iPad or smartphone to a bunch of people you’ve probably never met before isn’t the most natural thing in the world.

If you were physically in a crowd you could stand out and be noticed by your looks, clothing or extravert personality. When chatting with online ‘friends’ standing out isn’t so easy but that’s what you need to do if you want to attract followers.

Get noticed in social media

When tweeting, Facebooking or chatting in forums you must let your personality shine through which is why it’s best not to farm out your social media activity.

But make sure it is the real you and not a persona you’re adopting purely to attract followers. You may think you can be anyone sat in front of your computer but what happens when you meet these people face to face? And you will – not all of them but some of them.

If when they do business with you or meet you, you come across as something completely different from what they were led to believe they’ll lose their trust in you – so be warned and be yourself. 

Companies on social media

A lot of companies get it all wrong. Don’t get me wrong, we all make mistakes when first starting out using something for the first time – but they miss the point about it being social.

Just because your are a company doesn’t mean you have to come across all corporate and starchy. Showing a bit of personality will endear your followers to you and show that you are a company that’s approachable and that cares about its customers. 

Whether you’re a sole trader, partnership or company, social media is a platform from which you can directly communicate with your customers. Injecting some personality into your communications will give a face to your business. It will show you are someone to do business with; someone who cares.

Social media can help every business given time. Just work out your strategy and, if you’re a larger business, your company social media policy and have fun.

Communicate, share and above all enjoy it – it is meant to be social media after all.

 

If you’re an online marketer you need traffic – and a lot of it.

Why?

Because your traffic is your customers and more customers means more money.

How do you actually get more traffic though? And, once you’ve started to get it, how do you convince them to buy from you?

There are various things you can do to encourage more people to your website and make it more visible in the search engine rankings. And no, that doesn’t mean plastering it in bright colours with loads of flashing images.

Here are 4 ways to help boost your traffic. Remember though, gaining more traffic isn’t going to happen over night. It is something that’s going to require commitment on your part.

1. Keywords

This is hardly going to be a surprise as keywords are vital when it comes to online marketing.

You are the person who knows your business best and your market. As such, you should have a fair idea of what they are likely to be searching for when they need your products or services. So by using those keywords, you’ll attract more of your target market.

Of course that doesn’t mean stuffing them in your web copy left right and centre. You must incorporate them sensitively within your SEO website content, articles and blogs. Oh yes, keywords aren’t just for your web copy. Everything you write and publish on the web has the potential to drive traffic so make sure you optimise all your opportunities.

The main thing to remember is to ensure your choice of keywords is correct and relevant to what you do. After all, loads of traffic is all well and good but not very useful if they are not looking for what you offer.

2. Adding video

Have you noticed how many companies are now using video marketing?

More and more people are watching videos online so it makes sense to give them what they want by adding one to your website or setting up your own YouTube channel (which can be linked to your website).

What should your video be on?

Well, you can make short videos that showcase your products, act as interactive ‘how to’ guides, case studies and even video testimonials. The possibilities are endless.

3. Picture galleries

When you walk into a physical shop you have the advantage of being able to see what you’re going to buy, you can touch it and even try it out.

But online marketing doesn’t allow you to do that – well, other than see it.

No one likes to buy something without seeing it first so make sure your website offers high quality images of your products (coupled with detailed descriptions) so they know exactly what they’ll be getting.

4. Regular contact with customers

Keeping in touch with your customers will open up sales opportunities and allow you to add value by giving advice and tips.

Whether you do that through newsletters or email marketing it gives you the ability to maintain regular contact with your customers and prospective customers.

These 4 ideas are simple to instigate but very effective and can make a huge difference to your traffic.

Your website needs traffic if it’s going to be effective. If you’ve invested heavily in your online presence it makes sense to ensure people see it.

But it not only has to attract visitors, it also has to convert them into buying customers. You can read more about conversion here.

 

Social media is everywhere, everyone seems to be using it but are you really getting the most out of it?

Of course, that is assuming you’re using it – you are though, aren’t you?

Using social media doesn’t mean simply setting up a Facebook page or Twitter account; anyone can do that. Using these social tools effectively will help you attract followers and, in turn, boost the visibility of your business along with sales.

Yes, it really can do that.

Using social media

The amount of time you can give to social media is going to depend on:

• Your job
• How important you think it is as a marketing tool
• Your motivation

As a freelance copywriter I use social media a lot (especially Twitter - @sallyormond). Because I’m always tweeting and posting on Facebook, people know my name and as a result I have gained a lot of new clients through social media.

See, I told you it was an effective marketing tool.

But I also see a lot of people who have the accounts but aren’t using it as effectively as they could. That inevitably results in them losing faith with it as a marketing tool and giving up before they’ve even got started.

To help you make the most of your social media marketing (and to have fun with it), here are 5 elements that may be causing you to repel more people than you attract.

1. Talking

Most people love to talk and that’s what social media is all about. But that doesn’t mean you can just talk about you – it must be a 2 way conversation. It is not a broadcast channel. It’s not like radio when you can buy an air slot to promote your business. Constant business tweeting will turn people off – why should they listen to a Twitter version of junk mail?

2. Biography

All social media platforms allow you to add a short biography so people can learn a bit about you. If you want to attract followers you must make the most of the words you use. Make sure your keyword is there and make the rest of the text human and not a blatant advert.

Writing it with personality will attract far more people than something contrived and robotic.

3. ‘Social’

There’s nothing like pointing out the obvious but social media is a social activity.

If you constantly send out things about your business and not about you, how will people get to know you? And, as you are well aware, people buy from people. So open up and let them get to know you.

That doesn’t mean you can’t mention your business at all. Of course you can – you can promote offers (but not all the time), draw attention to your latest blog posts etc. But mix them up with tips and chatty conversation. 

4. Pied Piper

One mistake many people make on Twitter is they follow these ‘get loads of followers really quickly’ techniques. Why? It’s not a competition. The person with the most followers doesn’t get a prize.

Your Twitter community should be made up of people you know, want to know or find interesting. Just because someone follows you doesn’t mean you have to follow them back.

When someone follows you check out their profile and take a look at their tweets. Are they someone that interests you? Are they in your industry? Do  they tweet interesting or useful stuff? Those should be the questions you ask yourself before clicking follow.

5. Wallflower

When you’ve set up your social media accounts, you have to go out there and meet people. If you sit back and wait for them to come to you, you could get very lonely.

Find interesting people and start a conversation with them. Slowly you’ll gather more followers, have more conversations, gather more followers etc. Basically if you want to be part of it you have to join in. 

Social media – in all its guises - is a great tool for business but it should also be fun. Through it you can open doors that would normally be firmly shut and interact with people you would never normally meet. So give it a go.

 

You’ve heard it time and time again that blogging will help your business’s online exposure.

You’ve probably got your blog set up ready to go but there’s a question lurking in the back of your mind…

How do I start blogging?

If you’ve got this far you’ve probably already answered the question “why do I want to blog?” Just in case you haven’t, you need to think about it carefully.

A blog is an online platform from which  you can give your opinion and offer tips and advice. It will add value to your customers and provide a rich source of back links for your website.

If your answer was “because everyone else is doing it”, forget it. Blogging takes stamina – it’s not something you can do every now and then. If you want it to be effective you have to blog regularly – and that means at least weekly.

To illustrate this point you may be interested in a post that I came across on socialmediaexaminer.com outlining The 5 Pillars of Business Blogging Success which shows that blogging is about far more than writing random posts and sending them out into cyberspace.

In essence you must:

1. Plan  - define your target audience and write for them using your chosen keywords. Decide why you’re blogging and what you want to achieve from it. 

2. Content -  write your posts in simple language (no jargon). Make them interesting and relevant to your audience and pay attention to your headings to make sure they’re eye-catching.

3. Design – looking at the bigger picture, the design of your blog should be attractive and make people want to hang around. Make sure it’s clean and uncluttered.

4. Marketing – if you want people to read your blog you have to tell them it’s there. Promote your post through social media and get an RSS feed showing the latest posts of your website.

5. Engage – write to your reader (use the second person). This makes it personal to them as though you are confiding in them.

There’s a lot to think about when blogging.

If you are going to be successful you have to be committed and be able to generate a constant stream of valuable information.

Not only will it benefit your customers by giving them advice and tips it will also help your SEO strategy by building links to your main website.

Have you had success blogging? If so leave a comment and share your experiences.

 

Website copywriting is just one of the services I offer my clients. Creating copy that is effective is essential if you want your website visitor to become a paying customer.

Generating copy that is interesting, relevant and that sells isn’t as easy as it sounds and there are a number of factors that you must consider when creating your website copy.

In fact, these factors are equally relevant when writing copy for all your marketing materials such as brochures, case studies, newsletters, emails etc.

Even though you are writing about your products and services, it is your reader who must be at the forefront of your mind. Ask yourself:

• Who am I writing this for?
• What do I want to achieve through this copy?
• Why do I need to write the copy?

That’s a lot to think about so the easiest way to explain how to write effective website copy is to look at it from a journalist’s point of view:

Website copywriting for your customers

W-W-W-W-W-H

No, I haven’t gone mad. Let me explain a bit further.

Who

Think about who your product or service is going to help. If you can answer that you know who  your target market is. When you know that, you can establish the tone and voice you will use to convey your message (i.e. conversational, formal etc.)

What

This might sound a bit daft but think about what you’re writing and what it will mean to your customers. This thought process will help you identify the main benefits of your product or service – essential to help them reach a buying decision.

Where

Asking you to think about where your customer can get your product or service probably sounds stupid but you’d be amazed at how many websites omit this vital piece of information. If you copy does convert them into buyers but you don’t tell them how to get their hands on your product you’ll lose them.

Why

This one is all to do with the benefits again. Rather than just list them, relate them back to your customers life to illustrate how your product or service will help them. Whether it’s saving time, money or making them more glamorous, tell them directly as you should never assume they’ll instantly see the bigger picture.

How

This is the nitty gritty of your product. Make sure you explain how it works, how much it costs, where they can buy it, what the guarantee is, what the postage costs are etc. Make everything crystal clear so they don’t have to go looking for answers.

By taking all of those areas into consideration your website copy should address all your customers needs and questions.

Other than that, make sure:

• You keep it simple using simple language and no jargon
• Use a clear call to action so your reader knows what you want them to do
• Never make exaggerated claims – be honest
• Any offers you use must appeal to your market and you can make them extra beneficial by limiting the offer to a time period or number of customers

Writing your copy with your customer in mind will help you focus on what is really important. Make sure that information is at the beginning of your copy to get them hooked straightaway. Other information, such as features, can go further down to reinforce their decision to buy.

 

Keeping in touch with your customers will set you apart from your competition.

All too often businesses take your money and wave goodbye. But they’re missing a trick. Regular contact with your customers (and prospective customers) is vital because it keeps you in their mind when they’re in need of your products or services.

An effective way of doing that is by producing a monthly newsletter.

Newsletter content

Many businesses stumble at the first hurdle because they don’t know what to include.

Your newsletter can be used to convey great information, industry updates, special offers, announcements, helpful hints—anything that will add value to your customers.

Of course a newsletter isn’t a lot of use without anyone to send it to. The best way to develop your mailing list is to grow it organically—home grown will always bring in better results than a bought in list.

Here are 3 ways to ensure your newsletter works:

1. Opt-in

If you want someone to opt-in to your list you have to make it easy for them. If you hide the opt-in form deep within your website they’re not going to go looking for it.

Make sure your sign-up box is highly visible, preferably on every page and simple to complete.

Make sure you also make them aware of what you’ll be sending and how often and reassure them that you won’t share their details with anyone else.

2. Content

Your content shouldn’t be overly promotional and whatever you do, don’t jump in immediately with a sales pitch.

Start with a recommendation, article, or comment on industry news. Follow that up with a hint or tip that your customer will find useful. Once you’ve given them something for free you can then bring in your offer or a case study to promote your products/services.

If you’re still stumped and have no idea what to write why not enlist the help of a freelance copywriter to write the content for you.

3. Two way traffic

Make it easy for  your reader to interact with you through your newsletter.

After reading your news they may want to get in touch so don’t use a “no-reply” email address. Make it simple for them.

Always remember that your newsletter is about adding value to your relationship not selling. Be generous with your information as this will develop trust and with trust comes sales.

 

Getting someone to find your website is one thing. Encouraging them to read your content while they are there is something entirely different.

If you market your business online you probably spend hours producing content that is designed to promote you and your business and build links.

To target your audience you would have done a mountain of research to come up with a list of topics for your blog posts, articles and website copy.

 

Once you’ve uploaded your fantastic value-laden information and hit publish…

…absolutely nothing happens.

No matter how often you check there are no tweets (not even a re-tweet), no comments, no nothing.

Your immediate reaction is probably “Argh! My writing must really suck.”

But don’t despair – your style of writing is probably fine. It is more likely that the structure of your articles and blogs is leaving your readers bemused.

When writing for the web the best thing you can do is forget everything your dear old English teacher taught you.

You need to spend less time writing and more time thinking about how you structure your work.

Writing online

When reading from the web people tend to scan read rather than read every word.That’s because they are searching for information and if they can’t find it quickly, they’ll move on to another website.

So if you want to keep them engaged you have to rethink your writing style.

1. Snappy

The length of your writing should be just long enough to cover what you want to say without waffling.

If you’re writing about a very complex issue it may be worth breaking it down into several posts. Not only will that make it much easier for your reader to follow, it will also encourage them to come again for your subsequent posts.

Plus start at the end – with your conclusion. That might sound odd by that way you are immediately giving your readers what they want. The all you have to do is provide supporting evidence point by point.

2. White space

If your text is in one long wall of text or several long paragraphs it won’t look very inviting.

Lighten it by increasing the amount of white space on your page. Break it down into small paragraphs (no more than 3 or 4 sentences each). Or you could go really mad and use a single sentence paragraph.

3. Sub headings

Inserting informative sub headings between your paragraphs will help your reader get the gist of your post while they are scanning the page.

4. Bullets

• Using bullet points creates interest
• Highlights important points
• Are instantly scan-able
• Draw the reader’s eye as they break up the rest of the text

5. Links

By all means link to your own website through your posts but don’t forget external information sources too. This will show your reader that your information is well considered (and it may also generate a link from your source too).

6. Bold

Use bold text to pick out important concepts within your post. These, coupled with the sub headings, should help your reader fully understand the topic you are covering and whether it will be of interest to them.

7. Numbers

Some people have said that the days of the numbered posts—such as “8 Top Tips to Improve Your Copywriting” are gone. But reader’s still love them.

8. Check and check again

Before publishing read through your work to make sure it makes sense, This will also check for rhythm, typos and other errors.

Writing informative posts is one thing but if you want people to read them they must be presented in a way that:

• Gets your concept over immediately
• Looks attractive and readable
• Gets to the point