copywriting

How to Craft Compelling Marketing Messages

May 5, 2016 By Katrina Olson

By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared May 5, 2016 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com, the digital version of tED Magazine, the trade publication for the electrical distribution industry.

Last week, three other judges and I looked at roughly 300 entries for tED Magazine’s Best of the Best Marketing Competition. Many of them had several components including print ads, social media posts, logos, signs and branded trucks, and websites. We carefully reviewed the entries’ goals, strategies and outcomes to gauge success.

And once again, we were reminded of the expertise and energy marketers put into researching, planning and implementing these comprehensive efforts. But we also noticed that many efforts fell down when it came to the basics of creating and communicating a message.

In the busy-ness of our everyday jobs, it’s easy to just keep doing what we’ve always done. But Best of the Best is about recognizing those who went beyond what they’ve always done. It recognizes those who try a new approach, takes risks and ultimately, rise above the competition.

For example, one entry made us laugh out loud. Another gave us goose bumps. Did they win? Yes—because we assumed they had a similar effect on the intended audience. Of course, we considered their strategy and results. But all other things being equal or at least comparable, the execution elevated their entries to “winner.”

Yes, it’s too late to change last year’s marketing for this year’s competition. But as you’re working on your 2016 marketing efforts, pay special attention to the following.

Write compelling headlines.
A product name is not a headline—neither is a company name, market sector or product category. Headlines are statements that capture attention by communicating a benefit, intriguing the reader, or otherwise drawing them in with a promise of benefits in the copy.

The headline is the first thing your target audience will read—you know, the stuff about how long you’ve been in business, how rso make it count.

Write customer-focused copy.
The number of times “you” and “your” is used should greatly outnumber the times you use “we,” “us” and “our.” Ditch the “brag and boast”—you know, the stuff about how long you’ve been in business, how reliable and trusted you are, or how you really care about the customer. Very few people care. Customers want to know, “What’s in it for me?” Tell them.

Also, carefully proofread your materials for typos, spelling and grammatical errors and punctuation.

Write about benefits, not features.
A feature is a characteristic or quality of the product; the benefit is what that feature does for the customer. Does it save them time or money? Does it make their job easier? Does it reduce labor or eliminate down time?

Many entries talked about features, not benefits. And it hurt their scores, often knocking them out of the running for an award.

Create truly “integrated” campaigns.
When you’re developing an integrated marketing campaign, think about more than the various media. Tie all of the elements together with a common look, feel, color scheme, imagery and wording.

Also, quantity does not make a campaign. In other words, submitting a year’s worth of ads or social media posts does not constitute a campaign.

Advice for those who supervise creative people.
Give the creative team the research and direction; then let the copywriters write and the graphic designers design. Trust them and don’t micromanage the creative process. Also, trying to write or design by committee almost always yields a mediocre result.

We’ve come a long way…but let’s keep moving.
I remember when strategy statements read like ad copy and simply explained the product. Now we’re seeing research, goals, objectives, target audiences and meaningful metrics. And this year, several companies stepped up their game with fully integrated executions with consistent themes and creative concepts. And categories like social/digital media, video and branding have grown significantly.

Let’s keep moving forward!

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Olson is a marketing and public relations consultant, and principal of Katrina Olson Strategic Communications. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. She can be reached at Katrina@katrinaolson.com or via her website at katrinaolson.com.

More On Writing Well

July 13, 2015 By Katrina Olson

7-13-15 Cover Graphic

This article originally appeared July 13, 2015 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

Last week we talked about how to be planful (I just looked this up; it’s a real word!), strategic and empathetic; how to incorporate you-view; and why storytelling is important in your writing. Following are a few more tips for improving your writing for marketing, public relations and internal communications.

Create a blueprint for success.
You wouldn’t build a house without a strong foundation and frame; and you shouldn’t write a press release, feature story, brochure or ad without a solid outline. It doesn’t need to be formal with Roman numerals, letters, etc., but take a few moments to think about the structure of your story. What is your theme? What are your key points? How will you intro and outro your content?

Go with the flow.
Good and effective writing flows smoothly, from thought to thought, paragraph to paragraph. Organize your points logically and think about how you can make connections between main points. Use transitional phrases or words such as “therefore,” “similarly,” “that’s why,” or “That’s important, but so is this” to segue to your next thought. Avoid weak and overused transitions like, “My next point” or “Moving on” and “Speaking of.”

Get personal.
Rarely do a group of people read a story, article or blog together. Usually, it’s one person, reading on their phone, tablet or computer. So write directly to them. I’m always a little offended when I get a letter from my child’s school that starts, “Dear parents.” I am only one parent. Or when I receive an email from my credit card company that starts, “Dear valued customers.” I am one customer. Write in a conversational tone without being overly intimate or informal. Use contractions. Use lots of verbs. Be friendly.

Accuracy is everything.
Be sure to fact-check, spell check, grammar check…because one small error, especially in a customer’s personal or business name, can completely blow your credibility. Even if you think you know how to spell a city name, last name, company name, or even a phrase, look it up. It takes only seconds and it may save you from personal embarrassment or the ire of an unhappy client or customer.

Sweat the small stuff.
Specifics are always more interesting than generalities. What if I told you I just bought a new car? Would you reply simply, “That’s great.” Or would you ask what make, model, color and year it was? Maybe how many of those all-important cup holders it has?

Now let’s apply this to your business. If you’re writing a press release, article or blog post about someone starting a new job or getting promoted, include details about their past employment, previous positions, years of experience, length with the company and notable accomplishments. This gives you an opportunity to showcase your staff’s expertise and leverage your release for more than just a simple announcement.

Does writing well really matter?
Short answer? Yes! According to a study by statisticbrain.com, the average human attention span in 2015 is 8.5 seconds. As far back as 2001, a study by website host and content delivery network Digital Island claimed we have only 4 seconds to grab a website visitor’s attention before they decide to leave or stay.

And that’s just to get their attention. The real challenge is keeping it. Would you believe that one-fifth of managers surveyed by temp agency Accountemps said they throw resumes away after spotting a single spelling, grammar or punctuation mistake? Another 28% said two typos would cost applicants an interview.

Longer Answer: writing well and writing right affects your:

Credibility. Errors may lead readers to question accuracy.
Perceived professionalism. Sloppy documents create a negative impression.
Level of Respect. It avoids criticism and frustration from documents with errors.
Clarity. Grammar and punctuation errors result in ambiguity and misunderstanding.
Relationships. Busy journalists especially will appreciate the convenience of well-written copy that needn’t be corrected.

Do I have a t-shirt that says, “I’m silently correcting your grammar”? Yes! Did I teach class dressed as Officer Ivana Spellright for Halloween last year? Of course I did. Am I a grammar nerd who is passionate about the English language? You bet. But so are a lot of your followers, readers and customers. And they will be offended by blatant errors.

But more importantly, they want to be rewarded for spending their precious 8.5 seconds reading your material. And they want a reason to keep reading. To increase your chances of holding their attention, tell your story well in language that is engaging, easy to understand and accurate.

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Olson is a veteran marketing and public relations consultant. She has written for tED magazine’s print edition since 2005, judged tED magazine’s Best of the Best Competition since 2006, and emceed the Best of the Best Awards ceremony for a total of seven years. Reach her at katrina@olsonmarketing.net.

Don’t just write right; write well.

July 6, 2015 By Katrina Olson

7-6-2015 Cover Graphic

By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 7/6/2015 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

Last week we discussed the Chevy Cruze campaign that kicked off with a news release written completely in emoji. Whether you thought it was entertaining or annoying, it got attention. But was it truly “writing?” I suppose it was as much writing as ancient hieroglyphics or modern-day symbols like +, @ or $.

Most of us are content using words to communicate. So this week, we’ll get back to basics with some good, old-fashioned writing tips.

For 10 years I taught college-level writing to advertising, public relations, and business students. Most had a basic knowledge of grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage and word choice. They knew how to write correctly. But my job was to teach them how to be marketers and storytellers—to make their hypothetical target audiences want to buy, join, give, register, attend or act in some way.

Good writing isn’t just correct, it’s effective—it gets the job done. And that’s a lot harder than just writing correctly. Effective writing is clear, concise and compelling. It takes thought, planning, strategy and a little style. Following are some tips for writing more effectively.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail…to write effectively.

Writing is not just about stringing words together until it sounds good. It’s strategy on paper (or usually on screen). So, before you start writing, ask yourself these questions:

How does this written piece fit into my marketing plan?
Who is my target audience?
What do I hope to accomplish?
Do I want to persuade, inform or educate my reader?
What do I want my reader to think, feel or do as a result?
How will I know if it worked?

If you can’t answer all of these questions about your blog post, website copy, letter, newsletter or other marketing piece, you need to ask yourself why you’re writing it at all.

Be brave enough to be empathetic.

Maya Angelou once said, “I think we all have empathy. We may not have enough courage to display it.” It’s easy and safe to write marketing pieces that extol the virtues of your company and products, brag about your company history, and include trite phrases about how important customers are to you.

What’s harder and braver to write is copy that empathizes with your customer. How is empathy different from sympathy?

Sympathy often stops at acknowledging someone’s situation. For example, you might write, “We understand that it’s important to deliver products on time. We’ll promise to always meet your delivery deadlines.”

Empathy is the ability to take the perspective of another person in a specific situation; to put yourself in his or her shoes; to share their feelings and connect with them on an emotional level. Empathetic copy would read, “You know what happens when your products are delivered late. You lose time—and time is money. When you’re behind schedule, everyone else gets behind as well. The customer is angry and they’re blaming you.” Then, of course, you offer a solution.

Get your “you-view” on.

You’ll notice another difference between the sympathetic and the empathetic copy above. The sympathetic copy uses the word “we” (referring to yourself). The empathetic company uses the word “you” (referring to the customer). It’s a small change, but it makes a big difference to readers. It tells them that you feel their pain instead of merely acknowledging it. And each reader feels like you’re speaking to him or her on a personal level.

Here’s another, simpler example:

We-view: “We offer quick, friendly, reliable customer service.”
You-view: “You deserve quick, friendly, reliable customer service…and that’s what you get from ABC Supply.”

Most importantly, you-view focuses on the needs, wants and interests of the reader. It’s more than just using the word “you” instead of “we.” It’s finding those pain points or issues your target audience is concerned about, then addressing them. You-view is easy to understand, but more difficult to put into practice. Try it on your next writing project.

These are just a few ways you can improve your writing strategy. Next week, we’ll talk about more specific ideas for actually writing your marketing pieces.

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Make Your Content Easy to Scan and Understand

April 27, 2015 By Katrina Olson

By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 4/27/15 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

We’ve been exploring ways to get your target audiences to pay attention to your marketing content. You may recall points two and three from Marketing Momentum of April 13:

2. Make it easy to scan.
Use headlines, numbered lists, bullet points, subheads, spaces between lines—they help readers pick out what’s important.

3. Focus on one message per communication.
Don’t put too much information in one email, Facebook post, ad or video. Readers will get bored and just stop. Send targeted messages to targeted groups.

At first glance, these two concepts seem at odds with each other. But when you combine them, you create a powerful marketing message. And it’s easier than you think. Check out this TV commercial for the new Apple Watch.

The commercial highlights the watch’s clock, maps, internet, fitness tracking, charge cards, calendar, music, apps. alarms, texting and more. Anyone familiar with the iPhone (probably their target audience) will recognize the icons.

It’s “easy to scan” because it shows the watch’s capabilities and style choices instead of talking about them.

And even though the commercial features multiple images and glamour shots of the watch, the single, focused message is, “This watch looks sleek and contemporary, like your iPhone, and can do almost everything your iPhone can do.”

How do you know what your single, focused message should be?

First, determine what your audience most wants to know. Start by asking yourself (or your customers) these questions:

What does your company or product offer that’s unique, important and beneficial?
What will convince them to choose you over the competition?
How does your company, product or service help them work better, smarter, faster or cheaper?
What problem can you solve for them?

Home in on that unique selling proposition (USP) and use it to develop your key message. When planning your marketing strategy, sum up your key message in one sentence. Then build your plan and execution based on that key message.

Next, choose tactics—website, brochure, video, news release, feature story or social media campaign—that can best illustrate and communicate that single message. As you’re executing that plan and message, be consistent in your use of color, font, imagery (photos or illustration), layout and design, and even the wording (or “copy”).

By consistently communicating your message, you’re benefitting from the synergy of all pieces working together with a common look, feel, theme and message.

How do you make content that is “scannable”?

You’ll want to support your key message with subpoints or additional features and benefits. What proof can you give to back up our claim? How can you expand on or further explain your key message in a way that’s quick and easy to read? In print and online, we often use:

bullets (like this)
subheads (like the one preceding this section)
lines/spaces (like the space between these bullets)
other visual cues such as bolding, highlighting and italics (sparingly, so as not to become annoying)

By making your print ads, web content, blogs or direct mail pieces easy to scan, your audience gets the main points, even if they don’t read the entire message or even pay full attention.

NEXT WEEK: In next week’s Marketing Momentum, we’ll discuss how to be funny, engaging and relevant.

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Tell Your Story Quickly

April 20, 2015 By Katrina Olson

By Katrina Olson

This article originally appeared 4/20/2015 as an Exclusive Feature on tedmag.com.

Last week we talked about how to create content that sells, and the need to adapt to today’s shorter attention spans, multitasking habit and mobile lifestyles. Today let’s dig a little deeper into how to tell your story concisely, precisely and in a way that gets read.

Unlike novels that people choose to read for entertainment, very few people seek out advertising. So your advertising copy must get to the point quickly and communicate efficiently.

For example, Sprint is currently running an ad on Netflix that opens with yellow type on a dark gray background and it goes something like this:

“Sprint has the best family plan. We could show you an awesome chart to prove it. (And they do.) Or we could just tell you why you should care. More lines, more data, just $90 a month.”

Bam! Sprint tells us exactly what we need to know—nothing more. We don’t care how many different customers they have, how many brands they carry or how many retail stores they operate…we just want them to answer, “What’s in it for me?” Or, maybe, “Why should I bother switching carriers?”

Enhance your copy with visuals to communicate your message quickly and efficiently. For example, if your product saves labor by making pulling wire faster, show a clock spinning backwards (for example). Or create a video with two people pulling wire—one the “old” way and one with your product.

If your product saves money, show a stack of bills that represents how much money you can save in a month or a year. Perhaps your product is more lightweight and easier to carry than the competition. Show a child carrying it.

Professional copywriters and art directors sometimes spend days if not weeks coming up with effective headlines, copy and visuals for a single ad. That’s how important it is. If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars on media, it’s worth investing some time and money up front to make sure it’s effective.

NEXT WEEK: In next week’s Marketing Momentum, we’ll discuss how to make your content easy to read and understand.

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