I am well aware of the economic difficulties facing small businesses during the continuing recession on Main St. (Wall St. is another matter!). To hold costs down, small businesses often resort to stretching or reducing their marketing expenditures. And one way to do that is to accept a cheap, or even free, web development and hosting package that allows a business to establish at least a modest web presence. Such packages come with ready-made templates to which a business owner contributes his/her own content. How can I tell? Because the design and the content together resemble those awful TV commercials. In any event, these websites generally prove to be ineffective. The search engines can’t find them, and customers who stumble across them have difficulty locating the information that they seek.

The good news is that remedying this situation does not require a business to pay for the services of an expensive media marketing firm that caters chiefly to large corporations. There is no need to acquire a fancy website with a lot of Flash video (search engines hate that anyway). But some expenditure is necessary in order to create a website that is professionally designed so as to make browsing and navigation a pleasant experience. And provison of well-written content that directly meets customers’ most pressing needs will attract more visitors to the site and, therefore, more business.

Consider for a moment how most of us are willing, sometimes desperate, to pay for the best medical or dental expertise that we can find. We recognize that an undiagnosed ailment or an untreated tooth infection can kill us, and we decline, therefore, to rely on self-treatment. “But,” one might object, “a professionally created website is not a life-or-death matter.” Really? When some 80% of all potential customers conduct online research before entering a store or contacting a provider, how can a business continue to live without an adequate presence on the internet as part of an effective marketing plan? And if a business dies, how do its owners eat?

Because of this situation, those of us who design or create content for our clients’ websites must do a better job of marketing our own services to those small businesses nearby who are struggling. Our doing so is not only good for our business, but also a way to meet our social responsibility to our business community. And businesses who wish to attract more customers should carefully reconsider their marketing priorities.

High Quality Web Copy

Briefly stated, high quality web copywriting accomplishes a client’s desired objective. Usually, effectiveness is measured by the number of “conversions” or the number of persons who take the action intended by the client (e.g., purchasing, calling, providing an email address or other contact info, signing up for a newsletter). And copy that produces conversions generally exhibits the following characteristics:

• Writing that is error-free and grammatically correct (not to be taken for granted!)
• Attractive, easy-to-scan formatting (headings, short paragraphs, etc.)
• Keyword appropriateness (natural employment of relevant keywords and their customer-friendly variations)
• Keyword use in page titles, URLs, meta-tags, headings, and body
• Conversion-focused links within page content and easy navigation to action location
• Inclusion of emotion-laden terms in a manner that is natural and appropriate
• Frequent, but not overbearing, “asking for the sale”

Clearly, traditional strategies for producing effective web copy are still necessary, but improvements in search engine sophistication and people’s interactive use of the web provoke some shifts in producing effective web copy.

Returning to Basics

Bearing in mind all of the above, effective web copy means, more than ever, writing for human beings, not search engines. While it is important to have longer keyword phrases in mind (quick sources for such phrases include Google’s auto-fill suggestions for a search or “searches related” to a keyword), it is impossible to include all of the possible variations for a keyword or phrase on a single page or even an entire website. Rather, it is necessary to crawl inside a customer’s head, perhaps by paying attention to search statistics and successful competitors’ sites, in order to include words and phrases that  customers naturally use.

For example, a customer searching for a plumber might use the word, “plumber,” in a search. But the search also might focus on “how to fix a leaky faucet”or “installing a hot water heater.” A writer who can empathetically identify a customer’s problem or desire and then speak to that will be more effective. In other words, effective web copy focuses on the potential customer and her or his problems, not on the business that is represented. Moreover, if the copy works, the results will show up in more conversions. Tweaking for more conversions, therefore, is a never-ending process.

One final point: With increased ability of search engines and internet vendors to track users’ geographical location and search preferences, searches are becoming more local and more personalized. Especially for small businesses, this means that effective web copy must focus on localized searches and that effective websites must contain pages oriented toward existing or previous customers. Copy that establishes relationships will become crucial, especially in an environment of burgeoning use of social media. But that is a subject for another day.

Smart and accurate. Fun way to end a Monday afternoon. Enjoy.

Web writing has to be different because we don’t read web pages in the same way we read a book or magazine. The light given off by a computer screen can be harsh on our eyes. We may struggle with glare and inaequate contrast between the letters and the background. We may also have trouble adjusting our screens and chairs for comfort.

Plus reading on a computer reminds us of looking at a TV, another box that emits light. And a mouse seems like a television remote, also a device for controlling a light-emitting box. So most of us treat web pages with the same short attention span we bring to TV programs. It’s click, click, click away.

The typical web reader will quickly click off your website if the page seems boring or complicated. She scans text, avoiding areas of densely written content and can easily miss information. To slow down the clicking:

• Get to the point fast. Think like you’re writing an ad.

• Use short sentences and paragraphs.

• Include informative subheads.

• Put information in lists with bullets or numbers.

• Put key information in bold.

Mara Braverman
Braverman Marketing & Communications, LLC

E-mail, e-letters and e-zines are great,
Paper is saved and docs aren’t late,
But I must warn you,
One thing I won’t do:
If you offer your hand I won’t e-shake

Myth #1: There’s Something Distasteful About Sales

Business is all about selling. People who avoid sales and leave it to others because they think it’s “below them” are wrong. The most rewarding, the most exciting part of running a business is making a sale.

Myth #2: Market And Advertise More And You’ll Generate More Sales

Believe this myth and you risk ignoring the quality of your marketing materials. Today with the Internet and TV and squawking ad boxes at gas stations and phone ads and more, we bombard people with 3,000 marketing messages a day. More isn’t more effective. Salespeople who focus strictly on pumping out more marketing can easily lose track of whether they’re reaching people who really want and need to hear their message. Getting ten people to love your product is much better than getting a thousand people to like your product.

Myth #3: Great Salespeople Focus On The Close

This is backwards. A great salesperson focuses on the opening, on the relationship, on the first impression. When you focus on the close, you put your need before the client’s need. You need the sale; the client doesn’t. The client needs a trustworthy business relationship. When you start the sales process, focus on getting to the truth, finding the prospect’s pain, or uncovering a problem you can solve for them.

Myth #4: To Sell Well You Must Persistently Pursue Prospects

Dispelling this myth may be tougher. You must think counterintuitively. When you stop pursing people, they become drawn to you. Who do you want to see – the salesperson who is always calling you up or the salesperson who is hard to get in front of because he’s so busy helping other people? Persistently pursing prospects smells of desperation. Yes, you need to work hard to gain new prospects but that doesn’t mean texting them every 15 minutes.

Myth #5: Sales Are Made On A Rational, Thinking Basis

Tsk, tsk if you fall for this one. We like to think of ourselves as rational, thinking beings. In some ways, we are rational. But what truly motivates us to act or to buy is emotion. Just watch the commercials on TV and count how many are emotional appeals. People will buy more often because they feel an emotional connection than they will buy because the sale makes sense.

Myth #6: The Sales Is Lost Or Won At The End Of The Process

Are you beginning to see how many of these myths are related to one another? This myth is similar to Myth #3 above. The most important part of the sale is the beginning, not the end. At the beginning of the sale you must establish trust, build rapport, show value, and demonstrate a primary interest in the prospect. It ain’t about grabbing prospects by the neck and injecting them with a closing argument serum. It’s not about us selling them; it’s about us letting them buy.

Myth #7: The Best Way To Handle Objections Is Overcoming Them

This is a great way to start an argument with your prospect. Try overcoming a belief prospects have and their natural tendency is to fight for their belief. You risk offending the person you’re trying to sell. Instead, Australian sales guru Ari Galper says to acknowledge the legitimacy of the objection (in the eye of the prospect). For example, if a prospect says they don’t need you as a vendor because they already have one, you might say, “I understand your concern and I don’t want to replace your current vendor. I just want to see if you’re open to some new ideas that only our company can present to you. Would that be okay?”

Myth #8: You Either Sell A Product Or You Sell A Service

This myth used to be true. Today, smart companies and smart salespeople are beyond selling just a product or service. Companies like Disney and Intel use their products as props and their services as a stage to sell an experience. Tim Sanders, former Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo! spells out this concept in his book, Love Is The Killer App: How To Win Business and Influence Friends. Macdonald’s doesn’t sell food; they sell a clean, quick, enjoyable family experience.

Myth #9: Top Salespeople Are Independent And Self-Sufficient

The only truly independent salespeople are those no one else wants to relate to. Keith Ferrazzi, in his best selling marketing book, Never Eat Alone, says “Autonomy is a life vest made out of sand.” In sales, independence is less important than teamwork, cooperation and communication. Givers gain. You teach someone a sales technique and guess what? You learn more in return. You share sales leads and guess what? Rather than having fewer sales leads, you find more leads flowing your way. Top salespeople give freely of their time and expertise and the pie gets bigger for all of us, including them.

Do watch out for these myths. Live by the sales truths that really are truths, like this one from Zig Ziglar, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

Chris John Amorosino
Amorosino Writing, LLC
Writing Business Stories That Live Profitably Ever After
amorosinowriting.com

1. Read The Unrelated.
   

   Creativity isn’t discovering something new. It’s making new connections between old things. Pick up that teen magazine and an idea on how to write about that IT seminar may jump into your lap. Read U.S. News & World Report in search of an idea you can connect with your ad for your new hair styling product. I once based an insurance product sales brochure on something from the National Enquirer.

2. Have Fun.

   Loosen up. Life’s too short. Take a break and do something you enjoy. You’ll get a fresh perspective and start new ideas flowing. Remember Archimedes in the bath tub. (I didn’t think you’d remember him. Archimedes, a great ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, and inventor, was stumped. His ruler wanted him to devise a way to tell whether a crown was pure gold or alloyed with silver. Solutions avoided him like cockroaches avoid light. Then when he took a break to take a bath he had a brainstorm. As he stepped into the water and watched it rise, Archimedes realized that a given weight of gold would displace less water than an equal weight of silver because it’s not as dense. Legend has it that in his excitement about his discovery he ran home naked shouting “Eureka! Eureka!” (“I have found it!” “I have found it!”))

3. Look Under The Hood.

   Maybe your creative engine is starved for fuel. You may need more information about the project or the audience. Ask your client or source more questions about what you’re trying to accomplish. Set up an informal focus group. Call in your management team. Creativity often requires a sea of research. The writers for John Hancock’s award winning “Real Life” ad campaign got several of their ideas by spending long hours hanging out in a bar listening to people discuss their financial worries. (“No, boss, that’s not a beer, that’s part of my research.”)

4. Seek Inspiration.

   We all have a place or person or book that never fails to inspire. Make contact. Spend some time relaxing with that enthusiastic presence. Good things happen when you’re in a good place or with a good person or in the mind of another creative. Whose brain do you like being around? Who always seems to be working on something wacky? Go see them. I have a few books that always offer me nourishing food for thought whenever I pick them up. Mind Your Own Business! by Murray Raphel and The Wizard of Ads by Roy H. Williams are two.

5. Create Something Awful
   Want to ruin good creative people? Go through their trash. The best creatives create awful Frankenstein-ish things. They realize that’s usually the only way to do their best creative work. First create the monstrosities; then come the beauties. Writers in particular work like sculptors. To develop a great 500 words they may write a terrible 2,500 words. Then, like sculptors, writers begin to chip away and polish, chip away and polish, chip away and polish.
6. Do the Opposite
   Let’s say you want to come up with the five greatest reasons why people should shop in your store or why your product is superior to the competition’s product. Take the opposite point of view. Brainstorm about all the reasons why your store stinks. Write a list of negatives about your cherished product. (This is not for the faint of heart.) Then, just flip the arguments upside down to get your creativity right side up. For example, if you want to promote your one woman interior design business, a nasty negative might be, “no staff, no associates, no backup.” Turn that around and say, “You always deal with the business owner and get immediate decisions.”

Creativity is key to business. It’s creativity that helps invent the new killer product. Creativity makes your stand out from the crowd and get noticed. Creativity finds a way to cut production costs by a third. Creativity opens your eyes to new ways to get your customers to buy again. So, get creative. It’s good business.

Chris Amorosino is the president and founder of Amorosino Writing LLC, a communications firm in Unionville. You can reach him at 860-673-0089 or chris@amorosinowriting.com.

I’ve been on LinkedIn for about 15 months but had not been very active. For the next six months I’m conducting an experiment. I want to discover whether feeding LinkedIn lots of attention and good stuff will reward me with what I want (more and better business contacts and visibility.) I believe it’s possible that LinkedIn could help me find vendors, keep up with business education, promote my business and maybe even provide some solid clients.

If you’re interested in this concept, here are eight steps you could take.

1. Spruce up your LinkedIn profile
   I heard one guy complain that LinkedIn only considered him 40 percent of a person. That’s because his profile wasn’t complete. You won’t be taken seriously if you don’t include a professional photograph and complete the rest of the profile. Your profile should have lots of juicy tidbits about your business talents and successes.
2. Give and get recommendations
   Ask your clients to recommend your services on LinkedIn. Their recommendations will appear in your profile and serve as great endorsements. How do you get recommendations? You get by giving. Recommend good, solid people you’ve worked with. It’s fun and rewarding to recommend good people.
3. Obtain at least 100 connections
   I’m told the magic starts happening when you are connected to at least 100 people. So go through your rolodex and invite people to link with you. Visit the profiles of people you’re already linked to and check out their connections to see if they know people you’d like to know. Then ask for a LinkedIn introduction to them.
4. Ask Questions
   I had a client problem and used the LinkedIn question feature. Within two hours I had four good answers to my client problem.
5. Don’t Sell
   Perhaps this should be number one on this list. There’s nothing worse at a cocktail party than the guy running around basically saying to anyone who will listen, “Wanna buy from me? Wanna buy from me?” Please don’t use LinkedIn that way. Find ways to make yourself useful to others. It’s true: Givers gain.
6. Join Groups
   To learn about a topic or get closer (electronically) to a market, search for LinkedIn groups you can join.
7. Find People
   LinkedIn has a feature that lets you search for people by name. You can also search by company name for LinkedIn members. And you can search by job title within a geographic area. These are good ways to find people in your market or people you know but have misplaced along the business way.
   
8. Add Applications
   You can choose from about ten pretty cool applications. One app lets you share slide shows. Another lets you take online polls. I have added to my profile the application that lets you share book recommendations.

Your best bet is to go to LinkedIn and experiment. See whether you think there are tools there to help your business. Give the site a fair chance by putting in your time to create a good profile and build connections. I heard one LinkedIn expert say you need to devote about 30 minutes a day to the site when you first join if you want to maximize the site’s effectiveness. Try to add value for other people you run into on LinkedIn.

May your business prosper as a result. See you out there.

Submitted by:

Chris John Amorosino
Amorosino Writing, LLC
Writing Business Stories That Live Profitably Ever After
860.673.0089