Copywriting Archives - Jim's Marketing Blog

You’ve grabbed your reader’s attention. Now what?

By Jim Connolly | October 18, 2024

You have grabbed your reader’s attention. Your next step is extremely important. Here’s what to do next, plus something you must avoid in order for your marketing to be effective.

Let’s go.

Getting the reader’s attention is the easy part. We can do that with a clickbait headline or an outrageous statement.

However, a marketing message needs to tell them something or sell them something. And it absolutely must be consistent with that headline or statement we used.

If not, we lose twice over.

We’ll lose the sale.
We’ll lose the reader and the chance to market to them again. They’ll remember that we used an inaccurate headline to trick them into opening that email or clicking that link. They’ll feel foolish. They’ll feel duped. They’ll remember for a long time.

It’s a terrible tactic with a limited lifespan. The longer a business owner uses it, the more prospective clients they will alienate. That means when we have something to share with them, which is well-written, which is worth their time, which is what they need, which is what they want… they won’t click on it or open it.

The solution

By all means, grab their attention. Just make damn sure that your message is of interest to them, that it’s consistent with your attention-grabbing headline or statement, and that it motivates them to take whatever action you require.

That way, you win twice over.

You’ll win the sale.
You’ll win the attention of the prospect, because you’ll have trained them that you’re worth taking notice of.

Now that’s a win-win situation worth striving for!

Not already a subscriber? Then join my mailing list here.

It motivates people to take action, now

By Jim Connolly | October 7, 2024

Here’s the foundation of all successful marketing. In just 7 words.

It motivates people to take action, now.

I’ll break that down into 3 steps, so you can put it to work for your business.

It motivates people: It gives them a compelling reason. A reason, which is powerful enough to grab their attention and generate enough desire within them that they’re ready for the next step.
To take action: It makes a direct request. It asks them to; call us, click here, proceed to checkout, visit us, read this, subscribe, etc.
Now: It asks them, whilst their motivation is high, to take the action required. Right now. Straight away. That’s because even if they love what you said and are genuinely interested, their attention will soon jump onto the next thing. This could be a notification on their phone, a delivery person might arrive with a package for them or they suddenly notice it’s time to meet their friend for lunch… and you’ll lose them. They tell themselves “I’ll do it later” and later becomes never.

The marketing from most small and medium-sized businesses is missing at least one of those essential steps. It’s either not motivating enough, lacks a direct call to action or doesn’t generate sufficient urgency. And it’s losing these businesses an absolute fortune.

We have to be smarter than that.

How to overcome the problem

Take a look at all your marketing messages and check you have all 3 of those steps fully covered. Try to be as open-minded as possible. Make sure it’s motivating, action driven and urgent. If you think any of those areas can be improved, improve them. Repeat this process until you have fully maximized everything.

Then remind yourself that you’ll always be able to wrestle another few percent improvement… and do it again. It’s hard to overstate what a massive, positive impact this will have on your marketing and sales results.

This is the biggest lie in business. Don’t fall for it

By Jim Connolly | September 11, 2024

Are you tired of prospective clients or customers, who don’t get back to you when they say they will? If you are, here’s something you may find extremely useful. It’s all about the biggest lie in business.

Here’s the thing. Whenever a prospective client tells you they didn’t have the time to email you, return your call or consider your offer… they’re lying.

They had the time

And you already knew this.

You already knew full well that:

They had the time to do all the business tasks, which they considered urgent or important.
They also had the time to do stuff that interested them. Like checking the news, texting a friend or sharing a funny TikTok video.
Oh, and they definitely had enough time to check their social media accounts. Over and over again.

What they lacked wasn’t time.

No.

What they lacked was motivation.

Specifically, they lacked the motivation to do whatever you requested. They just didn’t want to tell you. They thought they were being nice. The truth is that as far as they were concerned, your proposal, offer or whatever, just didn’t seem compelling enough to them. So, they didn’t consider it a priority. And that’s why it didn’t get done.

Okay Jim, how do I stop this from happening, and massively improve my results?

That’s a great question!

And here’s a pretty nifty answer.

Motivation, attraction and deadlines

To motivate your prospective clients and customers to take action, you need to do the following.

Make your offer as attractive as possible. Start by looking at what you’re asking your prospects to do and make it sound more captivating. More interesting. More inspiring. More compelling. Remember, motivation comes from the words Motive and Action. When the motive is high enough, the action follows. So, use all your creativity to make whatever you’re offering sound as compelling as possible.

Then, give them a deadline. Deadlines focus the mind. They create urgency, which is exactly what you need in order to motivate prospects to take action!

Note: Here’s an example of how to use deadlines.

Make no mistake, the most powerful way to motivate your prospective clients to take action, is to provide them with a highly compelling offer, which is attached to a deadline. Get it right and you’ll find the marketplace will make time for you.

You’ll also enjoy a dramatic improvement in your sales and marketing results.

Powerful words for your marketing toolbox

By Jim Connolly | September 2, 2024

I’ve compiled a brief selection of powerful words, which can increase the selling effectiveness of your marketing. They’re in no particular order.

So, let’s dive in!

Limited

Fear of missing out is so powerful it has its own acronym, FOMO. Limited equals scarce and scarcity is a powerful marketing motivator. Limited time, limited stock and limited space/spaces are common examples.

Now

Now is a direct command that creates urgency. It inspires your prospect to act, and to act fast. All that power is packed into a tiny, one syllable word. Compare the following. “For more information, call us on the number below“, or “For more information, call us now on the number below.”

Simple

People prefer things that are uncomplicated. When your prospect reads or hears that something is simple, it can make them more confident to take the action required. You’re signalling to them that it won’t take too much time. And that it won’t be too taxing. Note – easy is also a great word to use, especially if you want to avoid repetition of simple in a marketing piece.

Just

When you want to show that something simple or easy (as above), another great word to use is just. Just implies your request takes very little effort. ‘To subscribe, just drop your email into the box below.’ ‘For more information, just click here’. And famously, ‘Just do it!’

Guaranteed

When a prospect sees that you guarantee your product or service, buying from you becomes a less risky decision. That’s because you’re offering them peace of mind and reassurance. So, if you provide a guarantee, don’t keep it a secret. Include it liberally in your marketing. Naturally, the better the guarantee, the more effective it will be.

Proven

When you tell a prospect that your product or service is proven, you’re telling them that it works. That it’s reliable. A known quantity. Low risk. This helps build confidence in what you’re offering and makes it a lot more compelling. Yet, many businesses omit proven from their marketing. They will often allude to it, hoping the prospect will join the dots. But it’s better to put that word, and the feelings associated with it, into your marketing.

You / your

Use you and your to directly address the prospect. It will help them to connect with what you’re saying, because it’s focused on them. Sadly, a lot of small business marketing is self-focused. This makes it sound impersonal. Your marketing should be directed to the reader, as if you were writing only to that specific person. For example, compare the impersonal “Our service is designed to help businesses prosper”, with the personal “Our service is designed to help you and your business prosper”.

By replacing just one word with a more persuasive alternative, you can significantly increase the marketing power of your message. So, if one of those examples jumps out at you, give it a try.

Want to regularly create great content marketing? Use these 3 tips

By Jim Connolly | August 28, 2024

If you’ve ever wondered how to regularly produce content marketing that converts prospects into clients or customers, this information is for you.

I’ve divided it into 3 core tips.

1. Is this useful?

There’s a sign on the wall in my studio. It’s a small sign, containing just 3 words: “Is this useful?”. That’s the mark I set for everything I create. Nothing gets published unless I believe you’ll find it useful. I don’t try and look clever. I don’t try and be edgy. I don’t try to shock people. I just try to be useful to you. And as long as I think you’ll find an idea or observation useful, I share it.

Many business owners are put off creating content, because they try to make it as close to perfect as possible. The thing is, your prospective clients or customers want something useful, not perfect.

Once you stop aiming for perfection you’ll find it a lot easier. You’ll also get massively better results.

2. Don’t let duff content ideas block you

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find that most of the content ideas you get are pretty average. Most of mine are terrible! But maybe 1 in 5 or 1 in 10 are good enough to be turned into a useful piece of content marketing.

The challenge is that in order to get that 1 useful idea, you need to give yourself permission to have the duff ones.

The way I overcame this, was to deliberately allow myself to think of lots of duff ideas, knowing that something useful would come from it.

So, regard your duff ideas as essential steps on the way to creating the content you need. This switches them from being disheartening, to highly motivating.

3. Your work is way better than you think

We often overestimate the ideas and the work of others and underestimate the value of our own. Here’s a great example of what I mean.

A business owner told me how she was taking some files off a computer for archiving, when she discovered an old documents folder. It contained loads of articles that were really interesting. She looked to see who wrote them and found they were all her own work, from 9 years earlier!

She didn’t publish them at the time, because she thought they weren’t good enough. It was only when she thought they were written by someone else, that she saw them for what they really were. Your work is almost certainly way, way better than you think.

So get it out there!

In short, if you’re looking to improve the quality and quantity of your content marketing, focus on being useful. See your duff ideas as necessary steps to your useful ideas. And give your content the respect it (and you) deserve.

Lists dominate content marketing. Here’s why you should use them

By Jim Connolly | August 23, 2024

lists, content marketing, power of lists

Ever wondered why so many articles, videos and newsletters are based around the idea of a numbered list? It’s because lists are extremely popular. People love them. Today, I’m going to explain why, and how, you should incorporate lists in your content marketing.

Why then are lists so popular?

Lists promise ideas. Lots of ideas. And fast!

Lists promises a number of bite-sized ideas or suggestions. And quickly. So when we see “21 Business habits of highly successful people“, we’re not expecting an in-depth examination of 21 habitual characteristics of people who have achieved business success.

No.

We’re expecting lots of ideas. And we hope that at least one of those ideas will help us in some way. If it does, it will repay the 3 or 4 minutes we invested in reading it. That’s a good return for just a few minutes of our time.

Now, I have a question for you. Does your content marketing mix contain list-based content?

If not, I suggest you give it a try. Lists are perfect for sharing, which makes them ideal if you want to expand your reach on social networks. New readers who discover your work through list content, will then get the chance to see your more detailed work. Others will follow you on the social networks, where they see your lists shared. Many of my most shared blog posts are lists.

Lists can also be very powerful, when it comes to increasing your email marketing open rates. Email marketing that has a list in the subject line, can result in significantly increased open rates.

Here’s why.

Most small business owners are not expert copywriters. As such, the subject lines they use for their email marketing tend to under perform. And poorly written subject lines result in low open rates. This means no matter how good their marketing message is, very few people will see it.

Using an average list title as the subject line of a marketing email, will always, always out perform an average, regular subject line.

Should you focus exclusively on lists?

No.

No you shouldn’t.

Seriously.

Don’t!

Allow me to explain.

True, there are YouTubers making a fortune from creating only list-based videos. And yes, there are sites that attract millions of page views, who rely very heavily on list-based content. The business model behind both of these examples is primarily advertising. If your business sells ads based on open rates, keep churning out the lists.

However, for every other kind of business, relying exclusively on lists is a bad idea. And they should be used sparingly.

For example, I could have written this article as a list.

It would have taken me a lot less time to write.
It would have been shared a lot more on social networks.
And the email version of the post would have been opened by a lot more people.

However, I wanted to dig a little deeper into one subject; the content marketing effectiveness of lists. I didn’t want to weaken that focus with “10 Reasons why lists dominate the internet”.

Going a deeper than a list

Sometimes, you need to offer more substance around one subject. Other times, an issue could be impacting your audience and you need to address it. And there are times when you want to share one really useful idea, which wouldn’t work if you broke it down into a list of sub-ideas.

The surface level approach that makes lists so popular, renders them ineffective for anything that requires depth.

So mix it up. But include lists as part of that mix.

In short, if you haven’t already used list-based articles, videos, podcasts episodes, posts or newsletters, give it a go.

Experiment. Test different types of list. Measure the feedback. Check the numbers, including; sales, client enquiries, open rates, social shares and new subscribers, etc.

And let the numbers be your guide.

Stop: Don’t hide the bad stuff

By Jim Connolly | August 5, 2024

You’re reading about a product or service.

It sounds amazing.

Then you spot it!

You spot the dreaded *asterisk. And your heart sinks.

You know you’re about to be disappointed. You’re about to discover the exclusions, restrictions, omissions and conditions, which means that offer isn’t as good as they said it was.

They could have told you the truth without hiding it behind the asterisk. However, they deliberately chose not to. They intentionally concealed it from you, hoping you wouldn’t dig deeper. And in a split second, they’ve totally changed how you feel about them.

You wonder what else they’re hiding from you.

Your guard is up.

Your trust is diminished. Perhaps totally diminished.

The asterisk risk

If a business owner feels they need to hide something behind an asterisk, there are always better alternatives.

The most effective alternative, is to make the product or service as good as you said. This eliminates the need for an asterisk. Plus, it simultaneously pumps more value into your offering, making it more attractive and giving you a huge competitive advantage.

Another powerful alternative is to openly state, in honest and clear language, exactly what you’re offering. And include whatever would have been behind the asterisk, out in the open. Here’s an example of what that could look like.

Imagine it’s an introductory deal, offering your service at a reduced price for the first 3 months. Rather than quote the introductory price (and hide the fact it increases after 3 months, behind an asterisk), tell them up front. Let people know that you’re so confident they’ll love your service, you’re offering it at a super-low discount, so they can discover for themselves, why it’s outstanding value at the regular price.

There’s another reason for adopting a transparent approach to your marketing.

And it’s a biggie, too.

Social networks give your prospects a powerful voice. That voice can either be used to tell everyone how great you are, or how disappointed they are. Thankfully, you get to choose the kind of experience that’s being shared.

Not only does transparency start to work immediately, it’s also a proven way to build an outstanding reputation in the long-term.

Marketing 101: Use shorter sentences. Here’s why

By Jim Connolly | July 17, 2024

Here’s a quick copywriting tip, to help you improve your marketing results.

Your prospective clients prefer to read short sentences. This is especially true when explaining detailed information. For example, how your service works.

I’m not suggesting you use fewer words than required. Far from it! Use as many words per sentence as you need. Don’t remove a necessary word. Just don’t use more words than you need.

Why is that, Jim?

Over-long sentences lack impact and clarity. Those are essential elements of effective marketing. Most amateur writers tend to write over-long. Learning how to write shorter helps you avoid that mistake.

Tip: One way to shorten sentences without losing anything important, is to remove extraneous words. Look at the 2 examples below.

People should exercise on a regular basis.
People should exercise regularly.
We have no news at this point in time.
We currently have no news.

A whole story in 6 words

It’s amazing what can be achieved using fewer words. Ernest Hemingway once wrote a story in just 6 words. It’s a powerful story, too.

“For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn”.

Inspired by Hemingway’s brevity, look for opportunities to keep your sentences as short as required. Aim for clarity. Remove the fluff. And keep sentences confined to one thought.

It’s not as simple as it sounds. But if done correctly, your results will reflect the additional effort.

This word can ruin your results. Here are 12 better alternatives

By Jim Connolly | July 16, 2024

Photo | Buro Millennial

When it comes to creating successful marketing, the word ‘new’ is overrated. Moreover, it can seriously damage the effectiveness of your marketing, losing you sales or client enquiries in the process.

There are 2 main reasons why this happens.

A new product or service is thought of as risky. Untested. Less robust. At best, it’s a bigger gamble than the existing solution. At worst, the customer feels like a paying guinea pig. Ouch!
A new product or service is seldom, if ever, the best. It lacks the improvements that come from years of customer feedback.

Yes, when you have an announcement to make, like moving to new premises, people expect to see ‘new’ and they understand the context.

The challenge comes when a key part of your marketing message is that you offer a new way to do something. Even some big brands struggle to sell new to people, despite multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. Who remembers ‘New Coke”?

Thankfully you can totally avoid this problem.

Here are some far better alternatives

Instead of relying on new, offer your marketplace something more compelling. More secure. More attractive. More motivating. And a great deal more appealing.

For example, rather than offering your prospects a new way to (whatever), look at the core benefit of your product or service. Then market that benefit to them instead.

Here are 12 alternatives that I have used very successfully over the years. All of which offer the prospect a more attractive benefit.

A faster way.
An enjoyable way.
A secure way.
A greener way.
A stylish way.
A stress-free way.
An original way.
A premium quality way.
A proven way.
An ethical way.
A guaranteed way.
A cost effective way.

The key is to intentionally use words that paint better mental pictures. Pictures that build trust and inspire people to take action. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen this simple adjustment lead to radically better marketing results.

What next? Do a review of your current marketing and look for opportunities to replace the word new, with a better alternative.

Assess. Improve. Execute

By Jim Connolly | July 10, 2024

marketing tips, curiosity, sales leads, sales

Photo Finn Hackshaw

Today, I’m going to share a marketing idea with you that helped me increase a client’s sales results by just over 180% in 5 months.

It can be summed up in 3 words: Assess. Improve. Execute.

Here’s how it works.

Assess

The first step to boosting your sales results is to assess your current situation. I spent some time digging into my client’s sales and marketing process and identified her company’s primary problem. It turned out they offered a superb service and when prospects learned about it, they absolutely loved it. The problem was that they were getting too few chances to demo their service. This means I needed to radically increase the number of high-quality client leads they attracted.

Once we identified the root of her problem, it was time to improve things and free my client to dramatically increase her company’s sales results.

Improve

There were a number of areas in my client’s marketing that were under-performing. This is why she wasn’t generating the volume of high-quality enquiries she needed. She knew her marketing wasn’t working the way she needed it to. But like many business owners, my client assumed the enquiries they attracted were about average in number and quality. She was wrong on both fronts. A common mistake, which had been needlessly losing the company a fortune.

By making a small number of essential improvements at the very beginning, we were able to considerably increase her results. And fast. Really fast.

I remember the easiest adjustment I made, was to improve the focus of their sales message. It had previously focused on what their business did, how great their service was and how amazing their team was. It’s a common mistake.

If your marketing has a similar focus, it’s a bad, bad idea!

And here’s why.

No one buys a service or a product. They buy the result. For example, you don’t buy exercise equipment. You buy looking good and feeling great. So, sell the result of investing in your service.

Anyhow, we then dug a little deeper and uncovered a series of similarly untapped, windfall opportunities.

One of them was for me to transform their website into a lead generating machine, by improving their marketing copy. I needed it to make prospects on their site feel massively more curious.

Curious? Why curious, Jim?

Think about it. Every client or customer enquiry you have ever had, or will ever receive, only happened because that person needed to know something. So, if you want your marketing to attract massively more leads, it needs to create more curiosity… and answer fewer questions.

Previously, their website tried to answer as many questions as possible. I rewrote their marketing and made sure it provided just enough information.

Just enough information to inform the prospect and ignite their curiosity.

Just enough information to compel, to motivate and to inspire eager prospects to contact them with a high-quality enquiry.

We wrapped these ideas into a plan, along with half a dozen other tactical improvements. Now we were good to go!

Execute

Oh man! Without doubt, this is the stage that excites me most. This is why I do what I do.

It’s where we execute on the newly-improved marketing and measure the feedback. There’s something wonderful about the energy I get from clients, as they see their business performing the way they always wanted it too. And often far, far better.

Assess. Improve. Execute. Focus like a laser on those 3 steps and watch your business grow.