Jim Connolly Marketing

How to get free access to the world’s best marketing writers

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Write better marketing copy, marketing messages

Yes, you read the title of today’s post correctly. I have lifelong, free access to the world’s best marketing writers, and you can have it too.

This post started off with an email from Deborah.

My associate Deborah has a seemingly limitless capacity to ask great questions. The kind of question’s I’ve never asked myself before. Earlier today, Deborah asked me for book recommendations, to help her improve her writing. She’s already a great writer, and it’s easy to see why when she’s always seeking out ways to further improve.

That wasn’t the question that prompted this post. It was only her starter question.

Her follow-up was the kicker!

Just one book?

I recommended a book by Roy Peter Clark, called “How to write short” and it’s a classic from a master of the craft. He shows you how to write compelling messages and engaging content, using as few words as required. I don’t do book reviews. I don’t do affiliate links. You can search for it or find it on his website, using the link above. If it sounds like something you want to improve on, grab a copy. In my eyes he’s the boss of writing short, highly effective copy.

Back to Deborah’s question.

She thanked me for the recommendation. Then she asked me the question that inspired this post. She wondered why I only recommended one book!

Here’s my answer.

More importantly, here’s where you’ll discover how to have unlimited, free access to the world’s best marketing writers and communicators!

I study and practice my craft, daily

When I started out in this business, I learned everything I knew about sales and marketing, by studying the work of others. Initially I studied the work of colleagues, who were older and more experienced than me. Then I widened it out to all my inputs.

So, whenever I read or heard a powerful message, I’d write it down. Then, I would unpack the message to figure out why it was so powerful or motivating. I wanted to learn from it.

And I still do the exact same thing today.

I gather inspiration and rather than just swipe it, I swipe it and study it. The wordplay, the rhythm of the syllables. The mental imagery generated. The degree of urgency created… anything I can learn and grow from.

small business turn around, turn around times tough, things tough business

Here are some examples I noted and studied today.

They’re all from leading companies and brands – – those with the financial resources to hire the greatest marketing writers in the world.

I studied.

  • High converting text from website buttons and contact forms.
  • Powerful calls-to-action on store signs.
  • High yield headlines.
  • Motivating paragraphs from marketing emails and letters.
  • Memorable straplines.
  • Engaging tweets.
  • Powerful slogans.
  • The copy used on packaging and products.
  • Social media profile copy.
  • Instantly clickable email subject lines.
  • … and everything else that attracts my eye or my ear.

Rolls Royce, Apple, Rolex, Disney… international brands of that size and influence don’t hire $100 an hour marketing writers. They hire the very best and money is no object. Their wording (like the examples on that tiny list) is worth a fortune to you and your business.

You don’t have to wonder if their copy works. Yes, it works!

You don’t have to wonder if the copy writer knows what they’re doing. Yes, they REALLY do know what they’re doing!

My task and yours, if you’re interested, is to look for the lessons. Let these masters of the art teach you with their examples of excellence.

Then, use your version of it.

Put it into play.

Test what you’ve learned and measure the results.

Refine it, and then test again.

It’s a great way to improve. Because I publish information very regularly, I’m able to test what I learn just as regularly. I can quickly discover what’s effective and what’s less useful. This is one of the many reasons I believe every professional should write a blog and / or a newsletter. It’s perfect for developing your skills and style.

Making your work stand out

By not reading the same books (or subscribing to the same publications, podcasts and Youtube channels) as others in my profession, I’ve been able to develop my own style. It’s a style that’s often rough around the edges. It’s unorthodox. It’s certainly not perfect.

It can’t be perfect.

Here’s why.

The moment you’ve written something perfectly aligned with the style-guide, you’re camouflaged among the thousands who strive for that same version of perfection. Lost in an ocean of similar writing.

You’re no longer a voice. You’re an echo.

You’re no longer a signal. You’re a noise.

The way I write is imperfectly my style. And it constantly evolves, as the marketplace does.

Conclusion

You can learn a lot about written communication from the most effective and talented experts on the planet – – by way of non-obvious sources. The work of these genius writers is everywhere.

Seriously.

It’s on cereal boxes. It’s the book titles on the world’s best-selling books. It’s what catches your eye on magazine covers. It’s in movie trailers… it’s everywhere. And the people paid to write that material are among the best paid, most effective writers in the world. They’re really good. And worthy of our attention.

That’s not all.

By pulling from these priceless, non-obvious sources, different sources, you also give yourself the freedom to develop your own style and your own voice. Essential assets if you want your message, your work and your products or services to get the attention they need.

The world’s best are there for you to study and learn from. It’s free. And yours for life.

What an amazing opportunity.

5 Tips to help you build a HUGELY valuable newsletter list

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newsletter lists, list building, email marketing

Here are 5 tips, to help you build a big and valuable newsletter readership or list.

Let’s go.

1. Go easy on the pitches

Make sure it’s a newsletter and not a badly disguised advertisement. Here’s the thing: People avoid advertising. We skip the commercials on TV. We pay developers to remove the ads from the free version of their apps. We see advertisements as unwelcome interruptions.

If your newsletter reads a little too much like a sales pitch, it will be largely ignored. This leads nicely into the next point.

2. Be useful

The more useful your newsletter is, the more your readers will value it and share it. Your ultimate goal is to build a large, targeted reader community, who become either clients, customers or advocates. None of that can be achieved with predictable, pedestrian content.

Useful content is what gives your newsletter legs. It’s what inspires people to subscribe, stay subscribed, share and make purchasing decisions. So, before you hit send on a newsletter, make sure it contains valuable, useful information. Provide answers to your reader’s problems. Share useful tips. Point your readers to helpful resources. You get the idea.

The more value you pack into each newsletter, the more your readers will value it… and the more they will value you. Think about that for a moment.

3. Get the design right

Even if your content is wonderful, people won’t take it seriously if the design looks poor. The first bite is with the eye.

If your newsletter provides valuable information, but the design looks amateurish or outdated, it’s like serving a delicious meal on a dirty plate.

So invest in the best design or newsletter template you can. Because whether your newsletter looks cheap or is presented professionally, it all reflects back on you.

4. Ask readers to share

Even if readers think your newsletter is great, it may not occur to them to share it. People are busy. Really busy. By reminding them, you plant the idea of sharing the newsletter in their mind. Moreover, you do this at the exact point, where they have just read it and enjoyed it. I used to have a section at the bottom of my newsletter, which said:

“If you have found this newsletter interesting, please share it with your friends”.

When I added that short message to my newsletter, the results were immediate and measurable. It’s amazing what a simple reminder can do.

5. Help it spread

Convert people who had your newsletter forwarded to them, into subscribers.

Imagine your friend had just forwarded a great newsletter to you. You’d want to get a regular copy, right? You don’t want to have to rely on your friend, remembering to forward each edition to you. So, I added the following sentence to the above message:

“If you have had this newsletter forwarded to you and would like a regular copy, click here.”

Never underestimate the power of a subtle, non-pushy reminder.

Make no mistake, newsletters can be an extremely powerful marketing asset. It’s why I make my best blog posts available in newsletter format. And it’s why I ask you to take your newsletter seriously and invest in it accordingly. Give it the time and effort it needs. Because the rewards for getting it right are huge. Really, really huge.

The BIG marketing problem that no one talks about

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Marketing silence, feedback marketing

Image: Nick Fewings

You’ve probably heard the old phrase; “Silence is golden“?

Well, that’s not the case when it comes to the marketing of your business. In today’s post, I’ll show you how silence can have a devastating effect on your results, plus how to avoid it from happening to you.

I was in a coffee shop once, when a guy with a very obvious hairpiece came in. He had natural, thick brown hair around his ears, with a jet black hairpiece on top. Of course, no one mentioned it to him. People just smirked when he wasn’t looking. Whether this guy needed the hairpiece for vanity or medical reasons, it’s entirely possible he has no idea that it’s so poorly matched to his natural hair.

A very similar kind of silence happens regularly in business. And when it does, it costs you a fortune.

Allow me to expand on that.

  • We check out the social media accounts of a potential vendor. We notice their updates are mostly just a series of sales pitches or automated quotes from famous people. We don’t tell them their social media activity is so dull that we leave in seconds. We silently move on.
  • We go to a website to check out a potential service provider. We then see that their site looks amateurish and decide not to consider them. We don’t email them to let them know their site created such a bad impression. We silently move on.
  • We start reading a poorly-written piece of marketing and quickly discard it. We don’t call the company and tell them their content is losing them business. We silently move on.

Faced with all this silence, how do you figure out if what you’re doing is working for you?

You ‘listen’ to what your results are saying. That’s where the most accurate signal is.

Don’t wait for someone to tell you your marketing sucks. Because they won’t. Your friends don’t want to upset you. Your competitors don’t want you to become a threat. And strangers don’t give a rat’s ass.

In short, the silence of your marketplace is easy to miss. If things are too quiet, for too long, take action.

Does your marketing look needy? Find out now

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marketing, needy, pushy

Image: Alexis Fauvet

No one wants their marketing to be seen as pushy or needy. It turns people away and hurts their brand. Why then are we constantly bombarded by that exact kind of marketing?

The answer is that it almost always happens by accident! In this post, I’ll explain why, PLUS I’ll show you how to avoid making the same mistake.

Marketing messages fall into one of the following broad groups.

  1. Pushy: I want you to buy my stuff. And I want you to buy it now.
  2. Helpful: You have a problem, and my product or service can solve it for you. This is how it works.

Here’s the challenge

Lots of great business owners who are in that second group, accidentally market their services, as if they were in the first group.

In other words, their marketing looks needy or self-serving, but that’s NOT what they are like! They’re great people. Dedicated, hard-working professionals and they genuinely want to help you.

So, why does this costly confusion happen?

Here are the 2 main reasons I have identified, plus how to avoid this from happening to you.

Misunderstood passion

When you’re eager to serve your marketplace, your passion can easily be mistaken as needy. You’re ready, willing and extremely capable. However, because you really want to help, because you really want to make a difference, your motivated message can wrongly appear to be self-serving. Maybe even desperate.

The irony in this scenario, is that the same passion that prospective clients value so much, is now actively working against you.

The way to avoid this from happening, is to be very intentional regarding your marketing messages.

Go through your marketing. But read it from the perspective of your marketplace. Think about the words you use. Make sure that everything is “them focussed”.

Tip: I give 2 examples here, which explain exactly what I mean.

Copying the wrong approach

Many, (perhaps most) small and medium-sized business owners use the wrong marketing strategy and tactics for their industry. This example from one of my readers gives you a powerful insight into how devastating it can be. It demonstrates why you need to be really careful about the tactics you use. It also shows you the specific, and common, errors that were losing her a fortune. I strongly recommend you read it.

There’s no shortage of marketing tips and advice out there. As you’d expect, the quality ranges from rock solid, to average, to toxic. And even when the advice is rock solid, it needs to be in harmony with your industry, your reputation and your business development goals.

I hope you find those ideas useful. More importantly, I hope you do something with them.

The pandemic: Why your marketing needs to change

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pandemic, marketing tip

Obviously, the marketplace you serve has changed during the coronavirus pandemic.

So in today’s post, I want to help you successfully adapt to these changes, so your business absolutely thrives.

Let’s go.

Ask most business owners how they’ve adapted to the pandemic, you’ll hear very similar replies. They’ll tell you they’ve switched as much of their business online as possible. If they’re in hospitality, leisure, offline retail, construction, etc, they’ll tell you about social distancing measures, too.

Whilst those are important considerations, they’re missing a HUGE part of the picture. And it could lose them a fortune.

I don’t want that to happen to you.

Feelings

The big brands have a very different and more effective focus. Agile owners of small and medium-sized businesses do too.

Their focus is on the dramatic change, in the way their clients and prospective clients are FEELING during these most difficult of times. As feelings are what drive decisions (and sales) far more than logic, this is something you need to be aware of. And focused on.

With that in mind, think for a moment about your clients and prospective clients. Consider how they have been impacted by the pandemic. Now ask yourself, how has the past 13 months changed things like:

  • The way they feel about their immediate and long-term future?
  • The way they feel about money?
  • The way they feel about credit, debt, investments?
  • The way they feel about the people in their lives?
  • The way they feel about risk?
  • The way they feel about the value of their time?
  • The way they feel about their health?
  • The way they feel about travelling?
  • The way they feel about donating to causes?
  • The way they feel about long-term results?
  • The way they feel about short-term results?
  • The way they feel about various types of loss?

Take a moment to think about the current focus of your marketing. Include things like your messaging, promises, guarantees, benefits, deals and payment options, etc.

Then ask yourself the following question.

Is it speaking to the need and wants of your pre-pandemic marketplace or their ACTUAL, current needs and wants?

Because if you’re using your pre-pandemic marketing strategy, (with Zoom calls and social distancing bolted on), your agile competitors could suddenly sound a lot more attractive.

However, by aligning your marketing with the way your clients and future clients now feel, you cut through the noise. Your messaging will strike the right chord. Your words will be more compelling.

And your products or services will sound a great deal more relevant to their exact needs. That’s marketing gold dust, right there.

The customer is not always right

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marketing blog

That old saying, that the customer is always right, is bogus. Worse still, if you believe the customer or client is always right, it will damage your business.

Allow me to explain!

That saying still persists, because fearful service providers are scared that if they say the customer is wrong, they might take their custom elsewhere. So, generations of business owners have worked under the erroneous belief that they should simply agree with their clients all the time.

That’s a really bad idea 

It fails the client and it fails you. Here are a few examples.

  • Designers end up producing ugly work, because the client made terrible design demands. The client is left with low quality design, which won’t work for them. The designer will never get to work with that client again.
  • Copywriters end up writing junk, because the client demanded uninformed changes. So, instead of a professional piece, the client gets something amateurish that they could have written themselves. The copy fails to work. The client ends up unhappy. The copywriter is never hired again.
  • Coaches and mentors end up delivering a poor quality service, because the allow misguided clients to dictate what happens. The client then ends up hearing what they want to hear, rather than what they need to hear in order to succeed. It fails the client. And the provider is never hired again.

No, I’m not suggesting you argue with your clients. That’s a terrible idea and extremely unprofessional.

I am suggesting you need to guide your clients.

As a professional, it’s your job to help clients make the right decisions, so they get the very best results. That means providing the client with your informed, expert guidance. It means steering them away from mistakes. It means responding with advice and ideas, which lead to a successful project and a delighted client.

In short, your clients deserve your very best work. Agreeing with a client, when you know they are making damaging mistakes, doesn’t help them and it doesn’t help you. So give your clients your very best. That’s what they pay you for. That’s what they deserve.

And you cannot, on any level, afford to give them anything less.