Copywriting Archives | Page 3 of 45

This is your main competitor. And here’s how to deal with it!

April 3, 2018 by Jim Connolly

I’d like to introduce you to your main competitor. And it’s almost certainly not the competitor you’re thinking of.

Whilst there are a few (very few) exceptions, your main competitor is not an alternative brand, vendor or service provider.

Your main competitor is apathy: The decision by your prospective clients to do nothing. To stay as they are. To avoid the potential risk, hassle and stress of switching from their current provider.

Here’s why this matters to you

Most small business marketing completely fails to address this. They focus on reasons to hire them or buy from them, without even addressing the huge leap of faith required by a new client. This is especially the case for service providers and those selling high ticket goods.

My friend, you need to be smarter than that.

Explain just how frictionless it is to switch to you from their current provider.
Tell them that for their total peace of mind, you’ll handle the whole on-boarding process.
Give them assurances.
Provide testimonials from people, who found it easy to hire you or buy from you.

Then make this a key focus of your marketing and also your conversations with prospective clients.

Another type of apathy

Of course, apathy isn’t only a challenge when it comes to switching providers.

For example, many people who hire me have never had expert marketing help before. So, they’re not switching to me from another provider. They hire me, rather than rely on DIY marketing and lousy results. They switch from apathy (with the status quo) to action.

And it’s still vitally important to make that switch from apathy as frictionless as possible. Otherwise, the fear, risk or doubt that’s held them back will carry on doing so.

Tip: Whenever I speak with a prospective client, I make sure they know that I look after them, personally, every step of the way. I call this partnering with my clients. It gives them great peace of mind. And that makes the decision to hire me massively easier for them. You should do something similar for your prospective clients or customers.

And finally

Never wait for a prospective client to tell you they have doubts, before you address the subject. By that point, a barrier to doing business with you will have already been created. And you’ll find yourself facing an unnecessary uphill challenge. Ouch!

Instead, take the initiative. Give them the peace of mind they need. Let them know there are no barriers to hiring you or buying from you. Get this right and you will have overcome your main competitor. Apathy.

Plus, you’ll have created a major marketing advantage over competing providers, who are failing to address apathy correctly with their marketing.

Bring me your problems

March 29, 2018 by Jim Connolly

Bring me your problems: There’s real power in those 4 words.

Why?

Because everyone has problems. And nobody wants them. That includes your prospective clients. What they want (and need) are answers. They want to get unstuck. They want to free themselves from frustration. And this is extremely important to them.

In short, your prospective clients are highly motivated to get their problems solved.

Okay. I need you to hold that thought for a moment.

Now let’s look at the service you provide

Your service is the answer to a problem. Or a series of problems. How do I know this? Simple: Every service provider is a problem solver.

So, I’d like you to answer a question: When was the last time you asked people to bring you their problems?

Sure, every service provider markets the services they provide. They have them listed on their websites, they mention them when they speak with prospective clients, they may even mention them in a newsletter, blog, vlog, podcast or on social networks, etc.

But that wasn’t what I was asking.

My question was a lot more literal than that. So, in very literal terms, when was the last time you used these four words [bring me your problems] in your marketing?

Bring me your problems is a powerful, direct request. It bypasses all the hoopla. It cuts to the chase. This is especially the case when it features prominently, in the right place.

Here’s how it works

It looks a lot like this.

Your prospective client has a problem.
She finds your website (or any of your marketing assets).
She can see that the services you provide are related to her problem.
She then sees a direct request, to bring you her problems.
Boom!

No one said that powerful marketing needed to be complicated.

Oh, and if you found this useful, feel free to share it with your friends.

That time a spammer wanted to point lasers into my eyes

March 26, 2018 by Jim Connolly

Did you know that your marketing can fail, even before people read what you have to say?

Well, it’s true. And it happens all the time. Here’s an example of what I mean.

Spammers pointing lasers into my eyes!

I was prompted to share this with you, after I received a spam email. It was from a company that wants to sell me laser eye surgery. They even offered me a discount.

Let’s unpack that for a moment:

They assumed I’d be happy to place my eyesight in the hands of spammers. They thought I’d be perfectly okay, about some spammer pointing lasers into my eyes.

And they were wrong.

What your content marketing says about you

Here’s the thing:

That laser surgery company may use only the most highly trained laser surgeons.
They might have the best possible equipment.
They could have outsourced their marketing to an agency and been unaware their message was being used to spam people.
And they may well be like many small business owners, and think that it’s only spam when someone else is doing it.

Of course, none of that matters. Because when we’re spammed by a company, all we know for 100% certain, is that they’re spamming us. And spammers are considered to be annoying, desperate and unprofessional.

That’s a bad look for any business.

Be careful how you deliver your marketing

The way you market your business is part of your story. It shows your marketplace how professional you are. It shows them what you believe to be acceptable. It shows them what your business standards are. And it shows them where they should position you, among your competitors. All of that takes place before they even see (watch or hear) the content of your marketing message.

The lesson here is simple. Great marketing, delivered poorly, is like a delicious meal served on a dirty plate. It turns people away, regardless of how amazing the content might have been.

They lied to you! You need style over substance

March 21, 2018 by Jim Connolly

The following statement will sound counter-intuitive. That’s because you’ve been lied to for years. Okay. Here goes.

In marketing, there’s a case for style over substance.

It’s a strong case, too.

Just think about this for a moment:

The top political commentators get paid a ton of money, to deliver their take on the news for major networks.
The also-rans get paid peanuts, to deliver their take on the news, for small, local networks.

Here’s the thing. In both cases, the news (substance) they comment on is the same. Here’s why one of them is earning 10 times or 50 times more than the other. It’s their style. The style with which they work.

For example:

Their courage, when choosing to take (or avoid) a controversial stance.
Their vocabulary.
Their energy.
Their ability to communicate with confidence.
Their effectiveness when injecting their personality (style) into their work, so that it’s truly theirs.

Here’s my point. When it comes to business, the substance should be there by default. Every qualified accountant, lawyer, web designer, whatever… knows what their service (substance) is and how it works. It’s their style that makes all the difference. It’s their style that sets them apart from the crowd.

Style over substance in marketing

The newsletters, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, Facebook groups, Medium publishers, etc., that people take notice of, all have their own style. The same is true of the most successful email marketing, advertising, marketing campaigns and copywriting.

And the ones that fail to grow, fail to get noticed, fail to make an impact… well… they don’t.

Instead, they follow the cookie-cutter approach to content marketing. They bought into the lie. The lie that says, “You can automate everything. Just do things this way and it works. Follow the steps. 1-2-3”.

That’s bull-crap.

It doesn’t work. In fact, it can’t possibly work. Because your style can’t be found in a book.

You can certainly learn substance that way. However, your style, the very thing that gets you noticed, by default, can’t possibly be learned from an online course, a book, seminar, webinar or any other generalized form of information.

Why?

Because your style is all about you.

Where are you right now?

Okay, I already know that you totally understand your subject. So the substance is there. It’s taken care of. That’s covered. You’re good.

But what about the style?

When it comes to your marketing, when it comes to the story behind your service, are you telling it from your perspective? Are you sharing the substance of your knowledge, using your voice, your stories and your experiences? Because it’s your style that people connect with.

It’s your style that sets you apart.
It’s your style that causes people to return for more.
It’s your style that makes you approachable.
It’s your style that gives you a voice.
It’s your style that inspires people to share your message.
It’s your style that gives value to your substance.
It’s your style that motivates people to hire you or buy from you, rather than a cheaper alternative.

And none of that can be robotized. Or automated. Because it’s you. It’s your authentic experience. It’s your greatest marketing asset. In fact, with so many competitors out there, with so many people trying to get the attention of your prospective clients, your style is the most powerful tool in your arsenal. By far.

So give your style the oxygen it needs.

Tip: I work with business owners every day on how to get this right, based on their unique situation and what they want to achieve. If you’re tired of being ignored, read this and get in touch.

Give your best advice away for free. Here’s why

March 15, 2018 by Jim Connolly

What I’m about to share with you may sound a little counter-intuitive. It isn’t. In fact, it could help you achieve breakthrough marketing results.

Allow me to explain.

I come across the following problem a lot. Mainly from service providers, who are struggling to attract new clients with their content marketing. Their primary concern looks something like this:

I know I need to provide good, free advice via my content. Surely if I give my best ideas away for free, no one will pay to hire me.

I’ve already explained why you should be stingy with your time, but not your ideas. However, there’s another, excellent reason why you should provide outstanding, free advice.

And it’s this…

Think for a moment about the alternative. Imagine you publish a newsletter, videos, a blog or a podcast. Now let’s also imagine that instead of sharing great advice, you share weaker information. Average free stuff. Nothing special. Nothing that really stands out.

Guess what?

You’ve just given your marketplace a weak, low-impact insight into your work. You’ve painted a lousy picture of how good you are. So, not only will people be highly unlikely to hire you, they’ll also be unlikely to share your newsletters, videos, podcasts, blog posts or subscribe to you. That’s a huge lose, lose. (Actually, that’s wrong; it’s a lose, lose, lose, because you’ll also be damaging your reputation as a knowledgeable professional. Ouch!)

Here’s what really happens when you give great free advice

Yes, freebie hunters will certainly gobble up all your free advice. But that doesn’t lose you a penny. Why? Because they were never going to hire you anyway. Freebie hunters are the dabblers. The DIYers. So, they were never a prospective client. (Tip, read this: Don’t let greedy amateurs get you down).

Yes, a subset of genuine prospective clients who take your free advice will do (whatever) themselves. Of course, if they find your ideas so powerful that they actually use them, they’re highly likely to subscribe to you and share your work. That’s how every successful resource spreads. Also, I know from experience that many of them will later hire you.

However… there’s also a hefty subset of prospective clients who will find your high quality advice extremely valuable. Now, this subset of prospective clients are the ones who value their time. They love the peace-of-mind that comes from getting expert help. They value professionalism.

These prospective clients will hire you, so you can do the job properly for them. And yes, they’ll also share your newsletters, videos, podcasts, blog posts and subscribe to you.

How do I know for 100% certain that this works?

Simple: It’s how I grew my business!

It’s why I get enquiries from prospective clients, multiple times, all day long, every day. And if it works for me, it can work for you too. Just make sure to offer as much value as you can, as often as you can. Hold nothing back.

P.S. Here’s that article I mentioned earlier. It’s well worth a read: Be stingy with your time, but not your ideas.