Professional development Archives - Page 2 of 78

How to get lifelong, free access to the world’s top marketing writers

Yes, you read the title of today’s post correctly. It’s not a play on words. 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.

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.

I’ve had enough!

Written by Jim Connolly

Image: Suzi Kim.

“I’ve had enough”. There’s real power in those 3 words.

Think about it.

We say “I’ve had enough” when we’ve reached a tipping point. When we’re no longer prepared to allow a bad situation to persist. When more of the same is simply not an option any more. When we know it’s time for action.

I’ve had enough: The change agent

“I’ve had enough” is also the precursor of all meaningful, lasting improvement. It’s what every business owner who turned their fortunes around said, just before they shifted gears and did what was required.

I was prompted to write this, when I noticed that three of my five most recent clients used those words, somewhere in their initial email to me. One even used it in the subject line. “Jim, I’ve had enough”.

Interestingly, in each of those three examples, it was a different issue that motivated them to take action. One said she’d had enough of the famine and feast cycle. Another said he’d had enough of making a living and wanted to make a fortune. And the guy who used it in the subject line, said he’d had enough of waiting for things to improve.

Those are different motivations (at least on a surface level). Different personalities, ages, locations and industries. But unified by a desire for something spectacularly better. United in the belief that more of the same is no longer an option for them.

Often when things are not going the way we want, and we feel that we’ve had enough, we try to improve how we feel about the problem, rather than fix the problem. Some use positive self-talk. Others keep telling themselves that things will surely turn around next month or next quarter.

Ultimately, we do ourselves a great disservice when we seek to silence the alarm.

Silencing the alarm doesn’t fix anything.

Instead, we need to accept the often painful truth, which causes us to say “I’ve had enough”. It’s only then, that our motivation is given the space and freedom it needs, to generate the desire required to take action and put things right.

A selfish request from a stranger

Written by Jim Connolly

I receive important marketing emails every day. I know you do, too. Of course, none of these marketing messages are important to us.

They are not even of interest to us.

The vast majority are not even relevant to us.

They are only important to the people sending them.

I’m referring to the special offers that aren’t even remotely special. The poorly targeted offers, which are totally irrelevant to you and your needs. And the outright spam from strangers.

Whilst sending unwanted information via email requires a very small publishing investment, the cost to the sender’s reputation is far higher.

An unsustainable, short-sighted approach

There’s a limit to the number of times a business can pester their prospective customers, before it hurts the business commercially.

For example, if enough of their marketplace consider them pests, their reputation will take a damaging hit. That’s really bad for business. If enough people block their email addresses or report the emails as spam, the sender will find their emails start getting stuck in junk email filters, including legitimately important emails.

An effective and proven way forward

We know from the ongoing, outstanding results enjoyed by successful businesses, that there is a far better alternative.

It’s simply this: We should wait until we have something to say, which is worth listening to. Then share it with people who have given us permission to contact them. People who are interested. People who will have a potential requirement. The kind of people we had in mind, when we decided to offer the product or service in the first place.

Pestering people with unwanted email is cheap (in every sense of the word), easy and only takes a matter of minutes. However, an interesting message, sent to people who want to hear from us, is vastly more effective than a selfish request from a stranger.

How to be lucky in business. Plus 4 other nuggets

Written by Jim Connolly

If you hear yourself wishing for better luck, remind yourself that what you really need, is a better strategy.
It’s getting harder and harder to sell average stuff, now that everyone has a social media megaphone.
- The best providers get their message amplified in public.
- The average providers get their message minified in public.
- Below average providers get their message vilified in public.
A business succeeds when there’s congruence between what the business owner wants… and what the business owner does. Failing to provide a business with what it needs, is like refusing to water your plants. Only a lot more expensive.
Everything your business does is marketing. Yes, everything.
Never complain about the economy or other outside factors. Adapt. Adjust. Put your success in your own hands.

Now go and make it a great day, my friend.

Why I don’t bother with Linkedin, Facebook, Youtube or podcasts etc

Written by Jim Connolly

Image: Dima Davi

Unless you’re one of my newsletter subscribers, you won’t know that Jim’s Marketing Blog is entering its 14th year this week. You also won’t know that I have committed to writing it for at least the next 5 years, God willing.

That’s NOT what this post is about!

However, that newsletter did prompt some subscribers to mention something, which you might find useful. They wanted to know how I’ve managed to very regularly update a blog and newsletter for so long.

More importantly, my answer will shine a light on how you can do something similar. If you want to.

I really don’t do much

Sadly, I don’t have some kind of productivity super power. No. It’s a lot less impressive than that.

You see, my ‘secret’ is all about how LITTLE I do.

I don’t have a Youtube channel.
I don’t have a podcast.
I don’t have a Facebook Page.
I don’t have a Facebook group, either.
I don’t have a Linkedin account.
I don’t have a TikTok account.
I don’t write books.
I don’t give many interviews.
I don’t have a business account on Instagram, Snapchat or Clubhouse either.

Lots of people in my profession do all or most of the things on that list. And I bet they produce at least as much information across those platforms as I produce for my blog / newsletter.

They go wide. I go narrow

Let me flesh that out a little.

Having been involved in social media marketing since its inception, I’ve seen (again and again) how easy it is to lose your account, and audience, on any platform you don’t own. And if a platform ceases to be popular, you can also lose your audience, or most of it, when they move to the next new, shiny thing. Plus, it’s extremely hard to create a significant marketing impact, or foster deep engagement across multiple platforms.

That’s why I choose to go narrow. So, I own my blog. I choose where it’s hosted. And I can use any commercial email provider to mail my subscribers.

The benefits of building your own platform are many and varied. I think perhaps the most overlooked, is the incredible focus and clarity it gives you.

With the multi platform approach, different types of ‘content’ work better on one platform and less well on another. You also need to be very careful how often you publish. With your own platform, you publish when you have something useful or interesting to share. That’s it. It’s extremely liberating.

In short, I probably don’t produce content more often than you or anyone else involved in marketing. I just put it in the same place and let it build steadily over time. Eventually, all those little molehills become a mountain (or at least a fairly big hill).

It’s never about the money. Here’s why people really don’t hire you

Written by Jim Connolly

Every single one of your prospective clients or customers has one thing in common. Can you guess what it is? You probably won’t be expecting my answer.

Here it is:

They can all, easily afford your products or services! All of them. Every. Single. One.

Here’s what really stops people buying from you.

You’re attracting enquiries from the wrong people.
You haven’t given them a powerful enough reason to buy from you or hire you.
They don’t trust you enough, so they don’t believe your message.

Let’s look at these 3 challenges in a little more detail. Plus, how to overcome them and make massively more sales.

Let’s go!

1. You’re attracting enquiries from the wrong people

No matter how amazing your products are. No matter how outstanding your services are. You’ll never achieve the results you want, if you’re talking to the wrong people.

Allow me to explain.

Let’s say you provide a premium quality service, which rightly has a premium price tag. If so, you’re wasting your time marketing to the bargain hunters crowd.

Yes, very occasionally you may be able to change someone’s world view. However, you’re far more likely to sell your premium services, if you market to those who already value premium service.

The key phrase here is: Market to the dissatisfied, NOT the disinterested.

In other words, using the above example you’d market your premium service to those who are unhappy with their current situation… and who value a premium service.

It’s never (ever) about the money. It’s always true that your prospective customers can afford your products or services.

And here’s why.

If someone genuinely can’t afford what you offer, they were never a prospective customer in the first place! Think about it. For someone to be a prospective customer, they need to have the ability to pay you.

So, identify who your ideal prospective customer is. Then, make that select group of great people the sole focus of all your marketing. The alternative is to do what most failing business owners do, and try to be all things to all people. That approach can’t work. It will drive you nuts and lose you a fortune.

2. You haven’t given them a powerful enough reason to take action

This one is huge. No. It’s bigger than that!

We need to start here by looking at motivation. The word motivation comes from a fusion of the words: motive and action.

When the motive (or reason) is powerful enough, we take action. By contrast, most small business marketing is weak. It’s generic. It’s predictable. It’s needy. And as you’d expect, it lacks the motivational power that’s essential, to inspire people to make purchasing decisions.

So, why do so many businesses rely on weak marketing that fails to generate the results they need? Having transformed the marketing results of business owners since 1995, here’s what I’ve found. And it’s something I see examples of pretty-much every working day of my life.

It’s the business owner’s attitude to marketing. They’ll happily pay an expert to style their hair, but they’ll willingly risk their financial future with lousy, DIY marketing.

They honestly believe that dabbling with their future is safer, than hiring an expert to do things correctly. They tend not to admit it publicly, because in many cases they don’t admit it to themselves. In conversation, you find that this happens when the business owner still operates and makes decisions, from an employee mindset. They see risk in all the wrong places. Unaware that the riskiest thing a business owner can do, is avoid expert help when it’s clearly needed.

Tip: Read this – I just received a very angry email. And I have to share it with you.

However, this is great news if you want your business to thrive.

Really, Jim? Why?

I’m glad you asked!

It’s because you can massively outperform all (or the vast majority) of your competitors, simply by being professional enough to invest in expert help. It’s the easiest win in business. And your competitors haven’t figured it out (yet).

3. They don’t trust you, so they don’t believe your message

Here’s the thing: For your marketing messages to work, people need to believe them. They need to trust you enough, to accept that what you’re telling them is true.

Sadly, many sales are lost this way, even though the marketing message is completely true and honest. The provider really is as good as they say. Maybe even better then they say in their marketing.

So, why does this happen… and more importantly my friend, what can you do about it?

Trust is lost when there’s a disconnect between.

What the marketing message says.
And how the prospective client feels.

Here are just 2 very common examples, to explain the point.

Promising an expert service, yet charging average fees. Your prospective clients have been told since they were kids, that when something sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. So they don’t believe it. ‘High quality’ and ‘cheap fees’ are opposite ends of the spectrum. Putting them together creates massive doubt in what you’re saying.
Promising a professional service, yet having an amateur image. It’s like a restaurant serving a delicious meal, but on a dirty plate! Low quality logos, DIY branding, poorly designed websites, amateur marketing copy etc, totally destroy trust. And it does so literally (not figuratively) in seconds. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. You lost the sale or client enquiry needlessly. And you won’t even know.

If you notice anything that could cause a stranger to get a negative impression of your business, fix it. And fix it today. It’s that important!

Why?

Because while it’s broken it’s losing you money and opportunities. While it’s broken, the lifeblood of your business is broken. And to ignore it is like ignoring black smoke bellowing from the back of your car, hoping the car will ‘just get better’. When in reality that car will just grind to a halt.

Summing up

Those 3 examples of why people don’t buy from you are easy wins. They’re easy, because with the correct approach, they can easily and quickly be overcome, allowing you to blow the lid off your potential.

What you mustn’t do, is carry on as you are and expect things to ‘just improve’. You’d think that goes without saying, right? Yet time and again, we see small businesses that still face ongoing struggles, years and years after they started.

Here’s just one example, from an email I received.

The guy who wrote to me is in his late 60’s. He’s worked hard all his life. He told me that he’d never made any “real money” and that he kept waiting for things to improve. With some expert help, he could have quit working decades ago and been very comfortable now. However, he explained that he still needs to work in order to pay the bills. It’s heartbreaking, because it’s completely avoidable.

Moving forward

As Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” In business we simply say, “more of the same leads to more of the same”.

If your business is on the right track to get you where we want to be, more of the same is exactly what you need. If you’re frustrated with your progress and want something better, then you need to improve things. And those 3 areas are a pretty good place to start.