Stellar Copywriting

Editing (aka copyediting) is definitely the letter “E” in my ABC’s of Marketing Communication. I’ve written about this before, so it’s no surprise how important I think it is. But why is it so important? Well, let’s look at a scenario outside of the world of copywriting to help put it into perspective.

Consider going to a restaurant for the first time. You walk in, and the ambiance is wonderful, the hostess is friendly, the aroma is enticing. When seated at your table, however, you notice crumbs lingering from the previous diners. Then you wait what seems like an eternity for your server to arrive. Although you consider leaving, your server shows up, and thankfully she’s perfectly pleasant. So your hopes are renewed, especially after you see the menu. Mmm mmm. The wine list is also fantastic. You choose your favorite Sauvignon Blanc, yet when your server returns with an only slightly chilled white wine, she fumbles with the corkscrew and drips a little too much on the table. Your appetizer soon arrives and is delicious. But when your entrée is served, it’s quite tasty, though cold from obviously sitting too long. And you had to ask for water refills all night. So while the restaurant had a lot of promise and a few high points, it just didn’t hit the mark. Maybe you should have left after all. You certainly won’t be back.

What does this scenario have to do with your marketing communication? Copyediting? Simply put, if your prospects have to look past several errors and other issues in your content they may not bother to take the time or clear the budget to find out just how great your product or service really is. Or if they happen to give you a chance yet the lack of attention to detail continues, they could be “one-and-done” with you. After all, if you don’t pay attention to the details of your own company, why should your customers think you will treat their business any differently?

The good news is that editing can and will help you focus on the details of your marketing communication. Before signing off with the printer or pushing the publish button on your website or blog, go over your marketing content and ask several questions.

Question 1: Could your copywriting be tweaked to read more easily? Take this example I recently found online:

Promo: If you have a coupon for a discount. The above price is without discount. You will enter your coupon during the checkout process.

Sure, you get what they’re trying to communicate. But it isn’t as easily understood or clear as it could be. Instead, how about:

Promo: The above price reflects no discount. If you have a coupon or promo code, please enter it at checkout.

Question 2: Are your facts and figures correct?  Missing an error or inaccuracy is very easy to do when you’ve looked at a piece of writing many times. Yet the result can be costly. For example, maybe you only meant to offer a 15% discount and not a 25% discount. Or if you’ve been in business since 1935 but inadvertently typed in 1995, your company may have take a 60-year hit on longevity, trust and tradition.

Question 3: Did you rely on spell-check? It’s certainly not foolproof and can lead to errors that can be embarrassing. Take the business that requests help stocking its food panty for the holidays. Now, I’m sure the less fortunate could sometimes use some new panties, but I’m guessing a well-stocked food pantry would be more helpful. (Yep, that’s a true story.)

Some other copyediting questions to consider: Did you use a lot of industry jargon that your readers may not understand? Could you have used a numeral or symbol to help a particular part of your message stand out? Are your headlines and calls to action compelling?

One other word of caution: don’t depend on a stunning “look” to get you by because your graphic design is only going to get you so far. Yes, your marketing must look good -- it’s going to catch a prospect’s eye and build/maintain your credibility. That’s only one aspect of the communication process, though. Remember why you’re creating the brochure, website or newsletter (or whatever piece) in the first place - to communicate! – and make sure to invest just as much time into your content so you can achieve the results you’re looking for. And part of that investment must be copyediting. Yes, it can be a major undertaking, but many times it’s the small changes that make a big difference.

Now it’s your turn to weigh in. Is editing an issue with your company or organization? Do you invest as much time as you would like to on making sure the details are covered in your copywriting? If you don’t spend much time on editing, why not? Has editing – or a lack of editing – had an effect on your business in some way? What’s your take?

Happy holidays! Finally, here is my next installment of the ABC’s of Marketing Communication. (If you missed A/B or C, take a peek back.) We’re already almost to mid-school year – my inspiration for this particular blog series. I didn’t anticipate it taking nearly this long, but hey…. Kindergarten is 4 whole quarters.

So, for the letter “D” I originally planned on writing about the role of design (as in graphic or creative design) in business communication. Maybe I’ll actually get to that one day, but something recently happened with one of my clients that changed my mind for this post. We were wrapping up a copywriting project and she said she had a new one for me…. a letter. But she had recorded her thoughts on her phone and wanted to know if I was okay with her sending me the audio file and writing the letter from it. A sort of dictation, if you will. Now, a couple of stereotypes come to mind when I think of dictation. First is a bleary-eyed doctor sitting in his pitch-black office beside the glow of a single desk lamp and speaking into his trusty hand-held recorder about his patients. Second is a polyester-clad businessman rattling off thoughts at a mile-a-minute to his cowering yet frantic secretary in some old-school sitcom.

Neither of these stereotypes, I’d never worked with a client through dictation before. But I was certainly willing. And it worked out beautifully. That got me to thinking… maybe verbally dictating thoughts, points and information would be easier, less daunting and much quicker for non-writers to communicate what they want and need from their copywriters. I can’t tell you how many times the process has come to a complete halt when I suggest that a client jot down some notes on what they want. It’s because, as I eventually realized, while writing comes easily to me, it doesn’t to everyone (shocker, I know...) – even if it’s just an outline. Instead, I frequently rely on interviewing my clients and making my own notes. But this dictation thing could definitely be another option. See, in the case of my client, she had given me a verbal outline, which gave me a loose idea of what she was looking for but also allowed me to use my writing experience and skills to craft an effective final letter. So, if you’re a natural talker instead of a natural writer, the pressure is now off. Just download some audio recording software (like Audacity) to your computer, and you’re off and running. Or, with the right kind of cell phone or a digital voice recorder, you can get your thoughts out while you walk your dog, on your way to work, while eating lunch in the park or, still, just at your desk.

The more I think about dictating your marketing communication, the more I like it. It really fits in with my goal to free clients’ time up to do other parts of their jobs… those parts that can’t be outsourced. Maybe even those things they actually like to do.

What about you? Would it be helpful for you to dictate to your copywriter what you want to communicate in a letter, brochure, article, landing page or press release?  Please comment on this post to let me know. I’d love to hear how this could work or has already worked for you.

Do apostrophes stump you when you're tackling your company's latest copywriting project? Well, I found this apostrophe.me link today about How to Use an Apostrophe and just love it! I'm actually thinking about buying that poster and displaying (proudly) it in my office. HA!

What do you think? Will this help you next time?

I get inspiration for this copywriting blog of mine from the strangest places sometimes…

Last Friday I took a little time off to celebrate a friend’s birthday at EPCOT’s Food & Wine Fest. Affectionately known as “Billtoberween,” it was a great day of eating and drinking with friends. We’ve done this for a few years now, so there are a couple of traditions that would leave me feeling immensely unfulfilled if not continued. The first is having beer or some other alcoholic libation spilled on me. This year I was especially lucky (add sarcasm here) because I actually lost count on how many spills my poor feet took. Sigh….

The second is getting a henna tattoo in Morocco. This is something that I really do enjoy because I’m just not a permanent tattoo kinda girl. I envy people who can take the plunge, but all I can think about is looking at a wrinkled butterfly when I’m 80 and wondering what the heck I was thinking when I got it permanently etched into my skin. And don’t get me started on the potential for mistakes. Just take a look at Bad Tattoos too see the kind of permanent catastrophes people have endured.

But with henna, the nice Moroccan lady uses her spiffy squeeze bottle (uber traditional, I’m sure) to create her work of art, spritzes it with glitter and adds a dab of lemon juice. Then voila! I’m in for a couple of weeks (or less) of curious awe from my daughters and minor intrigue from others before I’m thrilled to see it wash away. See? I don’t do permanent ink.

So once again I’ll ask, what in the world does this have to do with your copywriting? Well, while your copy will rarely have the permanence of a tattoo, some mistakes or oversights could still mean quite a long time of regret. Like if there was an error on a discount you offered or an oversight in your restrictions… will it be detrimental to your bottom line if you honor it? Will it affect your brand or customer loyalty if you don’t?

Consider a printed piece (like a corporate brochure or an ad in an annual publication) that has an embarrassing misspelling, overly technical language that your audience doesn’t understand, or crucial error in your product specs. With the brochure, you could re-print it. But how much of your budget will go to waste? And the ad? It’s there for a long time and there’s not a thing you can do about it.

The web and digital media, though, offer 2 extremes to this situation. On one hand, it’s usually pretty easy to make changes to your website, emails, landing pages, etc. But with the grand scope these avenues offer, consider how many people may have already seen your message before you actually make the change(s). On the other hand, there are some instances on the web where your message is forever, just like that cute “Sweet Pee” tattoo you meant to say “Sweet Pea.” A prime example is some press release distribution sites. Once submitted, they may not let you make changes to your release. Ever.

So, what do you do with these little snafus? Don’t learn the hard way. Don’t get that tattoo only to figure out that it’s not what you want or need it to be when it’s too late. Check, double check and triple check all your marketing content before you approve it. And get extra, trained eyes on whatever it is you’re working on. Trust me, once you’ve seen something enough, you won’t catch errors. Maybe think of all those revisions as your henna tattoos. Nothing permanent…no harm, no foul.

As for mine? The traditional 3-ring binder I flipped through said it means “hope.” Okay, well here’s to hoping it’s just a nice memory really soon.

Last post I started talking about the first couple of marketing communications basics with letters "A" and "B." Let’s keep it going with "C":

Copywriting
Here’s another true basic like advertising. But sometimes, especially for small business owners, the term “copywriting” is misleading. When it is misunderstood, probably the No. 1 response I get is “Oh, I have been wanting to copyright my (fill in the blank here). You can help me with that?” Ehhhh, no.

Technically speaking, according to Wikipedia, copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. In my words, copy (as it’s commonly called) is the writing used for your business communications, including brochures , ads, articles, newsletters, websites and more. (Check out my portfolio to see some of my copywriting work.) In other words, copywriting is your marketing communications.

But writing is writing….right? Again…ehhhh, no. In your business writing, consider whom you’re writing for, and in which medium.

You’re not writing for you. What you care about or think is important (maybe… your widget’s new technology, the bottom line, projected sales, number of conversions, etc.) likely isn’t at all what your audience cares about or thinks is important (benefits, solutions, etc.). Even writing about the same subject matter will differ depending on for whom you’re writing. So say your company is launching a new product. Your sales staff would need all the details, while your suppliers would want to know how it’s going to change how they do business with you, while your customers would want to know how it will help them. Different audiences equal different content, and none of the audiences is you.

In addition to audience, consider the medium in which you’re writing and create content accordingly.  Yes, you can and should have an overall “voice” that reflects your brand throughout all your marketing efforts. But the content shouldn’t be exactly the same from piece-to-piece or place-to-place. Just think about it. You’re passing out a tri-fold brochure at a trade show. It piques the interest of your prospects, so they go looking for more at your website and…. it’s the same copy, word-for-word, from your brochure. Uh oh, you probably lost them because you didn’t give them more. This is not to mention that your website really should be written with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind, while SEO wouldn’t at all be a consideration for a printed piece. Copy for most mediums should be written differently to serve different purposes. So, a letter should be written differently than a more casual blog post than an email than a traditional press release than a direct-to-consumer press release.

And overall, clean it up! Your grammar and spelling, that is. I recently got an e-newsletter that read “…asses the damage…” Um, did you mean assess? I also received a request to help an organization restock its food panty. Hmmm, sounds like the poor food pantry is really going to miss out on a good time. Cleaning up errors like these says you care enough about your business and audience to take those extra couple of steps to make it right. After all, if you don’t pay attention to details like this, how do people know the same isn’t the case for your product or service? So don’t rely on spell check. Make sure to run everything past someone with a keen eye for these things. You could even hire someone to edit for you. Copywriters often offer copyediting (there’s another “c” word!) as a service in addition to writing content from scratch (and some of us love it!).

So what about a copyright? That’s legal mumbo-jumbo having to do with intellectual property and exclusive rights. Trust me, you’ll want to leave that to your attorneys and not me or likely any other professional copywriter.

Let’s stay on the “C” theme with….

Content
There’s that word I used a lot in the previous paragraphs. It’s easy enough to guess that content is another way of saying copy. I’ll refer to Wikipedia again with content is “… information and experiences that may provide value for an end-user/audience…” But it’s also much more than just words or information. Think about the popular real estate mantra of location, location, location. Well, in today’s marketing climate the mantra is content, content, content. Yes, it’s that important.

Sure you’ve used your corporate content before to inform customers and prospects. But creating and disseminating more and better content is even more crucial these days in order to also connect with your customers and prospects. And it’s easier than ever before to spread your message with the Internet and many social media tools out there like Twitter and Facebook. (That’s why when you hear the term “content” it’s often associated with web content. Although, I believe it can apply to any content you create.) It has to be great, though. And honest and engaging and meaningful. The result is you’ll make an impression on those you’re trying to communicate with while at the same time establishing yourself as a true expert in your industry. And you can easily see what will come next.

So, what’s your “C” in the “alphabet” of marketing communications?? Feel free to add your comments. D and E are coming soon!!