Copywriting Fact: Storytelling Works

I got an email today from Tasting Table that began with:

We've all kept secrets from our parents.

Since I'm the mother of two and, well, human, that one sentence caught my attention. Especially since it's a food-related blog... I had to wonder where it was going. Thankfully, that one sentence not only piqued my interest, but it was also the start of a story. And I love a good story. (Read it for yourself here.)

Turns out, pastry chef, Kendall Melton, kept a super delicious cookie recipe from her mother for years, despite repeated inquiries. The same mother who taught her to bake! HA! Sneaky, sneaky...

She's since relinquished the recipe for her Cherry-Chocolate cookies to both her mom... and the world (see the recipe here). And as you may have guessed, I saved it in my trusty Evernote file just for recipes. To be fair, it's not your typical chocolate chip cookie (my all-time favorite!) recipe. The cherry angle is intrigung, to say the least...

But the story behind it sold it for me. Sure, the content itself (or in the case of other types of businesses - service/widget/product specs and features) was great, but it was how it was presented that made a difference. In other words...

Storytelling sells.

Now to get some cherries and dark chocolate chips. Hmmm... I wonder if they'll actually make it into the recipe! :)

Is Your Designer a Plumber Doing an Electrician's Job?

I opened up my email this morning and found this article PR News...

How to Brief an Infographic Designer

Most of the information is good... Know what you want, provide a scenario, trust your designer, etc. But as a copywriter who works with designers, and as the wife of a designer, I find there to be one tip missing. It's a crucial one, and it's way more common in the overall design process than I think is smart:

Provide Your Own Content

In the article, tip #4 - Give as Much Information as Possible - hints at this but still doesn't hit the mark.

"Your designer will need to know exactly what messages you are trying to communicate so they can include them in the design."

This is absolutely true because your designer is - ta da! - a designer. Not a copywriter. I can't tell you how many times a designer has told me they hate writing copy, but they do it because their client doesn't provide them with anything (or much...aka a messy list of bullet points and the like) to work with. Really??

"Don’t be afraid to give a long list of this information—your designer can then pick and choose from the items they think will work in the design."

A long list? No, that won't do. Pick and choose? Not a chance. Whose infographic is it? Yours. Whose business is it? Yours. Who knows your message best? You (or ideally your copywriter), not necessarily your designer. What do you want - and NEED - to communicate with the piece in question? That choice should be yours.

"Remember, your designer may use your exact wording within the design, so make sure everything is worded the way you want it in your brief, too."

May use your exact wording? Um.... they should be using your exact wording. Sure, suggestions are welcome, especially to accommodate the layout constraints. But frankly, I'd bet it will make their job a lot easier and your piece a lot more effective if you provide the exact copy you want included in your brochure, website, sales page or, as the article spoke of, infographic.

My point is, hiring a designer to plan or write your copy is like hiring a plumber to do your electrical work, isn't it? They may know a little about it. They might even be able to slide by. But it's likely not their forte.

Yes, he or she IS the person to lean on to create and maintain your visual brand because it IS the first barrier to engaging with customers and prospects. But your visual appeal is just the beginning. Your WRITTEN brand - those little words featured in that killer design - are what will (or won't) sell your business, service or product.

So here's my suggestion to improving the design process and, in the end, making your marketing communication a lot more effective...

1. Discuss the project with both your designer and copywriter so everyone can get a good initial feel for what the project will and should be.
2. Work on an outline with your copywriter, and provide it to the designer who could then do one of a couple things:

• Wait for the rest of the copy and then work it into the layout. Just know more extensive copy revisions may be necessary if you go this route because the amount of content you provide may be too much (almost never too little) for the most effective design layout.
• Design a shell and give you an idea of how much copy is needed before the copywriting process begins.

 Now you tell me... do you expect your designer to provide your copy? If so, does it work for you? Does your designer want to do it? And designers... how do you prefer to work with clients and their copy? 

Crisis Communication/PR: Why Giving a Damn Pays

Recently in a game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians, Major League Baseball ump Jim Joyce blew a call that cost pitcher Armando Gallaraga a perfect game. Despite the fact that this would have been the 3rd perfect game in the still relatively young 2010 MLB season, such a feat is quite rare... only 20 have been recorded in MLB's 135-year history. 

As an admitted sports junkie, I heard about the error and watched the replays. I also thought, "Hmmm, the sports vultures are gonna come after this guy." And initially they did....many said he should be fired. His family was threatened. The baseball-needs-instant-replay argument continued with even more passion. There was even talk of him not officiating his next scheduled game. So I was surprised to learn all had pretty much been forgiven. But it didn't take long for me to figure out why: Joyce truly regretted the error he made. He was honest and transparent about what happened. He took full blame. He apologized, with no excuse. He shed an authentic tear, wore his heart on his sleeve. He cared. He... gave a damn.

Good for him. No, great for him and all of us who keep waiting for that kind of reaction when someone of stature screws up. Take for instance...

Tiger Woods
I'll admit, I used to love him. I started watching in 1997 when he won his first Masters and was hooked from then on. Of course, it didn't hurt that my husband was a huge fan too. We watched in awe and bought into his brand 1000%. We didn't care that he was relatively arrogant. We didn't care that everything was under his controlled terms. We didn't care that we were all at his whim. It was Tiger... he was a golf god.

Until Thanksgiving 2009... or the day after... when the report came out about him crashing into a tree outside his home at 2am. Now...that's fishy. But we still BELIEVED. Nothing of true substance would come out of it, right? We held on to that holier-than-thou persona - the one that seemingly perpetuated his selfish facade - until he came out and actually admitted he'd committed "transgressions." And yet the very Tiger-esque stonewalling continued. No, I didn't expect a full-on explanation. After all, everyone deserves some privacy, especially when it comes to your marriage. But he's a public figure. AND he's a gigantic brand. Those of us schleps who watch him hit that golf club any time he steps onto a course... we helped elevate him to that stature he used to commit those "transgressions." At some point, in addition to his wife and family, we too deserved some honesty. And no I don't mean I wanted the sordid details. I was looking for contrition. Authenticity. TRUE emotion. But I don't believe that's what we got. Instead we got practiced speeches and canned responses. To be seriously cliche, this Tiger doesn't change his spots.

As a result, I have not forgiven him. I won't buy any more of his merchandise. I don't watch him play. I want him to get booed. I laughed when I heard about the plane flying overhead at the Masters mocking him (although I think they could have come up with something better). I don't care that he's (maybe) still a golf god... I don't want to support someone I don't like as a person. So the Tiger Woods debacle equals a huge PR FAIL for me.

Now, on a non-sports but much more serious topic is the recent BP Oil disaster and...

BP CEO Tony Hayward 
Okay so as a Florida resident who lives 10 minutes away from the Gulf beaches, the millions of gallons of oil that have spewed into our ocean hit especially close to home for me. But as if the loss of lives, livelihoods, environment and so much more isn't bad enough, we have to listen to Mr. Hayward himself spew comments such as:

"There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I'd like my life back."
and
"the Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume." 

Where does one even begin with explaining the disastrous statements coming out of Hayward's mouth? It's a true disaster almost as big as the one his company created in the Gulf. The point for this blog post, however, is is that not only is there no end in sight to this sickening situation, but with Hayward's seemingly complete lack of concern for anyone but himself or his company's precious bottom line he has not a prayer of earning anyone's sympathy or forgiveness.

My point in all this?
Sure, everyone makes mistakes...no one is perfect. But it's how you respond to the mistakes that makes the difference (well, that and the size of the infraction... but that's a topic for another time). So if you or your company find yourself in a public relations crisis, forget the examples set by those who control everything, pay countless amounts of money for out-of-date practices or are simply too selfish to have concern for others. No, take a lesson from Jim Joyce. Try a little contrition. Genuinely CARE. Like I said before... give a damn. And you'll climb out of the crisis - maybe not unscathed - but certainly with a lot more grace... and support. 

I'll have copywriting with a double side of editing, please.

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?

Dictate What You Want to Communicate

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.