A few months ago, a prospective client approached me with a problem:
“We should be winning more of the proposals that we submit.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Writing
It’s time to take a stand
Like most of you, I subscribe to several industry newsletters. And like most of you, I don’t make time to read them. A select few, however, always get my attention—like this one from David C. Baker titled “Why No One Wants to Read Your Newsletters.”
One of David’s points hit me square in the face. Rather than generate “news” and “content” that people may not care about (or may ignore completely) provide insight that will cause them to reflect on your message, save it, or forward it.
“Make people think. Take a stand. Articulate a viewpoint,” David says.
So here I go…about to take a stand. Articulate a viewpoint. Provide insight. Continue reading
Your must-haves for marketing — a checklist
Core values. Key messages. Positioning statements. Logo usage. These are just a few of the elements you need to have in place in order to support a strong marketing program. There are many more (read on for the full checklist) but because of how they’re packaged it can be confusing to know whether or not you have all the pieces. Continue reading
Are you saying the right things?
You have brand standards (don’t you?). You have a marketing plan (right?). You think you’re ready to take the world by storm. But there’s one piece missing:
a messaging platform.
The messaging platform doesn’t always get the love it deserves because it’s often tucked into a branding guide or a marketing plan, so most people don’t recognize it for what it is. More likely, however, it’s overlooked altogether. Continue reading
You’re going to want to read this…
“no one reads anymore.”
While America’s shrinking attention span is well documented, the claim that “people don’t read anymore” is not.
According to the Pew Research Center:
- the percentage of adults who have read a book in the last year is holding steady at over 70 percent; and,
- the average number of books a person reads per year is 12 (and younger adults are actually reading more than older adults).
what does this have to do with marketing? more than you might think.
Extensible, relatable, shareable, demonstrable: Why the case study is a perfect marketing tool.
Several months ago, a client contacted me to write a long-form case study on a major project she’d just completed with great success. I hadn’t written too many case studies before—I’m guessing because it’s a labor-intensive marketing tool that takes a bit more effort than shorter pieces of content like e-mail campaigns, social media posts or website landing pages.
After completing Stephanie’s case study, however, I’m convinced case studies are something all of my clients should be doing. Continue reading
Sell me with your Why, not your What
Because nobody cares what your company or organization does.
As marketers and communicators, we often get caught up wanting to explain what our company or organization does. We think what we do (our “what”) is the most important thing potential customers need to know about us.
That’s where we’re wrong. Continue reading
Win more customers with these six tips that make your website content stand out from the crowd
content is just as important as design
When people are searching online to buy a product or service, they’re looking just as much at which companies to consider, as which ones to eliminate. They’re trying to narrow their options, and dig more deeply into a few possibilities instead of several. If your website content doesn’t tell them what they need to know, guess what? Another company’s content WILL, and yours will be out of the running.
All too often, companies focus so much attention on a website’s design that their messaging strategy and content suffer. Don’t get me wrong, it’s important for a site to have great design. But if it’s all style and no substance, all you’re left with is a pretty site. And that’s just not enough to make the sale. Continue reading
3 marketing tasks to trust to pros
In recent years there’s been an explosion of online marketing tools, virtual assistants, and other low-cost marketing options. They all claim to make marketing easier, either by doing it for you or making it easy to manage yourself.
These “do-it-yourself” or “do it cheap” resources regularly wreak havoc on organizations that don’t have the time or skills to do marketing work internally. It’s bad enough when marketing doesn’t get done as a result, but even worse when it gets done wrong. Either way, it’s expensive and time-consuming to fix. Continue reading
Do you ever wish you had a stunt double?
I’m doubling right now for a new client. She’s an agency owner who was so busy she couldn’t find time to focus on the tasks only she can do, like landing more of the high level projects she really wants.
So I’m helping with the things she doesn’t need to be doing, like:
- being a liaison between contractors, my client, and my client’s client;
- ensuring our team stays on schedule and meets milestone delivery dates; and,
- keeping copious notes as the project unfolds with multiple twists and turns, making necessary adjustments, and ensuring everyone stays on the same page.
I even stood in for my client so she could take a real vacation for four weeks, more than 4,000 miles from home, and not feel like she needed to constantly check in.