Press stuff
I like writing press releases that are timely and relevant. Journalists want to receive well written pieces that their readers (trade or public) will be interested in. Don’t listen to the naysayers, there is still a role for traditional PR and some of us are dead good at it.
Sometimes you might need to do some damage limitation. Damage limitation is what it says on the tin – it’s not spin. It’s about getting your side of the story out there, holding your hands up if you’ve done wrong and showing how you are you going to do better. I’ve done a lot of this kind of work. Everyone makes mistakes; it’s how you handle them that matters.
Newsletters
Do you have a ‘sign up to our newsletter’ form on your website, but no actual news? You are not alone. Keeping customers and prospects up to date via a regular newsletter is a great way of keeping in touch and making sure you are front and centre when they are ready to buy. But what do you say in the newsletter? Should you include offers, business news, staff news? Should it be image heavy or text heavy? HTML or plain text? How often should you send it? When should you send it? What do you need to be aware of in terms of opt in and people who want to unsubscribe?
Phew. No wonder you don’t send one! Not to worry, I’m dead good at newsletters. I’ve done loads and I can do yours.
Web copy
Short attention spans – some call it time poor, some call it lazy – either way the result is the same, web copy needs to be punchy. It needs to be well written, clear, succinct and in Plain English. Verbose, jargon heavy copy is not only difficult to read but it’s off putting. It doesn’t make you look big and clever it makes the reader feel small and stupid, and unwilling to put the effort in to work out what you are saying.
Unwilling = unlikely to buy. Web copy needs to be well written. It’s that simple.
Everything else
Email marketing
Do you often reach out by email? STOP! An email that begins with “I’m just reaching out to you” is most likely to be deleted*. As with all business transactions, email marketing is about getting the words right. All the right words, in the right order, sent at the right time, to an opted in list, with a clear unsubscribe option.
There’s a lot more than just dead good words in email marketing. Email too often and your unsubs will go up. Too infrequently and they won’t know who you are anymore. But well written (not too long, not too short) emails can really make a difference to your bottom line.
* by me, this is not an evidence based quote