by CathyG on August 19, 2010
Every page on your website, every blog post and every video needs a headline. Copywriters will tell you, “The headline is the most important part of your content.”
Yet when I critique websites, I often find wimpy headlines that don’t communicate your value. Occasionally we still see website pages with no headline at all.
You can find lots of good info about headlines all over the website. When you take a copywriting course you spend LOTS of time on headlines.
Vistiors read your headline to answer these questions:
“Am I in the right place?”
“Does this website owner feel my pain?”
“Am I concerned about this problem…right now?”
Underlying these questions is the ultimate question: “Should I stick around awhile on this website?”
by CathyG on August 18, 2010
If you’re a service, probably yes.
Generally the Internet is a great place to do business. You get clients from all over the world. It’s an even greater resource to get help for your own business. Your perfect coach may be located thousands of miles away.
So far so good … until you decide to get involved with local, face-to-face marketing. At that point, you have local limitations, norms and opportunities. In my experience, you need to connect with local coaches and mentors if you want to promote yourself in your hometown. They know the customs and the informal rules. More important, they know what’s realistic.
For example, when I moved to Seattle, I anticipated giving lots of talks. I love to speak (I’m a bit of a ham, in fact) and get rave reviews as a speaker. But speaking opportunities seemed limited. Seattle-ites just don’t want to go to classes and attend meetings to learn things. One business coach scoffed: “It’s all in your mind.” My friend in Southern California was surprised; he was turning down speaking invitations all the time.
But I dd some reality checking. Two venues closed last year: DiscoverU, our answer to Learning Annex, and a monthly breakfast meeting for women business owners, held at a local community college. I also talked to someone who moved to the Pacific Northwest after ten years in the Midwest. She was an accomplished speaker with a stellar track record. Yet she agreed with me. “It’s different up here.”
Networking groups differ. A group that’s dynamic, lively and productive in Chicago may be a dud in Dallas, or vice versa.
Norms of groups vary. Seattle tends to be geo-centric. An event’s location makes a huge difference and psychological distance can be far greater than actual miles. I tend to skip events in Bellevue – the East Side – even though realistically it’s just a 20-minute ride on a nice air conditioned commuter bus with plush seats. My friend attends a group in the midwest that’s a similar distance but “everybody carpools,” she says. Here few people do; that’s probably because we have a lot of people who don’t have cars and always need rides.
What’s been your experience with the effects of geography on business? If you live in Seattle, do you have different perceptions?
by CathyG on August 17, 2010
One of my clients signed up for a Strategy Session. We went through his business in our series of two calls. We came up with a unique selling proposition that became his Fab Factor – the hidden factor that makes his service fabulous. His service is hardly unique, but we were able to establish that he can stand out from the pack by highlighting his background, which is unusual for his industry. He also came up with a new program to deliver the service faster and more smoothly than the competition.
That was three months ago. My client knows his website isn’t working. “But,” he says, “I have to live with it. I invested so much time and money.”
Ouch. We’ve all been there. I’ve been there too. My issue wasn’t so much about money, but about the fact that everyone recognized my sleepy-cat logo. People at networking events said “Oh – that’s so cute! I will remember you.”
It wasn’t till met a stranger at a conference and introduced my company as “Copy-Cat Copywriting.” The stranger looked puzzled for a moment, then asked, “Oh…so you use swipe files?”
Well, of course I use swipe files. So does every copywriter I know. But I’m not about copying. I offer creative, out of the box thinking. Everyone who knows me agrees: “You’re an original.”
Time for a change!
My client decided to live with his current website a little longer. He knows his site isn’t working. Visitors don’t know what he does or what value he can bring to their lives and their businesses. They can’t even figure out what he does and how to reach him if they want to make an appointment!
But he invested a lot of money in his present site. (He won’t tell me how much.) He’s smart: he knows that he’s not being logical. He tried to say, “I don’t have the time,” but we talked about fast, cheap solutions – such as a simple WordPress site. We could get his new site up and working in a few days. Cost? Well, for $500 or less we’ll get customization. You usually need less customization than you expected. As you grow and make money, you can invest in a more sophisticated site…after you understand your own value proposition and know you’ve got customers who will pay for what you offer.
by CathyG on August 15, 2010
When I first started marketing on the Internet, nearly all the coaching websites looked alike. We had fewer coach training programs. You could tell that most coaches just applied the cookie-cutter templates they were given by their coaching programs. I remember the infamous “riding a bicycle” analogy: A coach doesn’t teach you to ride, but runs alongside guiding you and cheering you on. Then there was the quiz: “Are you ready for coaching?” Certain programs appeared everywhere, especially those encouraging participants to review their lives for excess baggage.
Fortunately most coaches have grown beyond these standard offerings. Yet when clients hire me, they often begin by wanting a website that looks just like everybody else’s. If you think about it, most lawyers have websites with just the basics. Real estate agents often are not allowed to be too creative: their sites fall under the umbrella of the parent company.
But me-too marketing remains alive and well on the Internet. After I wrote the first draft of this post, I came across Scott Stratten’s blog post, featuring his interview with Michael Port. Scott posted a video of his interview with Michael Port, which was billed as a “rant” against telesummit marketing. In fact, Scott and Michael ranted against me-too invitations for participation in telesummits. They pointed out they were getting cookie-cutter invitations, which made them wonder: Are all these people taking the same course?
Don’t get me wrong: I am not encouraging anyone to create a website that’s designed with the goal of “I want to be different.” Psychological research tells us that we have a zone of tolerance. Too similar to current offerings? We get bored. Too different? We don’t “get” it.
But it IS possible to have a breakthrough presence that makes visitors sit up and take notice. Often these visitors aren’t thinking, “This site is different.” They’re thinking, This site seems to resonate with me.”
In her recent book, Difference, Professor Youngme Moon of Harvard Business School writes about breakthrough brands, such as JetBlue and Ikea. These brands offer less than the usual amenities. JetBue doesn’t serve meals or provide a first class; Ikea originally provided no delivery service or furniture assembly. They were genuinely different in a meaningful way. They took away something but also gave customers something they hadn’t expected.
Her message might be, “Don’t waste time thinking of a cute slogan, a catchy logo or a website that makes you gasp. Think about a new way to serve your customers – responding to needs and wants they may not realize they have.”
It’s not easy and not even essential for most service business owners who market on the Internet. You don’t need to offer a breakthrough. But often when we talk for awhile, I find my clients really do have something truly significant to share. They get to differentiate themselves from the inside out. That’s a goal worth shooting for.
by CathyG on August 14, 2010
Yesterday we explored the challenge of starting too late. Today’s mistake is even scarier: starting too soon.
There’s good reason to be nervous about starting too soon. You can find yourself going full speed ahead with a new makeover…and then you hit a wall. For instance, one professional “Sam” made a wise decision to remodel his website and create a more compelling online presence. Unfortunately, he began by choosing a design team. The team recommended content, but their focus was on building a jaw-dropping site.
They did. Today Sam’s site is one of the most sophisticated, from a design perspective. Unfortunately it’s also hard to navigate and the content gets buried by eye-popping graphics. He ran out of money before he could afford additional services to write more copy and develop and article marketing campaign.
But it’s also easy to get paralyzed, waiting for the perfect new idea. Very few things are written in concrete, especially on the Internet. Rather than blow your entire budget on your new site, take a few small steps. As your new online image takes off, you can go back and add more.
If you’ve been in business awhile, you need a strong sense of what your market wants and will pay for. You need to know your own strengths, so you capitalize on your “fab factor:” what makes you fabulous. Invest in uncovering your core elements before setting out design and content.
If you are just getting started, put up a bare bones WordPress site. Don’t wait! Get it up in a week – no more. All you need is a destination to put on your business card, a statement of who you are and what you do, and a place for visitors to sign up for your future mailings. Don’t bother with a web designer. I can give you the basics – just ask about my start-up specials.
Once you’ve got the site up, get out there and network. Do whatever it takes to get a dozen paying clients, even if they pay you a discounted rate. (You may be surprised: if you’re leveraging your experience, you’ll find clients who pay full fare.) Write articles to drive traffic to your website. Get to know your clients: chances are they’ll want something you don’t offer when you’re starting out.
Then, and only then, consider your makeover.
by CathyG on August 12, 2010
After working through my own makeover (and making some mistakes of my own!) I identified 5 mistakes most business owners make during a website make-up or make-over.
Mistake #1: Starting too late.
Most of us (including me) wait way too long to realize it’s time for a change. I was getting warnings. You may recognize them too:
– I was no longer excited about sharing my logo and website with the world.
– Clients said, “That image just isn’t you.”
– I was doing a lot more than copywriting, yet all my materials said, “Copy-Cat Copywriting.”
– Visitors didn’t understand where I was coming from. At one meeting, a stranger said, “Copy-Cat…hmm, do you use swipe files?” Well, of course I use swipe files – what copywriter doesn’t? – but that’s not my claim to fame.
Why do we wait so long? Usually we have excellent reasons. For one thing, we’re busy. (I certainly was.)
We aren’t sure where to start. Do we call a web designer? A copywriter? Hire a coach? Here I was on firm ground. I knew that I shouldn’t begin with a web designer, but with a strategist. I used my own experience and also worked with a couple of coaches.
We have an investment in the past. Economists refer to “sunk costs” when they talk about investments we’ve made that won’t do much to help in the future. For instance, suppose you have invested heavily in the typewriter industry when the world changes and your products are replaced by computers. You could say, “But I’ve put so much effort into learning about typewriters!” Or you could bite the bullet and say, ‘OK, time to move on.”
It’s very hard to recognize sunk costs. Additionally, on the Internet, you may be widely known for your old, tired online presence. (I certainly am.)
But the hardest part of all is…deciding how you’ll replace your current brand. What will your new online presence look like That’s Mistake #2.
http://bit.ly/aFkbq6
by CathyG on August 6, 2010
A few days ago I got an email urging me to consider a product related to “video creation.” I’m always looking for ways to make videos work more easily so I took a look at the web page.
To my horror, the page just made a mention of “creating videos.” I had no idea how it worked, what was offered or how the product differed from the established products, such as Camtasia. The site offered some videos by famous names as “examples of what you can do.” In other words, they were selling a black box.
So I emailed the person who was promoting the product. What exactly was the video creation these folks were promising? She wrote back, saying it was much like Camtasia with some stock images targeted to certain markets.
OK…but where was the sales letter? Where were the features and benefits? How can I make an informed decision? Do people really buy this stuff?
Recently I checked out another product that promises to help me make videos, deliver videos, make websites, and probably serve up brunch on Sundays. Once again, there was no sales letter. Instead, an annoying voice promised to tell me more…if I signed up for a $1 trial.
What is so secretive about these products? Lots of services manage to tell you what they do before you buy. For instance, I like
http://budurl.com/best4classes
and
http://budurl.com/getcart
These folks aren’t shy. They’re not afraid to sell. They don’t make you listen to a 20-minute video (or even audio). It’s all right there.
That’s a good reason to promote with care. I signed up for a $7 ebook that promised to deliver secrets of money-making videos. This Report turned out to be a handful of tips with a link to a big-ticket up-sell to one of these mystery products. I originally considered promoting this ebook (hey, it’s just $7) . It was so tempting but I had to say no. I can’t do this. Instead I’m working on my own 2-session program on marketing with video (yes, I’m just starting my own videos, after coaching my clients). I can’t do it for $7 but I can promise to deliver realistic actionable information.
Bottom Line: Don’t be afraid to write back to whoever recommended a product or service. Give good feedback as well as bad. For instance, I keep promoting Reach Desperate Buyers. Typical feedback from readers: “I wish she’d revise her sales page – but I loved that book. Thank you for recommending it.” I also know that book has solid content and the author happily gives refunds to anyone who asks.
Yes…those are all my affiliate links. I am happy to use these products and proud to promote them
by CopywritingCat on August 5, 2010
Q. In deciding whether to do AWeber versus ShoppingCart, I’m trying to evaluate what I need. Right now I’m developing several info products but realistically they probably won’t be up and fully running for a good 6 months. I definitely want to put an autoresponder in place now but should I also get the shopping cart up at this point since I won’t need it for a bit? It sounds like one can have both aweber and shoppingcart1 together and that it shouldn’tn be too hard to add one later…is this correct?
A. First, I recommend developing just *one* info product at a time. Developing several can be overwhelming! I did that myself and am still untangling them. Pick the product that appeals most to your market or else choose the product with the lowest price. Practice with that product. Then move on to the next.
Trust me: you’ll make at least one mistake. Why repeat that mistake over and over with all your products?
Second, many people do use AWeber and the shopping cart together. Some marketers use AWeber for prospects and the cart for customers. Others just use the cart to keep things simple. It’s a business decision. You have to decide if you want to invest the time to work with two systems and pay the extra fees. You can certainly start with AWeber and add the cart later.
Third, some people start with a smaller, lower priced autoresponder service, such as Constant Contact. Many experienced marketers still use these services. However, I recommend investing in 1ShoppingCart or AWeber early in your business cycle. Learn the system before you have a gazillion people on your list. Yes, you will pay $20 per month more and that will seem like a lot. But you will pay a lot more if you have to move your list at a later date and learn a new system.
But for now I’d focus on creating one spectacular info product. My recommendation is a download, Reach Desperate Buyers. It’s an awesome guide to the Internet and I regularly get messages from buyers who thanked me for the recommendation. It’s fully guaranteed so you have no risk. The author is extremely honorable.
by CopywritingCat on July 30, 2010
