Poorly written marketing pieces can really cost you big time! It’s not just about the cost of that particular marketing piece or advertisement but as much about the lost business you will never see because you didn’t engage your audience. Here are my five top tips to writing a winning piece.
1. Who are you talking to? I know the expression “who is your ideal market” is old and we’re somewhat over it, but it’s important. Think about how you talk to your parent or grandparents, versus how you would talk with a teenager or child. Before you start writing, you need to know who you are writing for.
2. It’s not all about you! It amazes me how often people write marketing pieces based on them, or what they want, rather than what their prospect needs and wants. Recently I critiqued a flyer which read “My ideal client …”. The reader doesn’t care who you want as a client, they want to know what problem you are going to solve for them.
3. What are you selling? All sales (simply put) are based on two things – pain or pleasure. Having your bookkeeping right so you pass a stressful ATO audit is pain. Buying a pair of gorgeous red stilettos (or a sexy red sports car) is pleasure. Notice even the language I used around these two items.
4. Have a kick-ass heading! Excuse my language but the heading really is so important, and as important as the first sentence. If you don’t engage people by the end of your first sentence, chances are you have lost them.
5. Less is more. For me this is hard. I am a details person and want to put in all the info, but again, you have such a short amount of time (often less than 4 seconds) to grab your audience, so do this quickly. No rambling. No padding. No long winded stories. For this reason, dot points work great.
If writing doesn’t come to you naturally and is not your strength, then seek help. There are so many options for getting great pieces and remember, if you do write yourself, remember one critical thing – have another person proof read what you’ve done.
Donna Stone is the founder of the multi award winning Stone Consulting and experienced Business Coach with 30 years’ experience helping businesses succeed. She is a three times published author, speaker and advocate of business in the Redlands. Learn more at www.donna-stone.com.au.
© Donna Stone, 2015
