Promote Your Business: How to Write Effective Marketing Material for Your Small Business 1865089311, 9781865089317, 9781741155174

Citation preview

Promote Your Business

Promote Your Business How to write effective marketing material for your small business

Mary Morel

First published in 2003 Copyright © Mary Morel 2003 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act. Allen & Unwin 83 Alexander Street Crows Nest NSW 2065 Australia Phone:(61 2) 8425 0100 Fax: (61 2) 9906 2218 Email: [email protected] Web: www.allenandunwin.com National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Morel, Mary, 1950– . Promote your business: how to write effective marketing material for your small business. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 1 86508 931 1. 1. Marketing. 2. Sales promotion. 3. Business writing. I. Title. 658.8 Set in 11/15 pt Stempel Garamond by Bookhouse, Sydney Printed in Australia by McPherson’s Printing Group 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents Contents

Preface Introduction 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

How to write a business and marketing plan Branding and creating visual impact Writing guidelines How to write brochures and flyers How to write a press release How to write direct mail How to write an advertisement How to write your website How to write newsletters and ezines

References Index

vii ix 1 28 51 75 105 130 160 185 210 238 240

Preface Preface

T

he idea for this book struck me when I went looking for a ‘how to write’ book that covered several marketing techniques in one book. I found marketing and PR books and writing books on specific topics, such as press releases and websites, but not one book that covered the whole lot. I’m a communications consultant and trainer and, after recently relocating from another country, found for the first time in my career that I needed to actively market myself as a sole trader. Although I often write promotional material for clients, I found writing for myself much harder. I’d operated as a sole trader for 13 years and had built up my business slowly, on a solid network of contacts, which I had begun to take for granted. When business was quiet, which it inevitably is at times when you work on your own, I’d panic, read a book or two on marketing, ring a few people and then the phone would start ringing. That was the extent of my vii

viii

Promote Your Business

marketing efforts and fortunately my business continued to grow each year. However, when I moved, I no longer had those contacts and networks, and so had to develop a marketing strategy to actively promote my own business using the same techniques I had previously implemented for my clients. There’s more information about my business at and I’d be delighted if you subscribed to my free e-newsletter, Factorial, full of practical writing tips.

Introduction Introduction

T

he difference between a successful and unsuccessful business is often not the quality of their product or service, but their ability to promote themself. You can have the best product or service in the world, with great systems and procedures, and friendly, helpful staff. But if you don’t have clients or customers, you don’t have a business. All businesses go through good times and bad. Word of mouth is always the best type of promotion, but not many businesses can afford to rely on it entirely if they want to grow their business or survive the bad times, such as a downturn in the economy or the loss of a major client or customer. While a one-off marketing campaign may have an impact, it is unlikely to have long-term results. You need to be constantly in the marketplace to establish and maintain your profile and credibility and to build relationships with your prospects. Think about your own purchasing decisions. You often hear about a ix

x

Promote Your Business

company from several sources before you feel you know and trust them enough to do business with them. How you decide to promote your business will depend on what you want to achieve, your budget and what is most appropriate for your audience. What works for one company may not work for another, and sometimes issues like timing make a difference. Often you may need to use several complementary marketing tools at once. For example, you may have a monthly e-newsletter, which you complement with a regular, but intermittent, schedule of press releases, advertisements and direct mail. Gut feeling also plays a part. If a promotion doesn’t ‘feel right’ and you find you’re pushing hard every step of the way, then it’s probably the wrong marketing tool for you. I have tried most of the promotional material covered in this book personally for my own business. I’ve had some ‘wins’, such as my brochure, e-newsletter and direct mail, and discovered there are some things, like letterbox drops and flyers, that I won’t do again. Some professional services seem to have an ingrained belief that marketing is somehow unprofessional and only suitable for products, not services. This isn’t true—the trick is finding marketing methods that suit the style of your business and are appropriate for your prospects. Many people (me included) don’t enjoy promoting themselves very much, but it does get easier with practise, and as you are an expert in your field, you need to capitalise on your knowledge. Be prepared to promote yourself as well as your business. One of the difficulties for many small businesses, especially sole traders, is time. When you’re busy you’re totally caught up in your work, and when you’ve finished a major project you face a vacuum as you haven’t kept in touch with your existing clients and prospects. With a marketing plan in place, you’re

Introduction

more likely to market your business consistently—even when you’re busy.

Business case studies Throughout the book, I use three different kinds of businesses— a landscape gardening company, a furniture maker and a restaurant—to illustrate the various approaches to marketing that a retail and service business, a manufacturer or a business in the hospitality industry might adopt.

Delite Landscape Design Delite Landscape Design combines boutique gardening shops with domestic and commercial landscape design and gardening services. The shops carry popular ranges of plants, such as camellias and roses, and some gardening accessories, such as hoses and fertilisers. Delite Landscape Design also provides domestic and commercial landscape design. Its design work ranges from small backyards to large, new property developments. It provides gardening and maintenance services for both commercial and residential properties. Founded 25 years ago by qualified landscape designer John Pettit, Delite Landscape Design has branches in three cities. Each city employs at least one full-time landscape designer and retail and gardening staff. Some of the gardeners are full-time staff and others are employed on a casual basis over spring and summer.

Emerald Furniture Emerald Furniture produces high-quality, simple yet elegant furniture manufactured from environmentally friendly materials

xi

xii

Promote Your Business

for home and corporate use. Each piece is hand crafted and customers can order from the workshop or through the product catalogue, which is available online or in some furniture shops. Susan Eves, who has 15 years’ experience in the furniture industry, opened Emerald Furniture in 2003. She is currently working out of a workshop garage and employs one part-time furniture maker.

Blue Gum Restaurant Blue Gum Restaurant is located close to the heart of the city and caters for both families and the business community. It serves modern cuisine and is fully licensed and BYO. Its prices are mid-range. Blue Gum Restaurant was established 10 years ago by a husband-and-wife team, Tania James and Bill Johnson. Tania works in the restaurant full-time, managing the dining room and staff. Bill has a full-time job as an accountant and works at the restaurant on weekends and evenings if they’re short staffed. He also does the accounts. Their teenage children work parttime in the restaurant. Blue Gum is a lifestyle as well as a business choice as Tania and Bill enjoy being in the hospitality industry.

Chapter summary Chapter 1

How to write a business and marketing plan

A marketing plan gives you a promotional strategy to achieve your business goals and objectives. Without a marketing plan, you risk marketing reactively when your business goes quiet. With a marketing plan, your marketing efforts will be more consistent and thus more successful.

Introduction

Your marketing plan includes: mission and vision statements, goals and objectives, market and competitor analyses, a SWOT analysis, your position in the marketplace, budgeting and an action plan.

Chapter 2

Branding and creating visual impact

Branding reflects your company personality and comprises your name, company colours, logo, slogans and tag lines, and your business card and stationery. This chapter provides some tips on managing your brand and outlines some design and layout guidelines to help you present your marketing material attractively, so people want to read your content.

Chapter 3

Writing guidelines

Many of the marketing tools in this book, such as advertisements and websites, have their own unique writing conventions, but there are some overarching writing principles that apply to all good writing. Before you start writing, you need to be clear about your audience and what you want to achieve. However, whether you’re writing a press release or a website, all good writing is basically concise, clear and simple. Rewriting, editing and proofing are also important to provide a professional finish to your work.

Chapter 4

How to write brochures and flyers

The word ‘brochure’ is used to include capability brochures, product brochures, flyers and folders of company information.

xiii

xiv

Promote Your Business

This chapter looks at the different types of brochures and provides some writing tips to make your copy succinct, interesting and convincing. These techniques include thinking about benefits rather than features, writing directly to your audience with ‘you’ language, and using testimonials, reviews and case studies to sing your praises.

Chapter 5

How to write a press release

Press releases are great publicity as they reach a wide audience, but you must have a story to tell and it must be newsworthy. This chapter looks at where to place your press release and how to write a press release that will capture the media’s attention. The writing tips include choosing an angle that will show your information to its greatest advantage, using your first paragraph to either set the scene or convey the key information (5W and H), and using a spokesperson to add credibility.

Chapter 6

How to write direct mail

This chapter looks at some of the conventions of writing direct mail and emails. Direct mail includes letterbox drops, targeted letters and dimensional mailers. The most successful direct mail includes a letter, which usually has an offer and a call to action. Email marketing is effective as it’s cheap, instant and reaches a wide audience, but ‘opt-in’ requirements mean you must have your prospects’ permission to market to them. Emails are easy to delete, so your emails must be short and relevant.

Chapter 7

How to write an advertisement

There are various types of advertisements you may wish to consider for your business, including classified advertisements

Introduction

and display advertisements. With advertisements you only have a few seconds to grab attention, so your writing must be succinct and memorable. This chapter looks at the ingredients of effective advertisements, including headlines, body copy, visuals and layout.

Chapter 8

How to write your website

Websites are a basic requirement for most businesses these days, but too many people transfer their print material online without adapting it for the Internet. Online writing requires different writing skills, such as ‘chunking’ information and creating ‘stand-alone’ pages. This chapter includes techniques to help you create a relevant, easy-to-read website that will make your business stand out from your competitors.

Chapter 9 How to write newsletters and ezines Newsletters and e-newsletters are an effective way to stay in front of your customers and clients in a low-key way. This chapter discusses the pros and cons of newsletters and e-newsletters, looks at the similarities and differences, and then focuses on how you can write an e-newsletter that provides your prospects with information they look forward to reading, and at the same time promotes and builds your business.

xv

How to write a business and marketing plan

1

How to write a business and marketing plan

A

business plan includes a description of your business, your place in the marketplace and what you want to achieve. A marketing plan outlines strategies to promote your business to help you realise your business goals. Many people choose to write separate business and marketing plans. As the emphasis in this book is on marketing, this chapter uses a marketing plan which includes some elements of a business plan, such as mission and vision statements. To be of most value, your business and marketing plans need to be living documents, regularly reviewed and modified. There are various ways of keeping your plans alive. For example, some businesses have monthly and/or weekly action plans which they review regularly to evaluate their progress. I do this in my business and one of the benefits is that when I evaluate my achievements at the end of the month I’m often pleasantly surprised to find that I’ve accomplished more than I realised. 1

2

Promote Your Business

I keep my goals in front of me all the time by putting a sheet on the back of my office door. On this sheet I have a summary of my monthly targets, such as number of new clients, number of appointments and prospects I’m nudging along. One colleague uses a whiteboard for her marketing prospects and has a numbering system from one to five. Number fives are hot prospects and number ones are slight possibilities. She changes the numbers beside the prospects to reflect their current status. Businesses with several staff will use a more formal approach, and may choose to hold monthly or quarterly meetings to review progress and set milestones for the next month or quarter. If you have staff, you can use your plans as a motivational tool. Keeping staff involved with your vision and goals helps them feel as though they are part of your dream—more than just employees working for a wage.

Description of your business Including a description of your business at the start of your marketing plan puts the plan into context for yourself and other people who may read it. Having a description of your business in a nutshell will also help you answer that perennial question ‘What do you do?’ succinctly. You won’t have to resort to ‘Ummm, well’ or launch into a long, boring explanation.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Description of the business Delite Landscape Design combines boutique gardening shops with domestic and commercial landscape design and gardening services. The shops carry

How to write a business and marketing plan

popular ranges of plants, such as camellias and roses, and some gardening accessories, such as hoses and fertilisers. Delite Landscape Design also provides domestic and commercial landscape design. Its design work ranges from small backyards to large, new property developments. It provides gardening and maintenance services for both commercial and residential properties.

Description of the business

EMERALD furniture

Emerald Furniture produces high-quality, simple yet elegant furniture manufactured from environmentally friendly materials for home and corporate use. Each piece is hand crafted and customers can order from the workshop or through the product catalogue, which is available online or in some furniture shops.

Blue Gum Description of the business

RESTAURANT

Blue Gum Restaurant is located close to the heart of the city and caters for both families and the business community. It serves modern cuisine and is fully licensed and BYO. Its prices are mid-range.

Mission and vision statements Mission and vision statements provide a big-picture framework for your business and marketing plans. Mission and vision statements are usually brief—often just a single sentence or, at most, a paragraph. Some companies combine mission and vision statements into a single statement of purpose, which sums up their mission, goals

3

4

Promote Your Business

and values. Have a look at some companies’ websites or annual reports and you’ll see that most large companies have some form of mission or vision statement. MISSION STATEMENT A mission statement describes the core purpose of your business, your values and approach. It focuses on what benefits you’re offering your customers or clients. VISION STATEMENT A vision statement is about the future of your business and what you want to achieve. A vision statement allows you to dream. Where do you want your business to be in 10 years’ time? What do you want to achieve professionally from your business? What do you want to achieve personally from your business? Ideally, your personal and business visions should align so you’re focusing all your energies on what you want to achieve personally and professionally. Having a vision will also help you with the daily running of your business. For example, if you want to sell your business in 10 years’ time, you will need to keep good records of your processes and procedures to help make your business ready for sale when the time comes. Lots of businesses fail to keep good ongoing records and have to create them retrospectively. It’s much easier to keep good records of your procedures at the time, with another end user in mind. If you’re having difficulty outlining your vision and mission, ask yourself some questions: • Why did you set this business up? • What do you like about your business? • What are your core values?

How to write a business and marketing plan

• What do you offer your clients or customers? • What makes your business different from your competitors? • Where do you want your business to be in one year, five years and 10 years? We all want to make money—it’s one of the reasons why we’re in business—but making money ideally flows from your love of the business, not the other way around. Some of the most successful businesses are run by people who have dreams and are passionate about what they do.

Mission

Delite Landscape DESIGN

Delite Landscape Design cares and caters creatively for gardens of all sizes through every stage of their development—from design through to maintenance.

Vision Delite Landscape Design aims to be a reputable and profitable landscape business operating out of three cities. John Pettit’s personal vision is to sell the branches in seven years’ time and to remain as a consultant for another three years before retirement.

Mission

EMERALD furniture

Emerald Furniture produces good-quality, environmentally friendly furniture that looks good, is comfortable and is built to last.

Vision To produce award-winning furniture that sells nationwide through Emerald Furniture’s own outlets and selected furniture shops.

5

6

Promote Your Business

Susan Eves’s personal vision is to have a balanced lifestyle—work she enjoys, a reasonable income and more leisure time to travel.

Blue Gum Mission

RESTAURANT

At Blue Gum Restaurant customers experience the finest foods and wine in a relaxing yet stylish environment. The service is friendly and helpful without being obtrusive.

Vision To continue to provide a quality dining experience for customers, and earn a comfortable living. Tania and Bill’s personal vision is to continue working in the restaurant until they retire. They hope to sell the restaurant as a viable business with a strong, loyal patronage.

Goals and objectives The terms ‘goals’ and ‘objectives’ are often used interchangeably, but goals can be defined as what you want to achieve and objectives as how you will achieve them. For example, your goal may be to increase sales by 10% to $500 000 per annum. Your objective is to gain three new clients over the next three months. You will need to develop long-term and short-term goals and objectives to help you realise your vision. Your goals will vary depending on the life stage of your business: for example, an established business may want to expand, whereas a start-up business is looking for clients or customers.

How to write a business and marketing plan

Whatever the size of your business, whether you’re a sole trader or a large enterprise, and whatever stage of development you’re at, set aside time to plan each year. Ideally you will do this away from the office environment so you’re not distracted by the phone. If you have staff, ask them to write down their personal and professional goals for the year ahead and acknowledge these in your plan. Business goals supported by personal goals are more likely to succeed than business goals that don’t match personal goals. When setting your goals for the year ahead, be realistic. Consider factors such as past performance, the current market situation and your staff’s workloads and future schedules. Set goals that create opportunities, yet are open to change. Be as specific as possible and make your objectives measurable so you can monitor your progress and identify marketing tactics that work best for you. Set a timeframe for your plan, as many of us work best if we have deadlines and outcomes to achieve. Once you’ve set your goals and objectives, commit yourself to them for the duration of the plan but at the same time be open to new opportunities. Each time a new marketing opportunity arises, ask yourself: ‘Will this opportunity help us meet our goals?’

Delite Landscape DESIGN Seven-year goal

Seven-year objectives

• Sell or franchise business

• Maintain excellent records of processes, procedures and accounts so the business is ready to sell at any stage • Increase profitability by 10% each year • Build a solid base of repeat and new customers

7

8

Promote Your Business

Goals for the year ahead

Objectives for the year ahead

• Increase profits by 10%

• Gain repeat business from 70% of clients • Gain three new domestic clients in each city per month for general work • Gain one new commercial client in each city per month for general work

• Develop a new service—balcony design and maintenance

• Develop balcony design strategy • Market balcony design • Gain 30 domestic clients and 10 commercial clients

• Improve staff motivation and attitudes

• Design and implement a staff training and induction program

EMERALD furniture Ten-year goal

Ten-year objectives

• Have own shops in three cities

• Open one shop a year in years 8, 9 and 10 of the business • Employ managers in each shop

Five-year goals

Five-year objectives

• Sell furniture through selected furniture shops

• Find five furniture outlets a year

• Win furniture awards

• Enter at least one furniture competition each year

• Increase profitability by 15% each year

• Increase online sales • Gain one new corporate client a month • Consistent marketing

How to write a business and marketing plan

One-year goals

One-year objectives

• Employ two more staff

• Employ full-time staff in June and December

• Move premises

• Identify alternative premises • Move premises in December

• Explore opportunities to sell in selected furniture shops

• Identify desirable furniture shops • Develop presentation material and proposals for desired furniture shops • Market to desired furniture shops

• Cover costs

• Build the demand for furniture through marketing efforts

• Run furniture-making classes for women

• Organise furniture-making classes for women

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Ten-year goals

Ten-year objectives

• Continue to provide a quality dining experience for clients

Maintain quality through: • Staff training • Changing the menus to meet customer tastes

• Maintain and increase profitability

• Ongoing low-key marketing

• Continue to enjoy running the restaurant Five-year goals

Five-year objectives

• Continue to provide a quality • dining experience for clients

Maintain quality through: • Selecting skilled staff • Providing ongoing staff training • Researching customers to identify areas to improve food and service

9

10

Promote Your Business

Five-year goals (continued)

Five-year objectives (continued)

• Continue to enjoy running the restaurant

Improve the restaurant by: • Installing more plants • Repolishing the floorboards • Repainting the dining room

• Increase profitability by 4% each year

Earn more by: • Attracting more clientele • Offering a more up-market wine list

One-year goals

One-year objectives

• Increase the lunchtime trade during the week

• Market to the business community

• Continue to improve the restaurant

• Explore different menus • Provide chef with more training

Market analysis YOUR TARGET MARKETS Find out as much as you can about the markets you want to sell your products and services to so you understand their needs and stay abreast of changes happening in their world. Such research will also help you identify your niche markets and target your marketing material so you can talk your prospects’ language. You’ll also have a better idea of what makes your products and services unique and be in a position to spot opportunities before your competitors do. Your product or service is unlikely to have universal appeal, so you need to identify and understand your niche target market. Look at your market in terms of demographics (age, gender, education, geographical location etc.) and psychographics (what

How to write a business and marketing plan

motivates their purchasing). If you have several possible target audiences and need to refine your market, take your personal preferences into consideration. We all work better with groups we feel comfortable with. When you first start out in business, the amount of market research you do will depend on your budget and your prior knowledge of your target market. You can employ someone to conduct research for you or you can do it yourself. Research avenues include user surveys, talking to people, and reading about companies that fit your target profile in trade magazines or on the Internet. Government departments collect statistics which you can purchase and some are available on their websites. If you’re an established business, you need to do ongoing research to keep your finger on the pulse and also to review and refine your services and products. One way of doing this is to interview a sample of your current and past clients and customers to find out what they like about your company and areas you could improve on. If your business has more than one service or product, such research will often show that your clients and customers aren’t aware of the full range of your offerings. There might be an opportunity to sell more of your services or products to the same customer or to other divisions within their organisations. MARKET TRENDS Stay one step ahead of your competitors by looking at the general market environment and doing trend analyses. For example: Do you anticipate economic changes that will affect your business? What are the latest trends in your industry? Is there a business opportunity for you in these trends? Are your customers or clients undergoing changes that will affect their

11

12

Promote Your Business

buying decisions? What challenges are they facing? How can you help them meet these challenges? Continuing to watch the marketplace will help you identify opportunities and also allow you to refine your marketing messages. You will then spend your marketing budget more wisely as it will be targeted specifically to meet your customers’ or clients’ current needs.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite Landscape Design subscribes to several landscape magazines to keep abreast of what’s happening in the industry. John Pettit also watches real estate trends in both the domestic and commercial sectors, and studies demographic and social trends through monitoring statistics. He attaches this information in an appendix to his business plan and includes a summary update in the body of his marketing plan. Over recent years John Pettit has been observing the growing trend towards apartment living. He has used this information to support the development of a new product and service—balcony design. Delite Landscape Design has done some balcony design work, but this year John plans to fully develop the concept and market it aggressively.

Annual update The census statistics show that the population is ageing, fewer women are having children and more women are in the labour force. Most population growth is occurring in the capital cities, and more people in cities now live in apartments. Overall, the home ownership rate is declining. High-income house-

How to write a business and marketing plan

holds and single-person households are buying houses, but buying a house is becoming out of reach for low-income families with dependent children.

EMERALD furniture Having worked in the industry for 15 years, Susan Eves has a strong interest in furniture and an instinctive feel for what sells. But she doesn’t rely solely on this knowledge. She keeps abreast of what’s happening in her field by reading trade magazines, visiting furniture stores, attending trade shows and conferences, and occasionally surfing the Internet.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Tania James and Bill Johnson did extensive research before purchasing Blue Gum Restaurant, which was an existing, run-down restaurant. Bill looked closely at the books to work out what income they could realistically expect to make. He continues to monitor the profitability of the industry and is pleased that Blue Gum Restaurant performs better than the industry average, based on profit margin information they have obtained from government statistics. Tania conducted and continues to conduct market research on people’s eating-out habits. For this research, she uses information from government statistics, and the national restaurant and catering association, attending conferences, reading cuisine magazines and eating at other restaurants.

13

14

Promote Your Business

All Tania’s research shows that the trend to eat out is continuing. One research company estimated that the number of meals served by the food service industry grew by 20% over the last 10 years. Chicken is still the most popular meat, followed by beef, pork and lamb. Tania and Bill have found that their patronage has steadily increased over the years for their evening meals, which are usually booked out in advance three or four nights a week, but that their lunchtime clientele has changed. When they first started out, business people would have long lunches and drink copious amounts of alcohol.They find that business people now spend less time over lunch and drink little or no alcohol.They also want lighter meals and faster service.Tania and Bill have adapted their menu and service to meet this need, but now want to market their lighter lunches to the corporate world.

Competitor analysis As part of your marketing plan, have a look at your competitors. Group your competitors into types and analyse a few in depth. If you’re having difficulty deciding how much to charge for a product or service, check out what your competitors charge. You can get information from various sources, such as the newspapers, ringing your competitors directly, the Internet, annual reports and trade journals. This research needs to be ongoing, as your market will change. You need to ask yourself: Are new businesses competing for your customers or clients? Are competing companies altering their products or services in a way that makes them more threatening to your business? I think that while you need to know who your competitors are, it doesn’t pay to get too hung up about what other people are doing. You’re better off putting your energies into

How to write a business and marketing plan

action than worrying about what they’re doing. There’s always going to be plenty of competition and there’s always room for good businesses, especially if you provide good service. You may be lucky and offer something truly unique that sets you apart from your competition, but often, particularly in the service industry, it comes down to building and maintaining relationships. If you market consistently and persistently, establish good relationships with your customers or clients, and provide quality products or services, your business will prosper no matter what your competitors are doing. There’s an urban myth about two butchers who emigrated to Australia after World War II. Several years later they bumped into each other. After enquiring about each other’s families, they asked each other how business was going. The first said: ‘I looked around and found an area that didn’t have a butcher so I set up shop and have prospered. What about you?’ The other butcher replied: ‘I found an area that already had two butchers, so decided this was an area where people shopped locally for their meat and I could provide them with greater choice. So I opened my shop there, and I too have prospered.’

Delite Landscape DESIGN John Pettit did extensive competitive analysis when he first started his business. He now follows his competitors in the three cities Delite Landscape Design operates in by looking at their ads in the newspapers and magazines, visiting their nurseries from time to time, and listening to what his customers say. He pays close attention when he is thinking of raising his prices.

15

16

Promote Your Business

Annual competitor update •

City 1: A new landscape design company has opened in the area and is marketing exclusively to the domestic market using letterbox drops. This has not affected Delite to date.

•

City 2: Competition has remained stable. Shop sales grew steadily but there was a significant drop in sales the month a large nursery nearby had a camellia promotion.

•

City 3: A local nursery has changed hands over the past year. The new owner is starting to make changes to the stock and marketing. John will monitor the impact this has on his business over the coming year.

EMERALD furniture Susan Eves has decided not to do a formal competitor analysis or to worry about her competitors, but she does keep an eye on what her competitors are doing to make sure that her designs remain original and to keep up with changing fashions. She also constantly notes what her competitors are charging to make sure her prices are competitive.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Tania and Bill are aware that they face competition from other local cafés and restaurants as well as takeaway outlets. When Tania and Bill started their restaurant, they visited all the restaurants and cafés in their local area and ate in several of them. They continue to dine out regularly, partly because they enjoy eating out and also to watch what their competitors are doing.

How to write a business and marketing plan

SWOT analysis SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis identifies your business strengths and weaknesses, opportunities in the marketplace and threats from external factors. A SWOT analysis is useful when you’re starting out to help you clarify your target market and identify your positioning in that market. It’s worth updating annually, as you can use it to clarify your thoughts and use your strengths to take advantage of new opportunities. If new threats have occurred in your environment, it can also help you plan how to avoid or minimise their impact.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Current strengths

Current weaknesses

• • • •

• A little complacent • Higher staff turnover than in previous years • Growth last year was a little less than predicted

Strong profitable presence in three cities Solid background with years of experience Award-winning designs Quality and reliability

Threats

Opportunities

• New player in one city who has fresh ideas and is marketing aggressively • Existing competition • Nursery changing hands in one city

• Move into balcony design and target apartment dwellers

EMERALD furniture Current strengths

Current weaknesses

• Solid background in furniture design

• Lack of business experience

17

18

Promote Your Business

Threats

Opportunities

• Other more established players in the market

• Opportunity to create a niche market for original, stylish furniture using environmentally friendly products

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Current strengths

Current weaknesses

• • • • •

• The restaurant is totally dependent on Tania and Bill, which means it’s difficult for them to have a holiday and they have a problem if either of them gets sick

Established reputation Many repeat clients Pleasant environment Provides quality food Good service

Threats

Opportunities

• Other restaurants, cafés and takeaway outlets in the area • Economic downturns—people choose cheaper eating places

• Cater for the changing lunchtime market

Positioning Through your market analysis and your industry knowledge, you will have identified your target market and your niche in it. You now need to work out how to position yourself in that market. Ask yourself whether your services or products have some unique features that differentiate you from your competitors. In marketing jargon, this is called a unique selling proposition (USP). Quality products and reliable, courteous customer services don’t qualify as a USP, as they’re too general. Don’t worry if you don’t have a USP—a lot of small businesses don’t. But if you do, flaunt it.

How to write a business and marketing plan

Sometimes a USP will not immediately leap out at you, but if you dig a bit deeper you may realise that your products and services have some unique features and benefits. For example, I provide business writing training. There’s a lot of competition in this field and at first I wasn’t sure how to differentiate my services. Over time I’ve realised that my training differs from many of my competitors in several ways. For example, I provide very flexible formats to suit my clients’ needs, whereas many of my competitors just offer standard courses. I also intersperse grammar with the main topics, rather than teaching it in a block, and I offer individual training to complement group courses. Another major advantage, which I took completely for granted initially, is that I am still a practising corporate and marketing writer, so I understand the writing process and appreciate how difficult it can be. When developing your positioning statements, whether you have a USP or not, you need to look at your products and services through your customers’ and clients’ eyes. What are the benefits for them? What solutions are you offering to meet their needs or problems? Why will they use your products or services? In other words, what’s in it for them? (This is sometimes called WIFM—what’s in it for me?) Also ask yourself what price they’re prepared to pay. Another way of looking at positioning is to use the ‘five-P’ approach: Do you have the right Product or service, at the right Price, at the right Place (location), at the right Period, with the right Promotion?

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite Landscape Design’s USP is that it provides both a retail and landscape gardening service, so can source plants at a reasonable price for its clients.

19

20

Promote Your Business

In the domestic market, the staff promote their years of experience and their ability to care for a garden at all stages, from original design through to maintenance, including pruning and replanting. In the commercial sector they focus more on their design capabilities and cite their awards and previous examples to show their range of work.

EMERALD furniture Susan Eves intends to strongly promote the fact that her furniture is made from environmentally friendly materials. She will also capitalise on the fact that she’s a woman in a traditionally male field.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Tania and Bill believe that their USP is the fact theirs is a family business and that every aspect of it, from the freshness of the food through to the table service, reflects their commitment to and enjoyment of the business.

Marketing The most successful marketing is consistent and persistent. All small businesses will know the difficulty involved in keeping up their marketing efforts when they’re busy, but the problem with not doing it regularly is that when the work runs dry there’s always a lag between generating prospects and getting new work. Even with regular clients, you need to keep in contact so that they feel wanted and so that you are front-of-mind when the opportunity for new work arises.

How to write a business and marketing plan

I think the only way to make marketing persistent is to make it such an ingrained habit that you do it no matter how busy you are or how you feel. Alternatively, you can employ someone to do some or all of your marketing for you. Ideally though, everyone in your business should have a marketing mentality and become involved in your marketing efforts. Most people don’t like selling themselves and their products or services, but we can all do it if we have the desire and motivation to expand our business. Marketing is not just about ‘selling’ your products or services: it’s more a courtship, and a building of a relationship, so the person you’re marketing to feels comfortable with you and can see the value of your products or services. In the marketing section of your plan, you develop strategies and tactics to help you sell your products or services to your target market. If you have staff, have a brainstorming session and list everybody’s ideas. There’s no magic to marketing—it’s basically commonsense, and most people have an intuitive understanding of what will work with their business. But brainstorming will often bring up ideas that you didn’t think of yourself. It also gives staff the opportunity to feel involved with the direction of the business. Once you’ve listed all your marketing ideas, you need to grade them in terms of purpose, pros and cons, time commitment, whose responsibility and costs. This grading exercise will help you determine priorities and time frames. Often the most successful marketing uses a variety of techniques rather than relying solely on one method, but the type of promotion you use will depend on a number of factors, such as time of year, your product or service, your budget and your business life cycle. If you’re a sole trader, you’ll have to rely on your own ideas or seek help from colleagues or friends. I have heard of one

21

22

Promote Your Business

person who took her friends out for dinner and in exchange for paying for the meal asked them to brainstorm her marketing plan with her.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Marketing goals

Marketing objectives

Marketing tools

• Develop balcony design product and service concept • Market balcony services • Establish profitable balcony services business within 18 months

• Identify target areas • Gain 40 new clients by the end of the year (30 domestic and 10 commercial)

• • • • • • •

Product brochure Letterbox drop e-newsletter Advertisements Update website Exhibit at trade show Press release for local newspapers to launch the new product

EMERALD furniture Marketing goal

Marketing objectives

Marketing tools

• Establish niche position in the market

• Gain three new domestic customers a month • Gain one new corporate client a month • Gain one furniture store outlet by the end of the year

• Brochure • Product brochure— print and online • Newsletter • Website • Direct mail to corporates • Press release for trade journal re business start-up • Telemarketing to furniture stores and corporates

How to write a business and marketing plan

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Marketing goals

Marketing objectives

Marketing tools

• Reposition lunchtimes to attract more patrons • Maintain current levels of patronage • Increase the amount of money people spend per visit

• Increase lunchtime patronage by 20% over the coming year • Retain regulars and attract new customers to replace those that fall away • Market the wine list as an attraction

• • • • • •

Advertisements Website e-newsletter Menu Signage Survey and competition—winners get a free dinner for six people

Budget Although you can do many things cost-effectively, most forms of promotion do cost money. Many businesses allocate a set amount per year to marketing. Some businesses decide how much to spend on marketing based on a percentage of profits. Other businesses set aside a fixed amount, irrespective of the profits. And sometimes, if you’re a start-up business or are having a lean patch, you have to regard marketing as an investment rather than just a cost. Another way of looking at your budget is to decide what activities you want to do and who in your office is available to manage them. Once you’ve decided this, you’ll be in a better position to assign responsibilities for your marketing and apportion a budget. Your budget, like your business plan, needs to be constantly updated and reviewed. At all stages, you need to be aware of your cash flow and profitability so you can take action if necessary to reduce costs and/or market more aggressively.

23

24

Promote Your Business

Implementing your marketing plan You probably won’t see immediate results, and there is often no way of telling whether your marketing plan is working in the first couple of months. Patience and persistence are required; the more effort you put into marketing, the greater your return will be. Give your marketing at least six months before you can expect significant growth. The quality of your written communications will have a direct impact on your results. A shoddy, unprofessional brochure will not make a good impression, an amateurish website is worse than no website, and a direct mail letter that ends up in the bin is a waste of your marketing efforts. Most successful marketing uses a variety of approaches, rather than relying on one method.

Action plan A quarterly and/or monthly action plan helps you keep your business and marketing plans forefront of your mind and is also useful to measure your progress.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Target markets

Marketing tools

Whose responsibility Desired outcomes

• Suburbs x and y • Household • John Pettit and one • 20 enquiries letterbox drop landscape designer • General public

• Attend trade show with product brochure

• All staff

• 10 new subscriptions to e-newsletter • Six quotes • Three new clients

How to write a business and marketing plan

EMERALD furniture Target markets

Marketing tools

Whose responsibility Desired outcomes

• High-income earners • Corporates

• Website • Susan Eves • Brochure • Catalogue (added press release and ad after winning award)

• 25 requests for catalogue • 30 people visit factory • Three new domestic customers • One corporate customer

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Target markets

Marketing tools

Whose responsibility Desired outcomes

• Business world

• Advertisements • Tania • E-newsletter • Update website • New menu

• Increase enquiries by 40% • Increase patronage by 20% • Increase profits by 4% • Increase hits to website by 5%

Measuring and monitoring your marketing plan If you set yourself measurable objectives, you’ll be able to monitor your progress and use this analysis to refine your marketing methods and material.

25

26

Promote Your Business

One way of doing this, particularly if you are a service business, is to analyse your client or customer list over the previous year. How did you gain each client or customer? If you lost any clients or customers, why did you lose them? Which clients or customers are most profitable for your business? Which clients or customers did you enjoy serving or working with? Another way of looking at it is purely financial. How much are you making each month? How does this relate to your marketing activities? Also, review your marketing activities. What was successful, and how can you measure that success? What went wrong? Do you know why it went wrong? How much did you spend? For example, if you did a letterbox drop, how many people responded and how much business did you get as a result? Was the exercise profitable? Use this analysis to confirm or modify your business and marketing plans. Do you need to alter your products or services to make them more attractive to your target audience, or is it just your marketing that needs refining? Marketing is an ongoing process, but it can make your business profitable. A well-thought-out marketing plan will help you win business. And a simple, concise, well-written marketing plan will be easy to use as a regular reference.

Summary PURPOSE The purpose of a marketing plan is to help focus your marketing efforts. AUDIENCE You, your staff and possibly your bank or your business mentor.

How to write a business and marketing plan

CONTENT OF YOUR MARKETING PLAN • Description of your business • Mission and vision statements • Goals and objectives • Market analysis • Competitors • SWOT analysis • Positioning. TIPS ON HOW TO USE YOUR MARKETING PLAN • Set time aside each year to revise your marketing plan. • Make it a living document and refer to it regularly. • Set a realistic budget for marketing. • Measure and monitor your marketing efforts so you can make continual improvements.

27

Branding and creating visual impact

2

Branding and creating visual impact

Branding Branding reflects your company’s personality. It’s what people remember and trust about your business, and what they understand about your products and services and your values. People want to buy from companies they know and like; companies they trust will be around for a while. A brand is that promise. If you’re reading this book, you’re probably not building a global or even a national empire—nor will you have a squilliondollar advertising budget. But you will have a brand and image, whether you manage it or not. You build your brand as a result of the myriad impressions made by every encounter people have with your business. Your brand includes your logo, your corporate colours and your slogan, but it’s much more than that. 28

Branding and creating visual impact

It’s everything you and your staff say and do—the way you dress, the way you answer the phone, the quality of your work, and the relationships you have with your customers and clients. You can manage your brand by developing an image that truly reflects your company, using it consistently in all your marketing communications and living up to its standard. Then your image will align with your identity, and customers and clients will have the view of your company you want them to. Ideally, brands are memorable. Think about successful big businesses: you know their brand and slogans even if you don’t use or like their products. For example, most people associate a large tick with Nike or a big M with McDonald’s. These images are so well known that we don’t even need the name as well. The same applies to some slogans: Nike’s slogan ‘Just do it’ is almost as memorable as the tick. When developing a brand, refer to your business and marketing plans so that your image reflects your vision and values. Think about your name and branding from your customers’ point of view as well as your own. What advantages and benefits do you want them to associate with your business? What do you want people to think and say about your business? CHECKLIST 1. What’s your vision? 2. What are your values? 3. What are the key characteristics of your products and services? 4. Who’s your target audience? 5. What’s your USP? 6. What benefits will people associate with your products and services? 7. What emotional reasons will lead people to buy your products or services?

29

30

Promote Your Business

8. What do you want people—including staff, clients or customers and suppliers—to think when they hear your name? 9. What personality do you want your brand to portray? 10. If your company has several divisions, what’s the common thread running through your business that everyone will relate to? 11. How will you use the brand to attract and retain customers and clients? 12. How will you deliver the promise of your brand?

Name Your name is part of your brand. Names conjure up thoughts and feelings, which affect buying decisions. It helps if your name is easy to remember, so that people can look you up in the phone book or use your name when referring your business to others. If you’re a start-up business you’ll need to choose a name. Before you start, have a look at what other names are used in your industry to get a feel for what works and to avoid choosing a name that is already taken. Once you’ve come up with some options, test them on friends and colleagues to see what words they associate with your name. Often, however, names are developed intuitively. When I set my business up I struggled for ages to find a name. I asked everyone I knew and even people I’d just met for inspiration. I desperately needed business cards, so a name was imperative. I was stuck. The best I had managed was ‘Dynamic Writers’, but I wasn’t happy with it. Then, the day before I was going to employ a designer, I opened the phone book under Dynamic and realised there were ‘Dynamic Plumbers’, ‘Dynamic Hairdressers’, ‘Dynamic Printers’ . . . Fortunately, our subconscious aids our rational mind, and the next morning I woke up with the name—‘The M Factor’.

Branding and creating visual impact

It has the disadvantage that it doesn’t mention communications at all, but it has the advantage (in my opinion) of being memorable. Occasionally I get tired of the name, but it’s worked for years and I’m not going to change it now.

Delite Landscape DESIGN John Pettit chose his name, Delite Landscape Design, 25 years ago when he set up his business. He wanted a name that described what he did but that was also a bit different. And he wanted a name that started with a letter close to the beginning of the alphabet so he would stand out when people looked for landscape designers in the Yellow Pages. At one stage he got sick of the name, and trialled ‘DLD’ with some of his existing customers. The response was a strong negative, so he has chosen to keep using Delite Landscape Design, sometimes shortened to ‘Delite’.

EMERALD furniture Susan Eves chose ‘Emerald Furniture’ because she wanted a name that suggested her furniture was precious and long-lasting. She also likes emeralds, and always wears an emerald ring she inherited from her grandmother.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Tania James and Bill Johnson chose their name as they are originally both from Tasmania, and the Tasmanian blue gum is their state’s floral symbol.

31

32

Promote Your Business

Company colours Choose colours for your business that reflect your values and appeal to your customers. When choosing your colours, think about the emotional meanings people associate with different colours as some colours work better than others for particular audiences. For example, purple and gold are great for fun products, but could be offputting for corporate clients. Blue and green are much safer for the corporate world. Colours have different meanings for different cultures, so if you’re targeting a particular ethnic group, check out their colour preferences.

Delite Landscape DESIGN John Pettit chose green and reddish-purple as Delite Landscape Design’s colours. Most people associate green with nature, but he chose the purple to go with it as it reminded him of the inside of an old-fashioned sliced runner bean.

EMERALD furniture Susan Eves chose emerald green and cream as her company colours. Emerald green was a logical choice to go with her name and cream provided a softer contrast than white.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT The juvenile leaves of the blue gum tree are blue-grey and the flowers are cream. Tania James and Bill Johnson decided that these colours suited the

Branding and creating visual impact

restaurant, being subtle and stylish. They provide extra colour by always having a large vase of vividly coloured flowers in the foyer and a single flower or small bunch of flowers on each table.

Logo Some logos are just a symbol and others include the name. Your logo should make a simple statement, rather than necessarily representing all aspects of your business. The best logos work on an emotional as well as an intellectual level. Don’t be too trendy or outrageous, as you want your logo to last for many years. Unless you’re talented at design, employ a designer to develop your logo. When choosing a designer, get a few quotes to compare prices and look at samples of the designer’s work to make sure you like their style. Develop a brief for them about your business and your values so they can design a logo that reflects your company’s personality. Avoid being too prescriptive, as you may curb their creative ability and thus limit your options. Think carefully before using reversed type (white type on a coloured background): although it may look good, it’s harder to read than black type and doesn’t photocopy well. If you are going to use your logo electronically, make sure it works well in digital form and that it looks OK printed in blackand-white as well as colour. Put your electronic logo on a template to make it easier for staff to use and to ensure that it is used the same way consistently.

Delite Landscape DESIGN

Delite Landscape Design

33

34

Promote Your Business

EMERALD furniture

Emerald Furniture

Blue Gum RESTAURANT

Blue Gum Restaurant

Slogans and tag lines People use the terms ‘slogans’ and ‘tag lines’ interchangeably, but some marketing experts think there is a difference, saying that a slogan can change with campaigns whereas a tag line goes with your logo and remains the same for years. A tag line or slogan is a translation of your positioning statement into a short, one-line marketing phrase which helps differentiate your company or product. Effective tag lines are written from the customer’s or client’s perspective. They are pithy and positive, and either sum up the core business or reflect the company’s values. Most good tag lines are simple and convey a single message. Think for a moment and see what tag lines and slogans pop into your mind. There are some that I’ve remembered for years, such as ‘Snap, crackle, pop’ (Kelloggs rice bubbles), ‘It’s moments like these you need Minties’, and ‘Grab the moment’ (McDonald’s). Many, but certainly not all, businesses use tag lines or slogans, and opinions vary as to whether you need them or not. They have the advantage of providing additional information about your business, but are often clichéd. Too many businesses pick words from the following lists and string them together. Systems Commitment Spirit

Confidence Tomorrow Achievement

Excellence Trust Technology

Branding and creating visual impact

Research Soaring Mankind People

Science Understanding Helping Winning

Future Quality Today Innovations

Luke Sullivan, author of a book on advertising called Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, suggests that unless you’ve penned ‘Just do it’, just don’t. If you decide to have a tag line or slogan, avoid clichés like ‘trust’, ‘quality’ and ‘taste’, which are often overused. Another pitfall to avoid is a slogan that’s so generic it’s meaningless. Choose either a simple tag line that sums up the key features of your business (e.g. ‘Superannuation and investment services’) or a clever statement that has emotional appeal or is memorable (e.g. ‘It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen’, Pantene shampoo). Once you’ve developed your tag line or slogan, test it on your friends, colleagues and customers or clients before using it in your marketing material. If you have a tag line, incorporate it in all your marketing material and make sure it is used consistently by all your staff. You may choose to make it part of your logo, have it stand alone in the top corner of all your documents, or use it as a postscript to reinforce the marketing messages. Some companies also have a motto, which sums up what the company stands for. For example, AM Corporation (superannuation and investments) uses the phrase ‘Service with integrity’ as its motto. This motto indicates the company’s commitment to providing service that adheres to high ethical standards. The motto appears on the bottom right-hand corner of documents whenever the logo is used.

Delite Landscape DESIGN

For gardens that delight

35

36

Promote Your Business

EMERALD furniture

Eco-furniture + comfort = ageless class

Blue Gum RESTAURANT

Modern cuisine

Business card and stationery Your business card makes a first and a lasting impression. It may be the only piece of your marketing that your prospect keeps. So make sure your business card reflects your brand. As well as choosing colours and typeface, you need to decide whether to have a horizontal or vertical card. The conventional business card is horizontal, but some businesses choose the vertical size in order to stand out. You also need to decide whether to make your card glossy or matt, and whether you want to have words on the back. Glossy cards are usually cheaper to produce and the colours look more vibrant. But for some businesses matt is more appropriate. Words on the back allow you to write more about your business, but remember that if people file your card in a holder those words will be lost. Also, people often use the back of business cards to write on. People don’t send as many letters as they used to, so if you’re a small start-up business you may choose to use high-quality paper with your electronic logo. But if you have stationery printed, make sure you choose paper that’s consistent with your image. Consider getting coordinated envelopes as well. If you think your office address may change in the near future, get your stationery printed with your logo only. You can always type in your address and phone number.

Branding and creating visual impact

BUSINESS CARDS OF DELITE LANDSCAPE DESIGN, EMERALD FURNITURE AND BLUE GUM RESTAURANT

Delite Landscape DESIGN

Fo r g a rd e n s t h a t d e l i g h t

John Pettit MANAGING DIRECTOR

23 Landscape Lane Rockville SA 1999 Ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789 Email: [email protected]

Susan Eves Furniture Designer

EMERALD furniture Eco-furniture

+

comfort

2 Crampton Street Ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789

=

ageless

Browns Bay NSW 1999

Email: [email protected]

Blue Gum RESTAURANT

Gary Burgess HEAD CHEF

class

Modern cuisine 9 Bannerman Street Blues Point VIC 1999 Ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789 Email: [email protected]

37

38

Promote Your Business

Managing a brand Once you’ve developed your brand, maintain it. It’s the emotional and visual image of your reputation, so is worth guarding fiercely. Most businesses understand this in theory, but inconsistency is a common failure even among large corporations. One shoddy brochure or one poorly written letter can do untold damage to a company’s reputation and brand. Managing your brand means having a consistent look, tone and quality throughout all your products and services and communications. Look at Coca-Cola, Levis and Minties. The marketing people must be very sick of working with the one brand, but it works, so they won’t risk tampering with it too much. Remember when at one stage Coca-Cola tried to change the shape of the bottle? It wasn’t long before it reverted to the old style. How consistent are you? Review your print material and audit your office procedures to see how consistent your brand is. Do your business cards, brochures, stationery, invoices and letters all have the same look and feel? If your staff write letters, do they all use the same layout and typefaces, and is the tone consistent? Does your print material have typos in it? If a client or customer visited or phoned your office, would they be surprised by what they saw? Or is your office and the way your staff treat customers and clients in keeping with your brand? It doesn’t take much effort to maintain high standards in everything you do, and it does make a difference. If you’re a sole trader it’s easier to keep your brand in mind as you’ve developed it; but if you’re writing your own marketing material it’s worth getting a friend to edit it, as it’s difficult to see your own mistakes. If you’ve been working on material for a while, you tend to read what you think is there rather than what is.

Branding and creating visual impact

If you have staff, consider developing a simple style guide. This could include specifications for colours and paper stock, company typefaces, your electronic logo and tag line, and templates for documents. As well as being used internally, the style guide could be used by external suppliers, such as graphic designers.

Consistency and change People are generally resistant to change, and totally changing the look of your brand may provoke consumer or client concern, especially if you have a strong brand which your customers know and like. They may wonder about change of ownership, or view the new look as unnecessary extravagance which they fear they will pay for in higher prices or fees. Any change you make should be based on a strategic business decision rather than a whim. While you need to take people’s resistance to change into consideration, change is sometimes essential if you want to modernise your look or change it to more accurately reflect your values. Clairol Herbal Essence was a popular shampoo in the 1970s. It repositioned itself in the 1990s by focusing on the pleasurable experience of hair washing, rather than trying to sell the end benefit of better-looking hair. But successful change more often occurs through evolution rather than a complete rebranding. Look at some old episodes of The Simpsons and you’ll be amazed at how much the characters have changed and developed in both looks and personalities. Yet the overall brand and personality of the show has remained basically the same.

39

40

Promote Your Business

Design and layout First impressions count, and good design is essential to effective marketing. You want your material to stand out from that of your competitors and entice people to read it. Once they’ve started reading, you want them to continue reading. People are more likely to read on if your material is both interesting and easy to read. Good design can help you achieve the latter. For some of your marketing material, such as your brochure and website, you may use a professional designer, but there will always be occasions when you design your own material, such as direct mail letters, invoices or email brochures. Everything you do needs to be consistent with your brand and follow good design principles. If you have staff, train them to use a consistent layout and style.

Typeface and font One of your first tasks is to choose a typeface and fonts that suit the style and personality of your business, are appropriate for your messages and will appeal to your audience. The terms ‘typeface’ and ‘font’ are often used interchangeably, but they do have distinct meanings. Typeface refers to the features the letters and numbers share, such as stroke width and the presence and absence of serifs (the small extension strokes on letters). Font is the complete set of characters of a typeface in one particular type size, and includes lower-case letters, capitals, numbers and symbols. There are four distinct groups of typeface: serif, sans serif, scripts and display. Most office computers do not come with an extensive range of typefaces, but unless you are a designer the range is usually adequate.

Branding and creating visual impact

SERIF TYPEFACES Serif typefaces have small finishing strokes which serve to link the letters together. In most modern serif typefaces, such as Times New Roman, these serifs are not actually joined to the next letter. Serif typefaces are considered easier to read in print material by most Western cultures, as when we read our minds are trained to recognise the shape of words rather than reading letter by letter. They are not so effective online, where sans serif typefaces work better. SANS SERIF TYPEFACES Sans serif typefaces, such as Verdana, Tahoma and Arial, do not, as their name suggests (sans = without in French), have extensions on the arms and stems of letters. This makes them very clear but not so easy to read in continuous print. They work well on screen where people scan more, and are used in most websites. Because of their clarity, sans serif typefaces also work well in forms, signs and advertisements. In print material people often use a serif typeface, such as Times New Roman, for the body text and a sans serif typeface, such as Arial, for headings. SCRIPT AND DISPLAY TYPEFACES Script typefaces have evolved from handwriting, and so are cursive and ornate. They are not suitable for lengthy pieces of writing, but are often used for displays, advertisements or invitations. Display typefaces are distinctive and are used mostly for headings and titles. FONT SIZES Once you’ve selected your typefaces, choose font sizes for your body text and create a standard hierarchy of headings. Small text can be difficult to read, especially for older people, but if your text is too large it looks patronising. Body text size

41

42

Promote Your Business

generally ranges between 9 and 14 pt, with most text being 10–12 pt. Your print font size can be smaller than your online size, as print is easier to read than online material. Smaller font sizes can be used for additional information such as terms and conditions, but always make your contact details easy to read.

Lower case and capitals Lower case is easier to read than capitals because our eyes see words in lower case as a whole. With capitals this is harder to do, as each letter has a very distinct shape. While capitals are harder to read, they are more distinctive so are useful for short headings and logos. Avoid capitals for emphasis, as many people regard them as the equivalent of shouting. Many headings these days are written in lower case, apart from the initial capital. This is a break from traditional headings, which used the title format with all key words having an initial capital. The problem with the traditional style is that many people have difficulty deciding which words need capitals.

Bold, italics and underlining Boldface type and colour are often used for headings. Bold is also used for emphasis. But if you have too much boldface on a page, it will be hard to read as your page will no longer appear balanced. Bold is used more often in online writing than in printed text to emphasise key words on a page. Italics are difficult to read in large chunks, both in print and on the screen, so use them sparingly. They are sometimes used for subheadings or to separate an introduction from the rest of the document. There are a number of other conventions governing the uses of italics. For example, they can be

Branding and creating visual impact

used for the titles of books, plays and films, scientific and technical terms, names of ships, and words or phrases that are quoted. In many instances single quotation marks are used instead. Underlining is used extensively on the Internet for hyperlinks. Underlining used to be popular for print headings, but fashions change and it is used much less these days. One of the disadvantages of underlining is that it cuts through the bottom part of your letters, making the words harder to read.

Readability Good layout gives your material a structure and logical flow as well as providing visual appeal. When most people look at page or screen they first scan it for images, headings and captions. The use of colour, size and position all influence our reading patterns. Our eyes are attracted to bright colours and large font size first, then to the more muted colours and smaller font size. In the Western world we’re taught to read from left to right, so our eyes naturally do this when we read. This is why most headings are either flush left or centred, not right-aligned. It’s also why most captions for photos are to the left or underneath the picture, not above or to the right. Once you’ve spent some time on the Internet, you actually read screens differently from the way you read texts. For a start, you scan more than you do with printed text, but your eyes work differently as well: instead of reading from left to right, your eyes go to the centre first, then left, then right. This is probably because on many websites the centre section contains an introduction to the site, the navigational links are on the left and the functional links, such as search, are on the right. Through scanning, you quickly take in what’s on the site and what links

43

44

Promote Your Business

interest you. Information at the bottom of the screen often gets ignored. In print format, long lines, especially in extended text, can be difficult to read so many people use columns for material such as newsletters. This technique is seldom used on screen, where there is generally only one column and side bars of information. Most computers have default margins set, which are equal on both sides but larger at the top than the bottom (our eyes tend to see the middle of the page higher than it actually is). If you change your margins, check that your work still looks balanced. Use indentation for emphasis, for example for quotations and bullet points. You can choose whether to make your work ragged or justified. With ragged text, the print is all flush left with a ragged right-hand side. With justified texts, both sides are even as each line is set to the same length. Both are easy to read, and most people are not aware what they’re reading unless they stop and look. The problem with justified text is that sometimes you end up with large spaces between words that look unnatural. Also, there is a greater tendency to hyphenate words to make them fit and this can be distracting, especially if the words aren’t split at the end of syllables. In my experience, many designers don’t care where they hyphenate a word, so if you’re using a designer, watch out for this.

Paragraphs New paragraphs start on the line following the preceding one with the first word indented (except after a heading), or there is a line space between the paragraphs and no indentation. No spacing and indentation is usual for books and magazines, but corporate and marketing communications more often have

Branding and creating visual impact

line spaces and no indentation. In the days of typewriters it was conventional to have two spaces between sentences, and many people still favour this style. But it is no longer regarded as necessary and the modern standard is for one space only. Don’t put illustrations or tables in the middle of a paragraph and be careful how you split paragraphs at the end of a page, especially if the following page is the last. Avoid what are known as ‘orphans’ and ‘widows’. This is jargon for a single opening line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page (orphan) and the last line of a paragraph on the following page (widow). Orphans and widows disrupt the flow of your text. If the paragraph to be split is four lines or longer, put at least two lines on each page; if it is a three-line paragraph, move the entire paragraph to the following page.

White space ‘White space’ is the term used for space without words in it, and the term is still used even when you have a coloured background. Sometimes the term ‘empty space’ is used instead. White space is particularly useful in print material, as it provides balance, contrast and variety. White space also breaks text up into more easily read chunks and gives our eyes a rest. You can create white space in your documents by the use of illustrative material, short paragraphs, headings, spaces above and below headings and lists. White space is still necessary on websites, but you have to balance this with the need to fit your copy comfortably on a page. Too much white space slows the scanning process and means you have to scroll down more. A simple way of creating white space in online text is to keep your paragraphs short and use subheadings.

45

46

Promote Your Business

Headings The use of headings and subheadings has increased in recent years, as people are less tolerant of large quantities of text without the visual cues that headings provide. Headings tell readers about the scope and structure of your work and break your text into manageable pieces. There’s more on how to write headings in Chapter 7. TIPS FOR CREATING VISUALLY APPEALING HEADINGS • Establish a heading hierarchy before beginning a piece of work and use it consistently. • Use even spacing between different level headings. If you want your heading to stand out, use more space above than below, so the heading is obviously part of the following text. • Choose dark colours for headings, as these stand out more than pale colours. • Use headings at approximately even intervals throughout your work. • Use numbers before headings only if they’re necessary for the meaning, for example with steps to follow in a process or procedure. Letters such as (a), (b) and (c) are seldom used in lists in marketing material. Headings are often in bold to differentiate them from the surrounding text. Some headings options are: • • • • • •

Bold headings (initial capital only) Bold Headings with Capitals for all Important Words Indented or centred headings (any style) Bold italics BOLD CAPITALS Bold underlining

Branding and creating visual impact

Lists Lists are a great way of presenting information simply and clearly and at the same time introducing more white space into your print document. But don’t overdo the number of bullet points in each list or the number of times you use a list on the same page. Too many bullet points in a list looks like your work has a dose of the measles, and too many lists on a page reduces contrast and balance. If you use lists, make sure you use a consistent style. This may sound obvious, but in my experience of editing work a common mistake is inconsistent punctuation in lists. There’s more on lists in Chapter 3.

Proof If you still need proof, try reading the following paragraph (a repeat of previous text) without any formatting or layout. White space ‘White space’ is the term used for space without words in it, and the term is still used even when you have a coloured background. Sometimes the term ‘empty space’ is used instead. White space is particularly useful in print material, as it provides balance, contrast and variety. White space also breaks text up into more easily read chunks and gives our eyes a rest. You can create white space in your documents by the use of illustrative material, short paragraphs, headings, spaces above and below headings and lists. White space is not so useful in websites, where space is more of a premium. Too much white space on screen documents slows the scanning process and means you have to scroll down more often. However, you still need white space, and a simple way of creating it is to keep your paragraphs short and use subheadings. Headings The use of

47

48

Promote Your Business

headings and subheadings has increased in recent years, as people are less tolerant of large quantities of text without the visual cues that headings provide. Headings tell readers about the scope and structure of your work and break your text into manageable pieces. There’s more on how to write headings in Chapter 7. Tips for creating visually appealing headings Establish a heading hierarchy before beginning a piece of work and use it consistently. Use even spacing between different level headings. If you want your heading to stand out, use more space above than below, so the heading is obviously part of the following text. Choose dark colours for headings, as these stand out more than pale colours. Use headings at approximately even intervals throughout your work. DESIGN CHECKLIST 1. Will the design and layout entice people to read the material? 2. Is the design balanced and harmonious, and does it work well with your words? 3. Is it easy to read or is the design distracting? 4. Is the design in keeping with your brand? 5. Do the layout and headings provide a good structure and flow? 6. Are the headings clear and consistent? 7. Is there enough white space in your print material?

Style guide—an extract

Delite Landscape DESIGN

This style guide aims to help us consolidate our strong marketing identity. Please use it when preparing any marketing material or writing to customers to ensure that we maintain a consistent, professional image.

Branding and creating visual impact

Logo and tag line Wherever possible, the logo and tag line should be reproduced in colour. The tag line should appear in all documentation at the top right-hand corner. The logo and tag line are to be printed in PMS 281. Where it is impractical to print the logo and tag line in colour, the logo can be printed in solid black.

Typeface The standard size and font for all printed correspondence is 11 pt Times New Roman for body text and Arial for headings. There is a hierarchy of headings preset on your computer. For emails, use 10 pt Arial. The standard font for all product brochures, flyers and other material produced externally is Minion.

23 Landscape Lane Rockville SA 1999

Delite Landscape DESIGN

For gardens that delight

26 May 2003 Julie Young 8 Barton Place Meritton, BIT 908 Dear Julie Landscape quote Enclosed is our landscape quote for your new home at 8 Barton Place. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to quote. It would be a pleasure to work with you to create a garden that complements your beautiful new home. If you have any queries, please call me on (01) 0345 6789. Kind regards

John Pettit M ANAGING D IRECTOR

49

50

Promote Your Business

Summary PURPOSE The purpose of branding is to convey a consistent positive image to your target market. AUDIENCE Your audience is everyone who comes in contact with your business. CONTENT Your branding consists of: • • • • • •

your name company colours logo slogan and tag line (optional) visual appearance of all your written material the way you and your staff behave and treat customers and clients.

TIPS • Develop a brand that suits your products/services, will appeal to your target audience, and reflects your values and personal preference. • Guard your brand and maintain it consistently. • Occasionally you may need to do a complete overhaul, but more often your brand will develop organically over time.

Writing guidelines

3

Writing guidelines

N

ow you’ve worked out your marketing strategy and established your brand, it’s time to start writing. But before you begin, you need to think about why you’re writing—what you want to say, who you want to say it to, and what you want to achieve. Putting time into thinking before you start will help your first draft flow more smoothly. Once you’ve written your first draft, you’ve broken the back of it, so take a break, even if it’s just a walk around the block. You’ll come back fresher and look at your work with a different perspective. Then it’s into the rewriting, editing and proofing stages, which often take longer than you think they should. But as with the planning stage, it’s worth putting time into making it right. Too often people treat their first draft as their final, and it shows. First drafts are usually wordy and poorly structured. On the other hand, know when to stop: it’s possible to fiddle without 51

52

Promote Your Business

making any noticeable improvement. I know it’s time to stop when I start changing words and then changing them back to what they were originally.

Think before you write If you’re commissioning work from a supplier, you’ll often write a brief (or wish you had!) to clarify what you want. Problems can arise if you don’t have a clear brief because you assume your supplier has understood your requirements. When you see the end result you realise that they haven’t at all. (Once when I was selling a house I employed a gardener to ‘tidy up’ the front garden, as it was a bit overgrown. I came home to find that his idea of tidying up was to prune everything so heavily that the garden looked naked.) When you’re writing your own marketing material you’re the supplier as well as the client, so you need to write yourself a brief. This may seem unnecessary if you understand your subject matter and you’ve got a tight deadline, but it will help you clarify your objectives and reduce the amount of time you spend rewriting. You’ll end up with a job you’re more satisfied with. I use the acronym PAKO as a planning tool and a memory jog. It stands for purpose, audience, key messages, and outcome.

Purpose The purpose or objective is why you’re writing your marketing material. Your purpose will always start with ‘to’—for example, ‘to persuade’, ‘to convince’, ‘to promote’, ‘to inform’, ‘to entertain’ or ‘to instruct’. Often you’ll know instinctively what your purpose is, but thinking about it helps refine your goals.

Writing guidelines

If you record your purpose you can also use it to guide your decisions about the format and style, and can refer to it later when you monitor and measure your results.

Audience Thinking about your audience is the key to writing successful marketing material. Too many people forget about their audience when they write, and write for themselves. You only need to read a few websites or brochures to see how widespread this fault is. We’re all guilty of it at times. We get so engrossed in what we want to say that we forget our audience is reading our material from a completely different standpoint. We either make the mistake of telling them everything we know, which is total information overload, or assume they’re on our wavelength and talk in jargon or shortcuts. Either way, you will risk losing your audience’s attention. If you give them too much information they’ll switch off, and if you talk above their heads they’ll either feel dumb or decide your material is not for them. At the time of writing this book, there were several SAP billboards and large posters at Australian airports. Two that stay in my mind are ‘Oracle uses SAP’ and ‘Nestlé uses SAP’. I can’t recall the pictures at all—they made no lasting impression. I know that SAP is software, but I have no idea what advantages it offers. It means nothing to me that Oracle and Nestlé use it. The billboards and posters worked, in that they grabbed my attention, but they also irritated me. Wondering whether I was the only ignorant person I knew, I asked my teenage children and friends if they understood. My limited research drew a blank. Obviously we were not their target audience, but they had chosen a highly visible place for their advertisements.

53

54

Promote Your Business

I too fell into this trap recently, when running a business writing course. I’ve learnt to assume that not everyone knows the meaning of writing jargon, like ‘noun’ and ‘verb’, and I usually give people a handout so they don’t have to feel ignorant and ask. But this time I had some highly literate people in my class, and I pitched my lessons at them and didn’t hand out my glossary. The course was one and a half hours a week over six weeks, and it wasn’t until the end of the final lesson that one person said she would like to have known the difference between a ‘noun’ and a ‘verb’. She’d sat through six lessons not wanting to make a fool of herself by asking. (There is a very simple glossary at the end of this chapter.) GEOGRAPHICS, DEMOGRAPHICS AND PSYCHOGRAPHICS When thinking about your audience, first ask yourself what you know about them. Where do they live or work? How old are they? What’s their ethnic background, gender, education and income level? What are their values and beliefs, and lifestyle characteristics? In marketing terms, this is geographics, demographics and psychographics. If you’re writing for an audience you don’t know personally, it sometimes helps to picture an individual who represents that group and write for that imaginary person. CUSTOMER OR CLIENT PERSPECTIVE When you’re marketing to a particular audience, only a small percentage will be interested in your products or services, so you need to make your material as focused and interesting as possible and start with information that will grab your readers’ attention. This is sometimes called the ‘wow factor’. Stand back and put yourself in your clients’ or customers’ shoes. What’s in it for them? That is, what benefits do your products or services offer? Identifying the benefits will often give a slant and a starting point.

Writing guidelines

Also ask yourself what terms and concepts your audience will understand. If you and your audience know what SAP is, then use it. If you have multiple audiences, you have a greater challenge. Some people will be familiar with your terminology and others won’t. But remember, no-one is ever going to be offended by terms being described in simple, clear language. People take offence only if the tone is patronising. If you can’t cater for all your audiences in one publication, you may have to produce different versions for your different audiences—for example, have a general brochure for all audiences and a specialist product brochure for your technically literate audience. On your website, you could have general information on one page and hyperlinks to more technical information or definitions of key terms. As well as considering what information people wish to receive, you need to think about what their attitude is towards your product or service and your company. If your product or service is unique, its features will sell it, but if you’re in a competitive marketplace and people are likely to think ‘Not another!’, then you have a greater challenge to make your marketing material stand out. Often the best way of being different is being true to who you are—writing simply and concisely and staying within your brand and positioning. When you’re engaged in the writing process, it’s easy to get engrossed in what you’re writing and lose sight of your audience. So take stock from time to time to make sure you’ve still got your audience in mind. AUDIENCE CHECKLIST 1. What do you know about your audience—age, ethnic origin, lifestyle, location etc.? 2. Do you know many of them personally?

55

56

Promote Your Business

3. Do you have a single audience or multiple audiences? 4. What are the benefits for your audience? 5. What features of your products or services will interest your audience? 6. How much do they already know about your products and services? 7. What terms and concepts will they understand? 8. What do they need to know? 9. What else would they want to know? 10. What’s their attitude towards your products and services and you and your company?

Key messages Your key messages are the ideas and information you want to convey to your reader. You’re best to get across a few selective messages well rather than try to communicate too much material and run the risk of clouding the issues. Content is not the same as key messages. Content is all the information you will include. It’s best to think in terms of key messages rather than content at the planning stage, so you identify what’s important. You will then use your content to support your key messages. At this stage, don’t worry about the structure of your material. That comes next, at the beginning of the writing stage. The important thing is to clarify the key messages.

Outcome The outcome is what you want to achieve from your communication and relates to your purpose. For example, your purpose might be to convince your target market to buy your products

Writing guidelines

or services, and your desired outcome is that people do buy your product or service. Or you may be wishing to raise the profile of your business, and the desired outcome—which is harder to measure—is that the profile of your business will improve. Think about how you can improve the desired outcome. For example, if you want people to respond, make it easy for them to do so, by either enclosing a reply-paid envelope or having your contact details prominently displayed. Or make your marketing material interactive, by having questionnaires or competitions with prizes. If you encourage people to reply you’ll be able to engage in a dialogue and start building a relationship.

PAKO for brochure

Delite Landscape DESIGN

Purposes •

To inform current and prospective customers about the range of Delite Landscape Design’s services

•

To have some information to give to prospective customers about Delite that they will take away and perhaps keep even if they don’t buy any products or services immediately

Audience •

Current and prospective customers

Key messages •

Range of products and services—design, planting, maintenance etc.

•

Benefits of services for customers

•

Examples with pictures of previous work for customers

•

About us—emphasising years of experience, awards won, etc.

57

58

Promote Your Business

•

Pricing

•

How to contact us

Outcomes •

Current customers will realise what else Delite does and use a wider range of services

•

Prospective customers will have information to refer to, to help them make a purchasing decision

Medium—print or electronic? You may already have decided before you started planning what medium you wanted—for example, a brochure, a website or a direct mail letter. The PAKO exercise will either confirm that decision or make you realise that another format might be more appropriate. For example, you might be planning to write a direct mail letter but decide that an html email would achieve better results. There are pros and cons for both print and electronic media, and the final decision will probably depend on a number of factors, such as your audience and your budget. For example, emails are cheap to produce and send, and they’re easy for most people to access. But for some industries, such as the construction industry, emails may not be the best way to contact people, as they’re often on site rather than in the office. Although email is convenient, there is definitely still a place for the printed word. Many people prefer reading print material to online copy. Print material is often more visually attractive than online material and people tend to hold onto print material (except junk mail), while emails are easy to delete or file in an obscure place where they’re often lost forever.

Writing guidelines

Writing your marketing material Structure Forget everything you learnt at school or university about having an introduction, a middle and a conclusion. In marketing material this doesn’t work. Instead you have to start with the most important information first to grab your readers’ attention. Work out a logical, customer-focused structure before you start writing, and then put yourself in your audience’s shoes to see whether it works. Some different ways of planning your material are: • Outlining. A basic outline consists of main points and sub-points. • Statements with supporting reasons. Write down your key statement and then jot down supporting reasons starting with ‘because’. Also, record arguments that could be used against your statement. • Mind mapping. Mapping is useful if you’re working with a group, as people can bounce ideas off each other. There is no one way of doing a mind map. Some people use words, others use symbols, some are intricate and neat while others are scrawly and messy. But they all have some common features. They start with the subject in the middle, and all the main points, which are often written on branches, relate to that topic. Each point is supported by facts or arguments, which are sometimes listed below the main point or written on sub-branches. When you have finished mapping, number the branches in the order you plan to write about them. • Flow diagrams. These are useful to show the cause-and-effect relationship between events.

59

60

Promote Your Business

• Stream-of-consciousness first draft. This is sometimes a good way to start if you’re stuck. Just write down everything you can think of about the topic. Once you’ve got your thoughts on paper, you can ‘cut and paste’ to get the right structure. • 5W and H. Ask yourself the 5W and H questions (who, why, where, what, when and how). This is a useful checklist, whatever technique you use. Once you’ve worked out your structure, give it the audience test again with your key messages in mind. Have you included all the information your reader will want? What information can you safely leave out?

Getting started Many writers talk about harnessing their intuition to help them write. When I first started writing, I wasn’t as aware as I am now of its role in my writing. Our subconscious does work for all of us, particularly when we feel comfortable with our writing style. If you’ve just started writing you may not have found your own writing voice. There’s nothing wrong with copying other people’s style (without plagiarising) until you find your own voice. Writing is hard work, but it’s also rewarding. Whenever I start a new project, no matter how big or small, I always think ‘I can’t do this, it’s too hard’. I know this demon now and have a name for it. I call it ‘creative anxiety’. Having a name for it doesn’t make the fear any less real, but I now have confidence that I will get through it and that, yes, ‘I can do it’. The way I overcome this fear is to prepare myself well by doing thorough research and using the PAKO exercise. I’m a deadline person so I usually leave writing a bit too late for my

Writing guidelines

own comfort, but I do make my deadlines. Somewhere along the line my subconscious also starts working with me and provides the best inspiration. It works best if I can shut off my internal chatter and listen to it. Luke Sullivan, in Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, refers to this stage as ‘staring at your partner’s shoes’. Whenever he and his partner have done all the groundwork for a new advertisement, they sit with their feet on their desks chatting about all sorts of things. To an outsider it would look as if they were wasting time, but it’s part of the creative process. My first draft, after I have done the PAKO exercise, is usually a stream of consciousness, and I try to keep writing without stopping. Whenever I come back to the piece I start at the beginning again, so I rewrite as I go. My first drafts are always too waffly and my rewriting often changes them beyond recognition. Writing a stream-of-consciousness first draft helps me keep my flow, but if I get stuck I stop and jot down headings or use a mind map. Other people I’ve talked to about how they get started have different methods. These include the following: • Pretend you have one minute to explain the situation to someone who’s in a hurry or to someone who has asked you about your work only out of politeness, not real interest. What are the two or three points you would stress? These are the main points you need to make. • Close your eyes and picture the person you’re writing to or a person who represents your target audience. How would you approach the subject with that person? • Are you having trouble with the tone, especially when giving instructions? Imagine you’re writing for the smartest person you know, and then you’ll be positive and not

61

62

Promote Your Business

• •

• • •

condescending. Alternatively, imagine you’re writing for the dumbest person so you don’t leave out any important facts. Write the body of your material first and then return to the first paragraph last. Set reasonable and attainable time limits for yourself (e.g. 15–30 minutes), and just write about the subject. Write continually until the time is up, no matter how good or bad your writing seems. Look at past examples of your own or other people’s work— but don’t get trapped by these examples. Walk around the block or find a quiet place to sit and think. Ask yourself what the 5W and H questions are of your material (what, when, where, why, who and how).

Style Your marketing material should be easy to read. Your audience should be so busy reading for content that they don’t even notice the words. These are just a vehicle to get your message across— unless of course, you’re writing a witty or funny advertisement that plays on words. Then you want your audience to share in your delight of the words. But mostly you will be writing simply and clearly, with your audience in mind at all times. Even when following the principles of good writing, there is scope for the personality of your business to shine through. Think about the websites and e-newsletters you receive that stand out. They’re the ones that are original, that say something different or have a unique feel. That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily way out or wacky, but they’re not afraid to let their personality and brand show. You can do the same with your marketing material.

Writing guidelines

Tone Often people are completely unaware of the tone of their writing. Say it out loud and you’ll realise that your writing does have tone, and the question you need to ask yourself is: ‘Is the tone appropriate for my audience?’ The appropriate tone for marketing material is often neutral, to let the key messages speak for themselves, but if you’re writing an advertisement or direct mail, you sometimes want your material to have a livelier, more persuasive tone. That doesn’t mean going overboard on emotive adjectives. Rather, the art of writing persuasively is to be objective, use specific examples and substantiate what you say.

Words SIMPLE, SHORT WORDS Part of the richness of our language comes from the range and diversity of words we have to choose from, but simple is still best for marketing purposes. Often people use complex words in writing, thinking these make them sound intelligent and professional; in reality they often sound pompous, confusing and bureaucratic. The building blocks for your marketing material are words. Short, simple, familiar words are stronger than long, complex words. We’ve inherited a lot of the simple words in English from the Anglo-Saxons (500–1100 AD). Although only about one-sixth of our words come from this source, about half of the most commonly used words in modern English have Old English roots. They’re words like ‘water’, ‘strong’ and ‘brave’. Write the way you speak, but without all the inconsistencies and colloquialisms of oral speech. If you’re having difficulty

63

64

Promote Your Business

phrasing something, say it out loud and see how it sounds. If it sounds wrong, then change it. Your ear will be right. Some examples of complex words or phrases and their simpler, more concise alternatives are as follows: Complex

Simpler

amongst arising from the fact that as regards exceeding in the foreseeable future furthermore despite the fact that in addition pertains to predicated on necessitate previous to requirement a small proportion of to a large extent in view of the fact that

among because about more than in the future and although also is about based on need before need some largely because

CLICHÉS We all use clichés at times (‘Please don’t hesitate to call me’ etc.). Sometimes they’re appropriate, but we could often say the same thing more simply. Look at the following examples of clichés and possible alternatives. Clichés

Alternatives

‘At your earliest convenience’

‘By 22 May’ (Being specific gives people a deadline and creates a sense of urgency.)

‘Please feel free to call’

‘Please call’ or ‘Call me on . . .’

‘Thank you in advance for your cooperation’

‘Thank you for your cooperation’

Writing guidelines

ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES Adjectives and adverbs often slow the pace of your writing and weaken it. A common mistake of beginning writers is to use too many adjectives and adverbs. If you’re guilty of that, go through your work and delete them all, then see which ones you can’t live without and should reinstate. Many fiction-writing courses also stress the necessity to be ruthless with your adjectives and adverbs. POWERFUL VERBS Verbs are more powerful than nouns. For example, compare ‘The installation of the program will take five days’ with ‘The program will take five days to install’. Marketing material uses verbs extensively. Have a look and see how often simple words like ‘try’, ‘taste’, ‘switch’ or ‘buy’ are used in advertisements or direct mail. One simple tip to get even more mileage out of verbs is to add an ‘s’. For example, when you say ‘Add zest to your life’, the readers have to do something to get that zest. If you say your product ‘adds zest to your life’, the emphasis has changed and all the readers have to do is buy the product which will give them the zest. Same message (buy) but a slightly different twist that adds even more power to the verb. Having said that verbs are powerful, there are two exceptions—the verbs ‘to get’ and ‘to be’. Many people take exception to the word get, probably because often it could be replaced with a more specific verb. For example, He got the book could be written as He bought the book or He fetched the book. In some instances, such as ‘got married’, there really is no suitable alternative. It’s impossible to imagine writing without the verb ‘to be’, but there is a temptation to use parts of it, like There is and It

65

66

Promote Your Business

is, as fillers which could easily be deleted. Parts of the verb to be are also often used in passive constructions—for example, was, were, will be, should have been, have been, had been and has been. Active verbs are stronger than passive verbs as they’re more direct and to the point. Verbs are active when we learn at the beginning of the sentence who performs the action, for example ‘She wrote the letter’. They’re passive when the subject is acted on, for example ‘The letter was written by the manager’. With the active voice we always know who performed the action, but with the passive voice we don’t always know, for example ‘The meeting was cancelled’. We don’t know who cancelled it. Although the active voice is more direct and vigorous than the passive, the passive has a purpose and is properly used for: • Typical situations, e.g. ‘Robots are used for repetitive actions’ • When you want to avoid responsibility and the subject isn’t known, e.g. ‘The decision was made’ • Emphasis, e.g. ‘The yellow car was destroyed by the bus’. This sentence would have a different meaning if it were ‘The bus destroyed the yellow car’. If you have used a passive verb, you can change it by: • Changing the word order to put the subject first, e.g. ‘The memo was sent by the manager’ becomes ‘The manager sent the memo’ • Supplying a subject if you know who or what the subject is, e.g. ‘The method was ruled out’ becomes ‘The supervisor ruled out the method’ • Replacing a passive verb with an active one, e.g. ‘The water is sent into the lake’ becomes ‘The water flows into the lake’.

Writing guidelines

Sentences Use short sentences. Occasionally long sentences work, but as a general rule sentences should be not longer than 25 words. The problem with long, complex sentences is that you can get lost in the middle and find it difficult to work out what the person is saying. If your sentence is too long, try deleting unnecessary words, breaking it into two sentences or putting some of the information into bullet form. Although long sentences seldom work, all sentences the same length would be boring too. Add variety to your writing by varying the length of your sentences. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional short sentence, but too many short sentences make your writing seem jerky. Single-sentence paragraphs sometimes work, especially in press releases, but use them with care in other types of writing. As a general rule, use one idea per sentence. Sometimes two works, but three is overload. If you’re having difficulty with the word order, put the main idea first and keep the subject and verb close together. The rest of the sentence should then fall into place. Remember to keep the internal structure of your sentences consistent. A common mistake is switching between nouns and verbs or using different forms of the same verb. For example, ‘To investigate the claim and reporting on it may take several days’ should be ‘To investigate the claim and report on it may take several days’.

Paragraphs These days most of us are used to receiving information in chunk-sized bites. The Internet is a prime example, but look at modern non-fiction books compared with even 10 years ago and

67

68

Promote Your Business

you’ll find much greater use of headings and subheadings. One rule of thumb is to have a heading approximately every 250 words. Short paragraphs help the flow of a text. As a general rule, keep your paragraphs to between three and six lines. More occasionally works, but if your paragraph becomes too long it’s daunting. As with sentences, you can shorten your paragraphs by breaking them into two, deleting unnecessary words or turning some of the information into bullet points. Each new topic should have a new paragraph. This signals to readers that it’s a new thought and makes it easier for them to follow your writing. Each paragraph usually has one main idea, known as the topic sentence. In business and marketing writing, the topic sentence usually comes first and the rest of the paragraph contains supporting information. Paragraphs need to flow in a logical manner. You can often achieve this just by having a logical structure, but sometimes you may also need connecting words like ‘also’, ‘although’ and ‘finally’. Check that these words are necessary and if you have a favourite (like ‘however’) that you tend to overuse, watch out for it and eliminate it when it doesn’t add value.

Lists Lists are often used in marketing material, such as brochures and websites. They’re useful to get across information quickly and concisely. As stated in Chapter 2, however, use them judiciously so as not to overdo them. The main problem that people have with lists is inconsistency. So whatever style you choose, make sure you use the same style consistently throughout. Semi-colons used to be common in lists, but the modern trend is for minimal punctuation.

Writing guidelines

As well as using a consistent style, watch out for consistent internal structure, punctuation and line spacing. For example, if you have used a line space between the initial statement and the first bullet point, use this style consistently.

Rewriting, editing and proofing Rewriting—delete, delete, delete Once you’ve finished writing your marketing material, you’re ready for the next most important process—rewriting, editing and proofing. This stage is as important as thinking before you write. Even experienced writers need to rewrite and hone their material. Rewriting improves the structure and clarity of your document and makes an enormous difference to the quality of the final product. It’s a good idea to have a space between your first and second drafts. When you approach your work again, you will see it more clearly. Often you’ll make radical changes at this stage, rearranging material and rewriting entire sections. The key word at this stage is delete. You can often delete as much as a quarter of your words and get your message across more powerfully. Be ruthless with your adverbs and adjectives and get rid of filler words that don’t add much meaning, such as there is, it is, which and that. Also look out for repetitions at all levels—repetitions of information and repetitions of words. It’s easy to get a word on the brain and not even notice that you’ve used the same word several times in the same paragraph. Use a thesaurus if you’re stuck, but saying the sentence out loud will often give you a simple, suitable alternative.

69

70

Promote Your Business

The things we should leave out are usually the interesting titbits that appeal to us. In fiction writing this is sometimes called ‘murdering your babies’. It’s hard to do, particularly if you think the words you should delete are clever or witty. If you’re having difficulty cutting material, ask a colleague or friend for their opinion. Also, refer again to your purpose. For example, if you’re trying to persuade a client or customer to buy your products or services, what do they need and want to know to make a purchasing decision? Once you’re satisfied with your material, stand back and give it the customer or client check. If you were in their shoes reading your material, what would you think of it? Is the information relevant and appropriate? Is your tone right? etc.

Editing Editing comes after rewriting, even though you will have done considerable editing as you rewrote. You’ll now have the overall structure right so you’re checking the detail to make sure your facts are accurate, your headings and lists are in a consistent style and there are no grammatical mistakes. At this stage, you can still use that magic word delete and tighten your writing even more.

Proofreading After you’ve finished, put your work aside once again before you proofread it. The problem with proofreading material straight after you’ve read it is that you read what you think is there rather than what is. For example, one of my common mistakes is typing form when I mean from, and I often won’t

Writing guidelines

even see this. Microsoft spell and grammar check is helpful, but has its limitations. For example, it won’t pick up missing words or some typos, such as an instead of can. At the proofing stage, you’re looking for typos and inconsistencies, such as the use of ‘five’ and ‘5’ in one document. These details make a difference, as first impressions count and a typo on the first page can let down your entire work. It happens to us all. I have a salutary story on this note. I was extremely well prepared and had thoroughly proofed my notes for a course but planned to put the structure of the course on the whiteboard. When I discovered there was no whiteboard in the room, I quickly wrote up the course structure on my laptop for the data show. I flashed it up on the screen, and there was the typo. Not a good start or look for a training session on writing! I now include the structure in the notes. Ideally, ask a colleague to proof your work for you as well. They’ll approach it with fresh eyes and spot mistakes you’ve missed. If you can’t find anyone else to proofread it, read it word by word, line by line. Some people put a ruler under each line to stop themselves skim-reading. If you’re having your work professionally designed and printed, you need to proofread your work at each stage of the process. Mistakes can creep in during the design and print process. Don’t expect a designer to treat your words with the respect you do. Most are more concerned with the visual appearance, and that’s why you employed them. So take responsibility for the words and check them thoroughly. You don’t want a brochure with a typo or missing paragraph. Talk to anyone who has been involved in design and print management and you’ll hear enough horror stories to appreciate the value of thorough proofreading.

71

72

Promote Your Business

PAKO CHECKLIST The bottom line is: • • • • •

Does your communication work? Does it fulfil its purpose? Is it appropriate for your audience? Are your key messages clearly spelt out? Is the reader likely to respond the way you want them to?

Structure: • • • • •

Do you get your main message across at the beginning? Does your material flow logically? Is it easy to read? Do you provide closure? Do you have a call to action?

Style and language: • Is your style clear and concise? • Is your language appropriate for your readers? • Have you chunked your information into easy-to-read paragraphs with headings and subheadings? • Have you used short sentences? • Have you used simple words and avoided unnecessary jargon? • Have you used passive statements? Repetitions: • Have you repeated yourself? • Have you got fixated on a certain word and overused it? Layout: • What does it look like? • Do you need more headings and subheadings?

Writing guidelines

• Do you need to put some information into bullet points? • Do you have too many bullet points? Punctuation: • Have you used inconsistent punctuation (e.g. full stops after some but not all items) in lists? • Have you used inaccurate punctuation (e.g. semi-colons where colons should be used)? Consistency: • Have you used a consistent style for lists, numbers, dates? For example, if you have chosen to spell out numbers between one and nine, make sure you use the same rule throughout the work. • Are your lists in a consistent style? Typos and spelling mistakes: • Are there any typos or spelling mistakes?

Glossary of grammatical terms Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns and give us information about which, whose, what kind and how many. For example, beautiful dress, wonderful day and black cat. Simply put, they’re ‘describing’ words. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs, and tell how, when, where and how much. For example, he came quickly, I will do it later, he is very kind, the tide is in. Conjunctions join words, phrases and clauses. For example, and, however and but. Determiners include articles, such as a, an and the, pronouns like some and any, and numerals like one and first.

73

74

Promote Your Business

Nouns are the names of tangible things, such as cat, book and report, and of abstract notions, such as ideas, dreams and love. They’re sometimes called ‘naming’ words. Prepositions are used before nouns or pronouns to relate them to other words (e.g. he is in the car). Common prepositions are by, for, in, of and to. Some people still maintain that sentences shouldn’t end with a preposition, but this is not so. This idea was rubbished by Churchill in his famous sentence: ‘This is the sort of English up with which I will not put.’ Pronouns take the place of nouns. Personal pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, you, and they and their corresponding forms, for example, me, my, us and our. Possessive pronouns are mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours and theirs. Verbs show actions (e.g. play), processes (e.g. grow) or states of being (e.g. to be or to have). In simple terms, they’re often referred to as ‘doing’ words.

How to write brochures and flyers

4

How to write brochures and flyers

D

espite the increasing use of email and the Internet there is still a place for brochures, as people like the look and the feel of print. It’s easy to delete email. You may visit a website once and never return. But people tend to hold onto brochures, especially if they’re interesting or contain some useful information. Brochures are a means of introducing your business, describing your products or services, and helping your prospective customers make the decision to buy your goods or services. The best brochure talks directly to the readers, anticipating and answering all their questions. A brochure will not in itself sell your product, but it may well influence your customers’ decision. Getting it right will help you win business. In marketing terms, ‘collateral’ refers to the pamphlets, flyers, sales folders and other printed items you use to promote your 75

76

Promote Your Business

business—not security for a loan. In this chapter the word ‘brochure’ will be used instead, as it’s a simpler, stronger word. Before you start writing your brochure, ask yourself some basic questions. Why do I want a brochure? Who do I want to read my brochure? How will I distribute my brochure? And, most importantly: What’s my budget? Your budget will determine whether or not you can afford a designer or will design your brochure yourself. It will also influence your print decision. Will you have your brochure professionally printed, photocopied or laser printed? It is possible to produce professional-looking, high-quality brochures on a shoestring budget—you just have to think carefully about your fonts, layout and paper (more under ‘Design’).

Types of brochures Brochures come in many different shapes and sizes. Start collecting brochures yourself and you’ll see. Look at the words and design critically, as this will help you work out what you like and don’t like. If there are elements in other people’s brochures you like, keep them in mind for your own. This may seem like copying, but if you write your brochure using both your head and your passion about your business, it will be original. All traces of copying will disappear as you incorporate other people’s ideas and make them your own.

Capability brochures A capability brochure, which includes corporate brochures and company profiles, gives the reader a general overview of your

How to write brochures and flyers

company and its products or services. Most large companies have capability brochures, and customers will often expect you to have one. A capability brochure demonstrates that you have credibility and substance. You’re not just a fly-by-night company that may disappear tomorrow. If you’re a small business, this is a real concern for prospective customers, who don’t know you personally. They have good reason to be concerned: more than 60% of new businesses fail within three years. So a capability brochure, while not in itself a guarantee of your ability to survive, is an indication that you’re planning to be around for the long haul. A capability brochure is also useful to back up your sales ‘spiel’. When you’re talking to someone for the first time, they probably won’t take in everything you say. It’s a bit like going to the doctor and trying to remember afterwards what they said. Only a small proportion sticks. Sometimes it’s enough, but people often want more information so they can think about your product or service after the meeting or discuss it with others. A brochure gives this back-up information. You can also use a capability brochure to say things about your business that you might feel reticent saying yourself. For example, in a capability brochure you can use testimonials, where other people speak for you, give case studies or examples of your work, and mention awards that you’ve won. Even if you do have the confidence to promote yourself, the written word adds authenticity and authority to your claims. Be careful not to oversell yourself. Your assertions must be true and believable, and you must be able to deliver. A capability brochure does have its limitations. As you’re providing a general overview of your business, you will also

77

78

Promote Your Business

be writing for a wide audience. Many people reading it won’t be interested in the detail, so keep your messages simple and make the brochure visually attractive by using lots of white space. Avoid technical terms that only some people understand. Your challenge is to write copy that is general but not too diluted. A lot of capability brochures can be dismissed as ‘selfserving PR hype with no substance’. You don’t want your capability brochure to fall into that category. Your brochure must be interesting and informative. Capability brochures that are professionally designed and printed are written to last for at least a year or two. This places limitations on the information you can include, particularly if you’re an expanding business and are likely to offer more products in the future. Also, if you are having your brochure printed, think of your pages in multiples of four, as this is a standard way of printing. It’s probably not sensible to profile staff members in this brochure. Too often, businesses produce brochures with photos and profiles of their key people. Six months later one of these staff members moves on, yet their photo continues to beam out of the brochure for the next two years. One piece of information you can’t afford to leave out— even if you are contemplating moving soon—is all your contact details. This information is far too vital to provide only on your business card. If you anticipate a move but don’t want to put your brochure on hold, cater for this in your design. For example, if your brochure is a booklet, you could replace the first and last pages without reprinting the whole brochure. Although most capability brochures are the company ‘showpiece’, if you’re a sole trader or just starting out and your budget

How to write brochures and flyers

is limited, you can use a one-page flyer or leaflet as a capability brochure. Printed on high-quality paper with skilful layout and easy-to-read fonts, these lower-cost versions still look classy and serve the same purpose (see extracts from the capability brochures of Delite Landscape Design, Emerald Furniture and Blue Gum Restaurant on the following pages).

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite Landscape Design mainly uses its capability brochure when pitching for new work. Delite’s A4 brochure includes: 1. Cover—name, picture and contact details 2. Inside the cover—testimonials from satisfied customers 3. Overview of services 4. and 5. Services in more detail 6. History of the company and profile of the owner 7. Inside back cover—design awards 8. Back cover—prominent contact details.

EMERALD furniture Emerald Furniture is a start-up business with a limited budget for promotions. The owner, Susan Eves, has chosen to use a folder, with separate sheets which she prints off as required on a laser printer. She uses an emerald-green folder and high-quality, thick, pale cream paper to create a cost-effective, classy look.

79

80

Promote Your Business

Delite

Delite Landscape DESIGN

in your garden Invest in your wellbeing and your future when you use Delite Landscape Design to develop the full potential of your garden. You can enjoy the peace and beauty of a well-landscaped garden while increasing the value of your property. Without a plan, a garden often looks ‘bitsy’. With a landscape plan, a garden has harmony. We work with your existing plants and your ideas and concepts to create the garden of your dreams.

Our services range from the initial consult to the final result and include:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On-site garden advice Sketch plans and planting guidelines Courtyard and balcony design Irrigation design Plant selection and purchase Garden construction and planting Maintenance.

With 25 years’ experience in the business, we have a sound knowledge of horticulture and design. We love what we do, and pride ourselves on:

~ ~

Working within your budget and time frames Creating low-maintenance, easy-care gardens.

23 Landscape Lane, Rockville SA 1999 Ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789 Email: [email protected]

Delite Landscape DESIGN

How to write brochures and flyers

Eco-timber + eco-techniques + style = pure class

EMERALD furniture

Class that lasts Emerald Furniture produces high-quality environmentally friendly home and corporate furniture. Our furniture is: •

elegant, yet comfortable

•

classy, yet affordable

•

modern, yet timeless.

More than just a builder of fine furniture, Emerald Furniture is committed to best practices that respect the environment. All our furniture is lovingly handcrafted from sustainable products. •

We salvage fine woods, such as jarrah and cedar, from demolished buildings and source hardwood from certified plantation forests.

•

We use kangaroo leather for some furniture, and this we source from agricultural culling programs.

•

Our furniture is assembled using traditional joinery techniques and protected with a non-toxic, citrus-based oil.

2 Crampton Street Browns Bay NSW 1999 ph: (01) 0345 6789 fax: (01) 0345 6789

81

82

Promote Your Business

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Only a few minutes’ walk from the heart of the city, Blue Gum is the perfect place for that casual breakfast, a business lunch or an evening meal with friends or family. Sit outside in our quiet, shady courtyard over your coffee or pre-dinner drink, then move inside to dine in comfort. Located in a superbly restored old banking chambers, the timber floors and high ceilings are a dramatic contrast with the contemporary décor. The mood is warm and friendly, the service smart and professional, and the food exceptional modern cuisine. Award-winning chef Gary Burgess combines his vast international experience with exciting, fresh local ingredients to give you a unique dining experience. The menu changes seasonally to take advantage of the freshest and highest-quality ingredients, and wherever possible we use organic produce. With our à la carte menu and blackboard specials, you can always choose something new or delight in your old favourites. Fully licensed and BYO, Blue Gum has an extensive wine list. A large selection of our wine is available by the glass.

9 Bannerman Street, Blues Point VIC 1999 ph: (01) 0345 6789 fax: (01) 0345 6789

How to write brochures and flyers

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Blue Gum Restaurant gives its brochure to corporate clients and people interested in its catering services. Its capability brochure is a booklet with a pouch inside the back cover for individual sheets, such as sample menus. Its structure is: 1. Cover—photo of the restaurant that extends over front and back cover 2. Inside cover—address, phone number and location map 3. Description of restaurant 4. Information on functions 5. Information on catering 6. History of the restaurant, profile of the owners and a review 7. Pouch for sample menus etc. 8. Back cover—photo that continues from the front page.

Product brochures Product brochures describe a specific product, service or offering. These brochures are usually shorter than the capability brochure, but go into more depth about a particular aspect of your business. They are usually less showy and more functionallooking. They get down to business and discuss the details of your products and services. Sometimes, but not often, they include pricing. Product brochures come in many forms, including leaflets, pamphlets, cards, flyers (covered separately), factsheets and booklets. They’re sometimes professionally printed, but many are photocopied or printed on a laser or inkjet printer. At its

83

84

Promote Your Business

simplest, a product brochure is a word document printed on quality paper or logo stationery. This may then be folded to fit into an envelope or inserted into a folder. Some product brochures are rack cards—one- or two-sided— that fit into standard brochure stands. They’re useful for current promotions and pricing. You often see this type of brochure at trade shows, where people are inundated with information. A card is easy to read at a glance, and people can throw it into their showbag without crushing it. Probably the majority of product brochures are what’s called DL brochures—an A4 piece of paper folded into three. Some variations of the DL brochure have extra fold-out leaves. One of the advantages of a DL brochure is that it fits into a standard DL envelope, and so is cheaper to post than larger brochures. While your capability brochure has a general audience, your product brochure is more targeted. But be careful what assumptions you make about your readership. For example, you might write your brochure for technicians or engineers, who want to know the technical specifications, but it may also be read by managers who want to know about issues like service support, ease of use and return on investment. And these managers might have the purchasing power. It’s also unwise to assume that all technicians or engineers will be well versed in every aspect of your technology, especially if you’re promoting the latest products in your field. When in doubt, it is better to avoid jargon or to explain your terms. People who do understand are unlikely to take offence, and those who don’t will appreciate not being made to feel stupid or inadequate. Like a capability brochure, a product brochure has space limitations, so you need to be selective. Your aim is to tell your

How to write brochures and flyers

prospective customers what they need to know about your product or service to help them make the decision to buy it, and to encourage them to buy it from you, not a competitor.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite Landscape Design has a regular stand at a garden show, and this year has decided to use a pot-shaped card to promote its courtyard and balcony design service. The other side of the card is an illustration or photo of potplants on a balcony or courtyard plus Delite’s phone number.

EMERALD furniture Emerald Furniture prints product information on thick cream paper. The photos are high-resolution quality to show the furniture to best advantage.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Blue Gum Restaurant has some information about its function room in its capability brochure. In brief, the room holds up to 40 people and is available for private functions, such as corporate dinners or birthday parties. Blue Gum Restaurant inserts a sample menu in the pouch on the back cover of its capability brochure.

85

86

Promote Your Business

Delite Landscape DESIGN

We’ve gone potty! Brighten up your courtyard or balcony with potted plants—ferns, flowers, herbs, bamboos, palms . . .

Ring us for an obligation-free design quote.

Ph: (01) 0345 6789 OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE :

Delite Landscape DESIGN

Ph: (01) 0345 6789

How to write brochures and flyers

Eco-timber + eco-techniques + style = pure class

EMERALD furniture

Class that lasts . . . Our home furniture is lovingly handmade out of environmentally friendly materials. We can design one-off pieces of unique furniture or you can choose from our current furniture range. Allow 6–8 weeks for delivery. 2 Crampton Street Browns Bay NSW 1999 ph: (01) 0345 6789 fax: (01) 0345 6789

87

88

Promote Your Business

Blue Gum RESTAURANT RESTAURANT

Sample Sample menu menu for for functions functions Catering Catering starts starts at at aa very very reasonable reasonable $15 $15 per per person person for for cocktail cocktail food food and and $60 $60 per per person a three-course menu large groups. menu three person for for a three-course set set menu for for large groups. TheThe set set menu hashas three choices choices in each course. Smaller groups choose from la carte menu. in each course. Smaller groups cancan choose from ourour à laàcarte menu.

Entrees Entrees Spinach Spinach and and fetta fetta cheese cheese fritters fritters Chilli Chilli fish fish with with sweet sweet lemon lemon salad salad Beef Beef salad salad with with coconut coconut dressing dressing

Mains Mains Roasted Roasted jewfish jewfish fillets fillets with with braised braised fennel fennel and and aa lemon lemon cream cream sauce sauce Prawn and chicken curry cooked in coconut cream Prawn and chicken curry cooked in coconut cream Butterflied Butterflied leg leg of of lamb lamb with with roasted roasted vegetables, vegetables, served served with with yoghurt yoghurt and and sesame sesame All Allmains mainsare areserved servedwith withbaby babypotatoes potatoesand andaaMediterranean Mediterraneansalad. salad.

Desserts Desserts Coconut Coconut tart tart with with raspberry raspberry sauce sauce Crème Crème brulée brulée and and steeped steeped apricots apricots Chocolate Chocolate spice spice syrup syrup cake cake served served with with home-made home-made vanilla vanilla ice ice cream cream

9 Bannerman Street, Blues Point VIC 1999 ph: (01) 0345 6789 fax: (01) 0345 6789

How to write brochures and flyers

Flyers Many businesses use flyers inserted inside other publications, such as magazines or newsletters produced by professional bodies for their members. Some professional associations also send members advertising faxes. You can often choose to have your flyer sent only to a specific area, and this lowers the cost. Flyers are useful for promoting events and new products. They’re usually just an A4 piece of paper with writing on one or both sides. Some are glossy and professionally printed, but many are laser printed or photocopied. In many ways flyers are more like direct mail than capability or product brochures, as they’re often time-specific and include an offer to tempt people to buy (see Chapter 6). Susan Eves inserted a flyer into the newsletter of a local women’s business network to promote her carpentry classes for women.

Folders of information One of the most versatile marketing tools is a customised folder, which houses all your brochures, leaflets, factsheets, flyers and other printed material, such as price lists, presentations, annual reports, press releases and letters. Folders are used by businesses of all sizes. Ideally, your folder will be in your corporate colours, with your name and logo clearly displayed on the front cover. The contact details will probably be on the back. If you’re a small business starting out, search the stationery shops to find a commercial folder in your corporate colours. Some of them have a space on the front cover to insert your business card. The advantage of a folder is that you can mix and match your material to suit specific customers or prospects. This is

89

90

Promote Your Business

EMERALD furniture

Learn how to make your own furniture

One-day furniture making class for women Pay only $195 for this one-day course and save $100 if you book before the end of September. In this one-day workshop on 30 October, Susan Eves, an experienced and award-winning furniture maker, will teach you some of the basic skills you need to make your own furniture. By the end of the day, everyone will have a stool to take away with them. The materials are included in the overall cost. If you want to make any other furniture, Susan will help you with the design and let you choose some wood, which you can select and buy from her supplies. Susan is renowned for her stylish and comfortable designs and for her environmentally sound approach to furniture making. All the wood you use is either recycled or sourced from sustainable forestry plantations. You’ll learn traditional furniture-making techniques and use natural finishing products, not toxic chemicals. Spaces are limited to 12, so book early to avoid disappointment. Where

2 Campton Street, Browns Bay. Close to public transport and parking available on the street. Tea and coffee provided. Bring your own lunch.

When

30 October.

Time

9 am to 5 pm.

Price

$295—pay only $195 if you book before the end of September, and save $100.

How to book

Visit or ring Susan on (01) 0345 6789.

How to write brochures and flyers

particularly relevant if your business has several divisions or products. A folder has an added advantage of keeping all your marketing material intact in one piece. Individual brochures or pieces of paper are easily lost or misplaced between other bits of paper. While it is handy being able to tailor the contents of a folder, you need to make sure that the contents all look professional and are in keeping with your image and brand. It may be tempting to add a photocopied price list or staff contact sheet, but if these look scruffy, think again. First impressions matter.

Online brochures Often, particularly if you’re telemarketing, prospects will want you to email them information rather than posting it. An online brochure is never going to look as good as a hard copy, but it is cheaper and often more convenient. Think about how you will present your information via email. You can convert your brochure into a PDF file or Word document. Alternatively, you could email prospects a link to a specific page on your website.

Writing your brochure What comes first—words or design? The words and pictures must work together, but as a general rule, after you’ve made the broad decision about what sort of brochure you want—be it a DL brochure, a booklet or a onepage flyer—the words should come first.

91

92

Promote Your Business

If you’re using a designer, you may at this stage have a conversation with them about the general look and feel of your brochure. But don’t let the designer talk you into making your words fit exactly into a template. While the design is important, its primary role is to tempt people to read your words. Too many brochures dazzle by their design at the expense of the words. Once you’ve identified the reason you want a brochure, your target audience and the messages you wish to convey, it’s time to plan your content and structure. Decide at this stage whether you want to include photos and/or illustrations. Once you’ve developed your structure, stand back and look at it. Your outline may be logical, but is it in the order that your prospective customers will find interesting? Will they want to know about everything you’ve included, or do you need to be more selective? You may decide that information you find fascinating has to go. Be ruthless. The less clutter, the more your messages will stand out. Put some of the extra information in other promotional material, such as factsheets or flyers. The next step is to collect relevant information, including photos and illustrations. Facts and statistics help make your message believable and interesting. If you’re a new business, you may not have much information to draw on apart from your business plan and what’s in your head. But if you’re an established business, use previous brochures, annual reports, newsletters, the website, presentations, press releases and so on. You may well end up with far more information than you need. It’s worth reading it all, though, as it will help you get a feel for the main messages you want to convey, and you may come across some snippets or facts that will liven up your copy. On the other hand, once you’ve read all the information you might still find there are gaps in your knowledge. Then you’ll

How to write brochures and flyers

have to talk to other people in your company to get the answers. CHECKLIST OF BROCHURE INGREDIENTS: 1. General overview of your business 2. History of your company 3. Strategic alliances 4. Benefits and features of your products and services 5. Values and philosophies 6. Customer service and support 7. Client list 8. Case studies 9. Testimonials 10. Awards 11. Contact details 12. Location map. To help you stay on track, keep an imaginary customer in mind as you write and rewrite. One of the dangers in writing about something you know well is that you will either make assumptions that other people share your knowledge or you’ll fall into the trap of thinking they are as interested in it as you, and thus want to know everything. They don’t. You must be selective about what details you choose to include. Remember the old clichés that less is more and ‘Keep it Simple, Stupid’ (KISS). They’re both true.

Promote your uniqueness Promote your uniqueness. If you have a USP (unique selling proposition) that clearly distinguishes you from your competitors, then use it. If there are lots of businesses offering similar services, think about what makes you and your business stand

93

94

Promote Your Business

out. If you’re still struggling to think of points of differentiation, think about what attracts your customers or clients. Why did they choose you in the first place, and what keeps them coming back? Emerald Furniture promotes the use of environmentally sound materials and techniques, and sometimes Susan will reluctantly talk about being a woman in a male-dominated industry. The Delite Landscape people stress their years of experience, their qualified staff and the awards they’ve won. Blue Gum Restaurant capitalises on the fact that it’s a family business with an awardwinning chef.

Write about benefits Sometimes the benefits are obvious, and you’ll have no trouble writing about them. In some brochures you’ll actually see the heading ‘Benefits’, but more often the benefits are embedded in the copy. In some cases the benefits seem too obvious to state. For example, everyone knows that the main benefit of a software typing program is that they will learn how to type. That’s why they want to buy one. But your typing program may have some features that will encourage the buyer to choose yours, so your job as a writer is to use language to turn those features into benefits. One way of working out the benefits of your product or service is to use the marketing acronym FAB, which stands for features, advantages and benefits. Advantages are an intermediary step between features and benefits. For example, airbags are installed in many cars these days (feature). They inflate if the car is involved in a crash and make the car safer (advantage). This protects the people in the car and ultimately saves lives (benefit).

How to write brochures and flyers

The following example is for a DVD/CD shredder (). Feature

Advantage

Benefit

Shreds the data side of DVDs and CDs, completely destroying information contained on them

Securely disposes of obsolete DVDs and CDs, preventing any theft or misuse of valuable, sensitive data

Security and protection from data and identity theft

‘You’ instead of ‘we’ and ‘I’ Shift your emphasis and view your brochure from your customers’ perspective. What’s in it for them? One of the simplest ways of changing the whole tone and emphasis of your writing is to change ‘we’ and ‘I’ statements into ‘you’ statements. For example, instead of saying that ‘our product is fully automatic’ (feature), state that ‘you will save x amount of time by using our product’ (benefit). Once again, be as specific as possible. If you know how much time your product will save, say so. Read some ads: copywriters are good at writing about benefits in ‘you’ language. It is surprising how often this simple technique is overlooked. Just look at a few brochures and you will see they’re all about what the company can do, not what you as the customer will gain from their products or services.

Use testimonials, reviews and case studies to sing your praises Testimonials are a powerful endorsement for your products and services. Make sure they are genuine and that you have the customers’ permission to use their quotes. That may sound obvious, but if you’re new in business it may be tempting to

95

96

Promote Your Business

exercise creative licence. If you’re working in the corporate world, it also helps if your testimonials are from well-known, respected companies that your prospective customers have heard of. For residential customers, the words are often more important than who said them—unless of course it’s a popular celebrity.

Testimonial

Delite Landscape DESIGN

I wanted to let you know how pleased we are with all your work—the overall design is everything we hoped for and we now eat most of our meals outside so we can enjoy our beautiful garden. You and your staff were a pleasure to work with. Your staff constructed the rock retaining walls, planters and pond professionally, with care for the surroundings and respect for the occupants in the home—a rare trait in tradespeople. We will have no hesitation recommending you to all our friends who admire our garden. Once again, THANK YOU. Bob and Jane Smith.

Reviews are another form of testimonial. Blue Gum Restaurant quotes this review in its brochure.

Blue Gum Review

RESTAURANT

‘Everything you expect from a fine restaurant except the price tag and the pretensions. Set in a spectacular 1920s banking chamber, the high ceilings create a sense of reverence, which is countered by the comfortable, modern décor.The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed and you can hear yourself talk.

How to write brochures and flyers

The menu varies from simple dishes like spinach and fetta fritters to more substantial mains, such as organic chicken wrapped in bacon served with leek and potato tart and cumin pesto sauce. Flavours and textures are combined to deliver meals that live up to their promise. The wine list is impressive, with a wide-ranging selection of well-chosen local wines, supplemented by excellent imported wines. The service is professional and well paced. A restaurant for all occasions—and worthy of repeat visits.’

Prestigious cuisine magazine

Case studies can also work. You might provide a detailed description of a specific job you’ve worked on or give examples of the sort of work you do. Some businesses include a list of current and past clients.

Use positive statements Positive statements are more powerful and persuasive than negative ones. Consider the difference between ‘save time’ and ‘work less’, ‘feel great’ and ‘reduce pain’, ‘saves money’ and ‘costs less’. Describe your benefits and features in a positive tone, but don’t oversell or promise what you can’t deliver. Avoid valueladen words like ‘best’, ‘fastest’ or ‘greatest’. Having said that, some clichés still work. Most of us are suckers for words like ‘free’, ‘free trial period’, ‘money-back guarantee’, ‘save’, ‘improved’ and ‘new’.

Use facts and figures Remember that most people like facts and figures. If you have any statistics that support your business, use these to back up

97

98

Promote Your Business

your claims. But be careful not to use statistics that will date your products too quickly. Be as specific as possible. For example, if you sell an IT product and speed is a selling point, then state how fast your product goes. Mention any awards you’ve won—that’s always impressive.

Use short words, sentences, paragraphs and sections The best way to make your copy direct and easy to read can be summed up in one word—short. • Short words. Simple, direct words are stronger and more forceful than long, complex words. For example, consider the difference between ‘stomach’ and ‘gut’, ‘remittance’ and ‘pay’, ‘utilise’ and ‘use’, ‘ensure’ and ‘make sure’. • Short sentences. Sentences should generally be 25 words or less. • Short paragraphs. About three to six lines as a general rule, although one-line paragraphs sometimes work and longer paragraphs are occasionally okay. • Short sections with headings. Break your copy into short subsections, each with its own heading. Short sections are easy to read and create white space, which is appealing to the eye.

Use bullet points Many brochures use bullet points to convey information clearly and simply and to create white space. Be careful you don’t overuse them though. It’s good to have variety, with a mixture of text in paragraphs and bullet points.

How to write brochures and flyers

Write headings that tell your story Headlines vary in length from single words to complete sentences or questions. Most headings and subheadings in brochures are straightforward rather than witty. Their main aim is to let the reader know at a glance what’s in the following section. You might decide to insert them at the end of the writing process, write them first or write them as you go. Whichever way you do it, you need to check them at the end. Then read the headlines without reading any of the text to see whether they tell your story by themselves. Once again, imagine you’re the prospective customer. A minority of readers always skip headlines, so repeat the headline information in the body of your text. There’s more information about headings in Chapter 7.

Liven up your copy with photos, graphs and illustrations It’s possible to have an elegant, beautifully designed brochure with just text, but photos and illustrations will enrich your words. If you use photographs, make sure they are good-quality and high-resolution. If your budget stretches to it, use a professional photographer. Remember to caption your photos: people do read captions. If you choose to illustrate your brochure, there is a huge range of clipart available on the Internet. You may have to pay for it, but some sites have free illustrations. Or you can hire an illustrator to do original drawings for you. If your material lends itself to this, put some of your information in table or graph form. Some people prefer reading information in graphs and tables. Put a summary in the copy as well, as there are other readers who skip graphs and charts completely.

99

100

Promote Your Business

Include an action step Think about the action you want the audience to take and make the next step an easy one. For example, if you want the audience to reply, consider including a reply-paid card. If you want them to ring you, display your contact details clearly on every page. Make your contact details, including your website, easy to see. Think about the size of the font and don’t make it too small for people with reading glasses. If you want people to visit you on site, include a location map.

Design and print Whether you decide to use a professional designer and printer or do it yourself, your brochure must be consistent with your brand and image (see Chapter 2). If you don’t have a corporate brand, take a step back from your brochure and work out your corporate logo and colours. Your corporate image and brand must flow through all aspects of your business. Before making the decision about whether to pay professionals or do it yourself, ring a designer or printer and get an estimate of costs. It really is worth having your brochure professionally designed and printed if you can afford it. A number of factors will influence the cost, including how many copies you want, whether you want full colour or blackand-white, how many photos and illustrations you want to include, the quality of the paper and so on. The more copies you do, the cheaper each brochure is. It’s a good idea to get more copies than you think you need. Then you can give them away freely without worrying about the cost of each one. There’s nothing worse than hoarding your brochures because they’re

How to write brochures and flyers

expensive and two years later having a cupboard full of out-ofdate brochures. All decisions at this stage are crucial to the end result. Even a seemingly small decision, like the paper you choose, influences the way people view your business. You have the choice of matt or glossy paper, textured or plain, white or coloured, and they all come in different weights. The paper you choose must suit your image. For instance, a silver flyer with purple illustrations promoting Christmas caterers is lighthearted and fun. But customers could be put off a financial services company promoting a superannuation fund on the same shiny, silver paper. It doesn’t speak with authority. If you decide to do the layout yourself, use a software package such as Microsoft Publisher. Remember to use lots of white space, including wide margins, and choose fonts that are easy to read. Use one font only for the body copy. Create a hierarchy of headings and subheadings and either use the same font, but in a different size, as the body copy or choose a complementary font. If you communicate with many of your customers by email, consider producing an electronic version of your brochure in PDF format. It won’t look as good as the print version, but if it reaches people who wouldn’t otherwise read your brochure it’s worth doing.

Editing—delete, delete, delete If you’ve written the first draft the way you talk, it will probably be a bit loose and waffly. So on your second draft, attack your copy ruthlessly with the delete button. Delete all unnecessary words and information. Reading the copy out loud is a good way to hear what it sounds like and to pick up any typing errors.

101

102

Promote Your Business

If you’re working closely on your brochure you’ll be surprised how easy it is to overlook missing words or even misspelt words. Once you’re satisfied you’ve done the best job you can do at the time, leave it for a few days. Then reread it through your customers’ eyes. Does it make sense? Does it work? Would you buy your products and services on the basis of this brochure? What main messages do you take from it? Have you oversold your message? Is the information in the right order? If it passes your ‘customer’ test, give it to some colleagues to critique and proofread. The more people you can find to trial it, the better. You don’t have to take all their advice, just keep an open mind. And be grateful for any typos they pick up. It’s much better to find the mistakes at this stage than once the brochure is printed. Then you’re stuck with it unless you’re prepared to pay the price of a reprint. You haven’t finished when you hand your copy over to the designer or printer. Mistakes can creep in during the design and print process, so you will need to proofread the copy thoroughly again before it goes to print.

Make your brochure work for you Use your product brochures to support your marketing. If you’re telemarketing, follow up the call with your brochure. If you’re sending direct mail, include a product brochure. If you’re meeting prospective customers face-to-face, either send them your brochure beforehand or hand it over at the meeting. A new brochure is a good excuse to get in touch with existing customers and prospects. If your business has several products or services, some of your customers may know only about the

How to write brochures and flyers

products or services they use. This is an opportunity to show them what else you do and to widen the business you do with them. If you have built up relationships with industry associations and the press, send these a courtesy copy too. If you have a newsletter or e-newsletter, invite your readers to request a copy. Use them in letterbox drops, put them in brochure stands or display them at trade shows. Make them an integral part of all your marketing. And remember to keep a copy of your brochure in your briefcase at all times—you never know when you’ll meet someone who could be interested in your products or services. Let your brochure do the talking for you.

Summary PURPOSE • Capability brochures give an overview of your business and help establish your credibility. • Product brochures provide more details about specific products or services. • Flyers promote specific events or special deals. AUDIENCE Your audience is your existing customers and clients and prospects. Write with your audience in mind and think about what they will want to know, not just what you have to offer. CONTENT Your key messages in your brochure are how your customers and clients will benefit from using your products or services.

103

104

Promote Your Business

You need to establish your credibility and provide reasons for them to choose your business. TIPS • Use your capability and product brochures to support your marketing efforts. People often keep brochures to refer to when they’re making a purchasing decision. • Give your brochures to existing customers and clients as well as prospects, as existing customers and clients are often your best ambassadors.

How to write a press release

5

How to write a press release

A

press release is great publicity, as it reaches a wide audience. It’s more credible than an advertisement because it’s news. And it’s free—apart from the time you spend writing it. The good news is that journalists, producers and editors rely on press releases for much of the information about new and unusual products and company trends that appears in newspapers and magazines, and on radio and television. This is especially true of regional and local media. The bad news is that editors get deluged with press releases, so yours must stand out. You must have something newsworthy to say before they’ll take notice, such as a new product, sponsorship of an event or winning an award. And your story must be well written, following normal press release conventions. Your challenge is to write a release that makes journalists want to know more and decide to tell your story. Sometimes they will 105

106

Promote Your Business

use your press release unchanged but often they’ll do their own research, using your story as a basis for their own story. Press releases have to be newsworthy or you’re wasting your time. So before you start, ask yourself what you want to achieve with your press release; ask yourself whether you really do have a story or whether you’re just after free publicity. What you may think riveting may not appeal to an editor, so run it past a friend or colleague first. Also remember that, even if you have got a good story and your press release is well written, there’s still no guarantee that your story will get picked up by the media. There’s an element of luck involved. Your story might arrive on a quiet day and fill a space, or land on a busy day and get overlooked. There’s no way your press release can compete with a national or international disaster dominating the news. But time your press release right and you can scoop some good publicity. One method of getting press coverage is to piggyback on a breaking news story. If you spot such a PR opportunity, you need to act fast to capitalise on it. If your story doesn’t have a ‘use-by’ date, a good time to send it in is over school holiday periods when many reporters are on leave. If you plan to make press releases a regular part of your marketing and PR, I recommend that you read Peter Denton’s How to write and pitch your Press Release. It’s an excellent book by a former journalist with many years’ experience in the media.

Where to place your press release Research the media before you send out your story and see what sort of stories they publish. Whatever media you’re sending your press release to, find out the editors’ deadlines. Some want news

How to write a press release

stories now and others, like magazines, have a longer lead time. You may want to invest in a media guide, which is available in most bookshops and newsagencies, if you plan to make press releases a regular part of your marketing and PR. If you send your story to more than one source, you may need to tailor it to suit the different audiences. If you send your release to one source only, mark it ‘exclusive’ so that they know no-one else has the story. Many news agencies will, for a fee, send your press releases for you. The advantage of this service is that they have up-to-date contact details.

Major metropolitan papers Major daily papers are looking for a strong news story, but specialist sections of the papers may be interested in unusual, interesting and useful information. The news sections of the paper turn around stories within 24–48 hours, so your press release must be topical to attract the editors’ attention. Specialist sections often have longer lead times, and it pays to send in stories relating to special events or holidays in advance to secure a place. Metropolitan papers will often want to check your story rather than use it in its entirety, so don’t be surprised if your story is altered. If you’re lucky it will be expanded and you might be interviewed. It could turn into a feature article rather than a press release.

News agencies If your story is nationally newsworthy you could send it to a news agency. Newspapers, television and radio all source stories from news agencies.

107

108

Promote Your Business

Local press Don’t underestimate the power of the local press. Lots of people skim local papers before throwing them in the recycling bin, and your story might just catch their eye. Local newspapers will often use stories unaltered if they trust your credibility.

Trade journals and magazines Trade journals and magazines have a smaller readership but a longer life than a daily newspaper. People often keep trade journals or pass them on to colleagues once they’ve read them. As many are published monthly, you’re not so likely to be overlooked because a major news event is dominating the news. They also have longer lead times and often decide on stories months in advance of publication. So send your story in advance, and make sure it is not too time-limited.

Radio and television Radio and television are options if your story has immediacy or local appeal or is controversial. Local radio stations are always on the lookout for stories, so are a good avenue for your press releases with a local slant. Television is a good medium if you’re promoting an event or product with visual appeal. If you want TV or radio to come to an event, rather than write a press release you may choose to send an invitation to a specific person—for example, the head of news—provide them with background information and offer to arrange interviews. If you offer an interview, be prepared. Delegate and prime a spokesperson. Think about the main messages you want to get across. In some cases you can ask the show’s producer for a list of questions in advance.

How to write a press release

I was once interviewed for a business CD about how to write e-newsletters, and I spent ages beforehand worrying about how I would answer if they asked me tricky technical questions about html and email distribution. Then they asked me only simple, obvious questions. Had I sat and thought about the most important things rather than looking for obstacles I would’ve been much better prepared and happier with my answers. So think about the key messages you want to get across and focus on them. Fit your key points in wherever you can, and remember you don’t have to answer a question straightaway. You can take a breath while you gather your thoughts. You won’t usually have much time in a radio or TV interview, so make sure your answers are brief and memorable.

The Internet Don’t overlook the Internet, which is a rapidly evolving medium; most major news organisations have a presence on the Internet. Press releases specifically written for the Internet are often shorter than their print counterparts. Many consist of five short, one-to-three-sentence paragraphs.

Planning and structure Purpose Assuming you have a newsworthy story, what do you want to achieve with your press release? Do you want to create awareness of your company or to promote a particular product or service? Do you want the paper or magazine to publish your story basically unaltered or are you hoping that they will use it as the basis for an interview and maybe a feature article?

109

110

Promote Your Business

How will you capture and follow up on the goodwill your press release attracts? Will you use your press release in another format, for example on your website or in your e-newsletter? Will you follow up later with a paid advertisement? Don’t put a paid advertisement in the same edition of the paper or magazine, as it will dilute the effect of your press release.

Audience Who’s your target audience? If you understand your audience you’ll pitch your story right and find it easier to write an opening paragraph that will grab their attention. You’ll also provide supporting information that you know will interest them. Find out what media your audience reads, listens to or watches so you’ll send your press release to the most appropriate places. You can find out by asking some of your target group directly or seeing what papers and magazines are available at newsagencies. Look at the magazines and newspapers you’re interested in to make sure your story is right for that publication. Or listen to local radio and TV stations if they’re an appropriate medium. As well as researching your chosen media, find out the name of the editor so you can personalise your cover letter. Metropolitan newspapers have different editors for different sections, so choose which section your press release is most appropriate for.

Work out what you want to say Be clear about your key message and don’t try to tell too much. There is only room for one key message in a press release, which is usually short (300–500 words). For example, if you are launching a new product, concentrate on that and not all the

How to write a press release

other things you do. If you have secondary messages, they must support the main message. KEY MESSAGES • Delite Landscape Design: Launching a new product— balcony design. • Emerald Furniture: Won a furniture award. • Blue Gum Restaurant: Dial-a-dinner.

Writing your press release Choose an angle The angle, sometimes called the ‘spin’, is the approach you take to grab your readers’ attention. If you have a strong story, it’s best to write it straight, sticking to the facts. Sometimes a humaninterest angle works. For example, you can tell your story through a case study, such as a person who has used your products or services. This approach can be powerful, but you need to use real people, not fictitious ones. A controversial angle can also grab attention, but don’t be too emotive or your story will lose credibility. In How to write and pitch your Press Release, Peter Denton uses the fictitious example of teenage smoking to demonstrate three different spins: 1. In the straight story he tells the facts—teenage smoking has increased while tobacco profits are down. The headline reads: ‘Teenage smoking still rising despite anti-smoking success.’ 2. With the human-interest angle, he opens with the story of a father who’s given up smoking, then tells how the teenage

111

112

Promote Your Business

son still smokes heavily. The headline states: ‘Thousands quit but teens still light up.’ 3. The third example uses conflict, asserting that the government’s ‘war on smoking’ is having little impact on teenage smoking. The headline this time is: ‘War on cigarettes hits wrong targets.’ In each example, he quotes the same spokesperson—a doctor representing an anti-smoking group.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite Landscape Design has decided to write a press release promoting their new balcony service. They are going to target the local press, and hope that some papers will pick up the story and write a feature article. They regularly advertise in the local papers, so they already have an established relationship with the editors. Delite Landscape Design has decided to take a human-interest angle and to profile one of their clients who represents the business they want to attract.

EMERALD furniture Emerald Furniture has won a furniture design award, so has decided to send a press release to both the local papers and a trade magazine. Susan Eves’s aim is to help establish her brand and credibility and to attract new business. She has decided to make it a straight news story for the local paper, as it is topical, and to expand on it for the trade journal, as this comes out on a monthly basis and the award will no longer be hot news.

How to write a press release

Get the main message across at the beginning Press releases follow the inverted pyramid structure—that is, they tell the most important news first and follow with supporting material. Your first one or two paragraphs have a double challenge: they must tempt the reader to read on and they must also capture the essence of the story for the casual reader, so that even if they don’t read on they have the gist of the story. There’s a practical reason for getting the main information across first, too. If space is at a premium your story may be cut, and editors often cut from the bottom up. Sometimes only the first couple of paragraphs of your story will be published. A brief story is still better than no story, so make the editor’s job easy. A way of checking whether you’ve covered all the key information is to give your introduction the 5W and H check—who, what, when, where, why and how. Take the following example, which appeared in My Business: Aussies Fast Online Survey results released in March by Taylor Nelson Sofres have revealed that almost a quarter of Australians interviewed have embraced online banking services—nearly double that of our British counterparts and well above the 15 per cent of Americans who use the Internet to manage their finances. My Business, April/May 2002

In this story we learn: Who?—Taylor Nelson Sofres What?—conducted a survey on online banking When?—results released in March Where?—Australia

113

114

Promote Your Business

Why?—to find out about Australian online banking How?—survey. The 5W and H check on Emerald Furniture’s press release (see page 127):

Key information

EMERALD furniture

Who?

Susan Eves, Emerald Furniture

What?

Won a furniture award for eco-furniture design

When?

May 2002

Where?

Not stated

Why?

Simple yet elegant style with eco and ergonomic features

How?

By entering a competition

Or set the scene Some press releases flout the traditional technique of ‘telling all’ in the first paragraph and instead set the scene. Take the following two examples. Nobody believed him when he said ‘sell’ It was the most excruciating experience of Jeremy Grantham’s life. It was bad enough as he says that ‘the rest of the world thought he was an idiot’. But the real pain was when he lost the $US10 billion.

You may have already guessed what it’s about, but you have to read the next paragraph to be sure:

How to write a press release

He had spent over 20 years building his Boston-based funds management business from scratch, but in two years his clients, frustrated and angry, took one-third of the funds he managed for them and walked out on him. Peter Hartcher, The Australian Financial Review, 26 July 2002

Another example is: Gifted choices Corporate gifts and promotional products are tools to increase brand awareness. If they are not translating to bottom line sales, then are they an effective use of your marketing dollar? My Business, October 2001

As well as promoting a corporate gift business, this article provided some practical tips on appropriate Christmas gifts.

Use a spokesperson Press releases usually contain quotes to add credibility. Quotes give you the opportunity to say something about your products or services that you can’t say yourself as it sounds like bragging. They also allow you to state opinions as well as facts. Occasionally press releases start with a quote, but more often the quote is in about the third or fourth paragraph, to provide supporting information for the opening paragraphs. It’s common when writing press releases to make up people’s quotes, but you must check them with the people you’re quoting so that they’re comfortable with the words you’ve attributed to them. Journalists often contact the person directly to substantiate the comments, or interview the person and write their own. This

115

116

Promote Your Business

is especially true if you’ve sent your press release to several outlets and they want to differentiate their story. Alternatively they may delete the quotes, so don’t base your whole story around them. Make sure your story stands alone without the quotes. NAMES AND TITLES When quoting people, give their titles and who they represent. You can put their titles either before or after their names: for example, ‘Bob Jones, chief executive officer of Tantra’, or ‘Tantra chief executive officer Bob Jones’. Check your target publication’s style. Some papers give the whole name first, for example ‘Bob Jones’, and then refer to him as ‘Jones’ or ‘Mr Jones’. Magazines are often more informal, with some saying ‘Bob Jones’ the first time and then ‘Bob’. Unless you feel strongly about how you want to use names, follow the conventions of the media you’re targeting. QUOTATION STYLES The question of whether to use single or double quotation marks is a matter of style preference. Have a look at the publication you’re targeting and see what its style is. Some modern style guides recommend using single quotation marks and then double quotation marks for quotes within quotes. If the quoted speech runs on from one paragraph to the next, you don’t need to put the quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph, but you need them at the beginning of the following one. For example: ‘The report is good news for Australian businesses involved in exporting and importing. ‘It indicates that . . .’

How to write a press release

The word ‘said’ is commonly used for most quoted speech instead of ‘says’ or other synonyms such as ‘stated’, ‘noted’ or ‘replied’. Some editors like to have the person introduced before they’re quoted the first time. Others don’t mind if you launch straight into a quote and acknowledge the person at the end of the statement. You can use different styles to quote people. Four examples are given here. • The person is not quoted directly: Mr Brown said downsizing—an element of recent business behaviour that he found worrying—was designed to please investors.

• The person’s viewpoint is summarised followed by a supporting statement: Mr Smith said the United States was partly responsible for Indonesia’s problems: ‘We were playing domestic politics with Indonesia for a long time and we need to play Indonesian politics.’

• The person’s exact words are used for statements or opinions: ‘We haven’t had rain for several weeks now,’ Mr Jones said. ‘This is a very serious situation for farmers and the whole country.’ (Alternatively, you could say ‘said Mr Jones’.)

• After the person has been introduced, ‘he’ and ‘she’ are often used for variety: ‘I think we could easily go back to postwar immigration levels,’ he said.

117

118

Promote Your Business

Write in the third person In most of your other marketing material, you’re writing directly to your audience. With a press release you’re not. You’re providing straight information, so you need to write about yourself in the third person (i.e. ‘he’ or ‘she’). Avoid ‘you’ and ‘I/we’ language. Approach your subject as though you were the news reporter and emphasise the news aspects and the facts.

Write concisely, simply and directly The general principles of good business writing apply: • simple words • short sentences • short paragraphs. Paragraphs are always very short in press releases—often only one line. This is because most newspapers and magazines use columns, and long paragraphs look too dense. Avoid using jargon your readers may not understand, or explain your jargon in simple terms. If you use acronyms and/or initialisms, it’s common practice to spell them out in the first instance with the acronym in brackets: for example, American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). This practice does not seem to apply in many newspapers, where the full name is used in the first instance without the abbreviation in brackets and the abbreviation is used from then on. Check out the style of your target media.

Use the active voice Use the active voice in press releases. Your story must be immediate and direct. For example, say ‘Mr Jones spoke about eye

How to write a press release

diseases’ instead of ‘The speech delivered by Mr Jones was about eye diseases’.

Stick to the facts and be specific Press releases provide information. They’re not the place for opinions (unless in quotes) or advertising. Keep the tone of your press release simple and factual. Use facts and statistics if you have them to back up what you’re saying. You may think you have no facts or figures, but dig a bit deeper and you’ll probably find some. For example, which is stronger: ‘Peter Jones’s new book provides sound financial advice for small business’ or ‘Peter Jones’s new book provides small business with seven tools for managing their finances’? Make sure you check all your facts; also check that you’ve got all the details, like date and time, correct. There is no point in having a press release for an event and having the wrong date. You’ll do more harm than good.

What to avoid Write your press release in plain, direct, clear language, and avoid: • Exaggeration and hype words, like ‘cheapest’, ‘best’ and ‘most unique’ • Words aimed at getting the journalist’s attention, like ‘STOP PRESS’, ‘URGENT’ or ‘NEWS FLASH’. They’ll have the opposite effect • Clichés, like ‘smelling of roses’ or ‘greatest invention since sliced bread’ • Puns and word-plays. People haven’t got time to admire your cleverness—they just want the information. Leave the puns to the subeditors.

119

120

Promote Your Business

Headline and subject line Write a simple, short headline (under 10 words) that sums up your story. Keep your headline to the point and convey what’s important about the news. Don’t try to be too clever or spend ages agonising over the ‘right’ words, as subeditors often rewrite headings. It’s one of their areas of expertise. Remember, in the first instance the editor or journalist is your audience, and they want to know what your story is about. If you are emailing your story, your subject line is just as important as your headline, as this is the first thing that the editor or journalist will read. As with your heading, make sure it is simple, clear and direct. Every word in a heading or subject line does count, so choose verbs with clout. For example, ‘Joan Smith named best designer of the year’ is stronger than ‘Joan Smith gets an award’. You might find it easier to write the heading or subject line once you’ve written the press release. The modern trend is for minimal punctuation, so write your headline in lower-case letters apart from the initial capital. SUBHEADINGS AND STAND-OUT QUOTES Often the first line of the introductory paragraph is highlighted in bold like a stand-out quote, but sometimes there’s a distinct subheading. For example: Time after time Panerai timepieces really are something to Crowe about. The Australian Financial Review, Colour Magazine, 26 July 2002

The article goes on to reveal that celebrities like Russell Crowe are buying Panerai watches.

How to write a press release

Subheadings and stand-out quotes are usually selected by the subeditor, so leave this to them unless the subheading is integral to your meaning.

Leave no questions unanswered Readers should get to the end of your press release and have all the vital information. You don’t want to leave unanswered questions in their minds. If you have some unpalatable facts, like a drop in your share price, that are relevant to the story, don’t try to hide them in the hope that no-one will notice. Better to be up-front than to be caught out being evasive.

Edit and proofread In the first draft put all your information down on paper. Then tighten it. Pay particular attention to the first couple of paragraphs, as they’ll determine whether people will read on. Remove all extraneous words and be ruthless with those waffly, meandering sentences. Your writing must be direct and concise. Then remember to proofread your press release, and ideally have someone else read it for you.

Pictures A picture is worth a thousand words. Trite but true, especially if you have a strong action shot and not just a head-andshoulders portrait. Your photos need to be of reasonable quality. If you could use the photos for other promotions,

121

122

Promote Your Business

consider hiring a professional photographer. If you’re using a digital photograph, make sure you get permission to email your photo before you clog up the receiver’s inbox. Some papers might prefer you to send a disk or put your material on your website and provide them with a hyperlink so they can access it.

Background information It’s accepted practice to provide background information with your press release. For example, you might write about your company, the person you’ve quoted, or give some more information about the product or issue you’ve addressed in the press release. Your background information needs to be concise, clear and objective. This is not the place for a sales pitch about you and your company. Mark your background information ‘Background information’ or ‘Backgrounder’, to distinguish it from your press release. If you’re emailing your press release, this background information could be on your website and you could provide a hyperlink. This has advantages over attachments, which many people are wary of opening because of viruses.

Contact details A reporter may want to follow up on your story, so provide a spokesperson who is available and prepared to answer questions. Make it easy for the journalist or editor to contact you by including all your relevant contact details, such as your phone number, email address and website, at the end of your press release.

How to write a press release

Also include your contact details in your covering note or, if you’re emailing your story, under your name at the bottom of the email as well as at the end of the press release.

Format The appearance of your press release has an influence on how it will be received. Traditionally, press releases were written on A4 pages in double spacing, but I think 1.5-line spacing is acceptable today. Some organisations use single spacing so they can fit the whole press release on one page. Leave wide left and right margins and generous spaces at the top and bottom of the pages. Be careful how you split paragraphs at the bottom of the page. If you have a four-line paragraph with one line on one page and three on the next, move the one line onto the following page to keep it together or, alternatively, put two lines on each page. Remember to number your pages if you have more than one page. Some people also put key words in the header and ‘more’ in the footer in case the pages get separated. Another convention is to put the word ‘ends’ at the finish. With the increasing use of electronic media I’m not sure that these conventions are so relevant today, but page numbering still is. Most newspapers do not use bullet points. Some magazines do. But if you look on Internet sites, some organisations write press releases with bullet points to convey as much information to the media as possible. However, journalists use such press releases as background information rather than printing them in their entirety. Check out the style of your target publication. If it doesn’t use bullet points, steer away from using them in your press release.

123

124

Promote Your Business

ANATOMY OF A PRESS RELEASE 1. Title. Press release title and your company name and logo. 2. Release information. ‘FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE’ or ‘EMBARGOED UNTIL 6 FEBRUARY 2004’. This is usually in capitals and bold for emphasis. Embargo your press release only if it contains sensitive information you don’t want released before a certain date or if it relates to an event in the near future. It sometimes makes sense to send a press release a bit early to give journalists time to do their own research, but send it too far in advance and you run the risk of your press release being put to one side and forgotten. If your press release is exclusive, state that here as well— To: (e.g. Attention Business Editor). 3. Date. This is important, but is forgotten surprisingly often. Include this information even if you’re faxing or emailing the information. The journalist or editor needs to see it at a glance. 4. Headline. Keep your headline short, active and descriptive. 5. Subheadline. Optional and usually best left to the subeditor. 6. Introduction (one or two paragraphs). The introduction must capture attention and provide relevant information about the product, service or event. Either go immediately into who, where, what, why, when and how or set the scene for the rest of the story. If you set the scene in the first paragraph, the second paragraph needs to get to the guts of the story and the 5W and H applies again. 7. Subsequent paragraphs. Subsequent paragraphs provide supporting information. Often quotes are interspersed with factual information from the third paragraph onwards.

How to write a press release

8. For further information, contact: Include address, website address, email address and phone number. 9. Background information. Keep your background information brief. You can include background information about your company or biographies of people you’ve quoted.

Distribution FAX, POST OR EMAIL? Find out the name and title (e.g. Susan Smith, Business Editor) of the correct person to send your press release to, and check how they want to receive it. Many editors these days like press releases emailed, but some still like them faxed or, if there’s no time constraint, posted. If you’re faxing or emailing your press release, you may need to courier your photo unless it’s on your website. Include another copy of the press release with the photo.

Follow-up Like all aspects of marketing, dealing with the media is about building relationships. So if it’s appropriate, ring up and ask whether they want any more information. Or you could even ring them before you write it to see whether the story interests them. But remember, your press release is only one of many, and if you don’t know the editor or journalist you may get a frosty reception. Don’t take it personally: they may be busy. Some journalists prefer being contacted by email; others regard that as intrusive. Trust your instincts on the best way to contact journalists personally and whether it’s even advisable.

125

126

Promote Your Business

Timing The timing of your press release is important. Check out what time your target media likes to receive their press releases. As a general rule, aim to fax or email your press release through by 11 am and follow up, if appropriate, late morning or early afternoon.

Press release for local papers

Delite Landscape DESIGN

F O R I M M E D I AT E R E L E A S E , 1 J A N UA R Y 2 0 0 0

Balcony design brightens inner-city living There is a growing trend towards apartment living, but many people still want gardens. Delite Landscape Design is launching a new balcony design and maintenance service to cater for apartment dwellers. ‘Many stark, hot balconies can be transformed into attractive miniature gardens, creating restful places to sit,’ says John Pettit, Managing Director of Delite Landscape Design. ‘Often people don’t know what plants to choose or how to arrange them harmoniously. We can create balcony displays to suit all climates and conditions. We choose hardy plants that look good at all times of the year and require little maintenance.’ Delite Landscape Design can also create instant balcony displays with established plants and flowers for a special event, like a wedding or birthday party. ‘If people are selling,’ said John, ‘we can rent them a balcony display for the sales period and help them add thousands to the value of their apartment.’ As well as creating or renting balcony designs, the Delite Landscape Design experts offer a maintenance service for people who travel a lot or who don’t want the hassle of looking after their balcony garden. They’ll look after indoor plants at the same time. To find out more about Delite Landscape Design’s balcony service, contact John Pettit, Ph: (01) 2345 6789 Email:

How to write a press release

Press release for local newspapers

EMERALD furniture

F O R I M M E D I AT E R E L E A S E , 1 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 0

Emerald Furniture honoured in Eco-Design Excellence Awards Susan Eves of Emerald Furniture received a Bronze for a diningroom chair in the Design Innovation: Domestic Furniture category in the Eco-Design Excellence Awards held in June 2003. These awards are presented by the Eco-Design Society and cosponsored by Furniture Week. Two hundred furniture makers were invited to take part in the awards and the furniture submitted was assessed for functionality, environmental standards and innovation. A panel of international experts, including European designer Alexander Corsini, judged the entries. In awarding Susan the Bronze, the judges described her chair as ‘one of the best and most functional designs this year’. ‘It is a very stylish and comfortable chair,’ said Graeme Jones. ‘We were particularly impressed by the back-post, which is elegant but provides excellent back support.’ Susan Eves’s use of environmental materials and techniques also received high praise. The chair was made out of recycled New Zealand Kauri timber with kangaroo leather for the seat. ‘Receiving a Bronze is a great honour,’ said Susan Eves. ‘I’m delighted that the judges recognised my commitment to creating innovative products using sustainable materials.’ For more information about Emerald Furniture, contact Susan Eves, Ph: (01) 0345 6789 Email: [email protected]

127

128

Promote Your Business

Blue Gum Press release for a food magazine

RESTAURANT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, 1 JANUARY 2000

SLOW

FOOD FOR BUSY PEOPLE

Blue Gum Restaurant, a popular family restaurant in Sydney, is now offering a dial-a-dinner service. ‘Many people like quality food, but lack the time to prepare it,’ says restaurant owner Tania James. ‘They come home from work late and throw together some pasta or buy takeaways. ‘Now with a little forethought people can have gourmet or simple, wholesome, home-cooked food delivered to their doorstep.’ Blue Gum’s dial-a-dinner service caters for both ‘at-home dinners for busy people’ and that special occasion dinner party to impress the guests. ‘For people who want to curl up in front of television with their family, we offer old favourites, like shepherd’s pie, roast beef, baked potatoes and apple crumble. ‘We offer a wide dinner party choice and currently our most popular meals are lamb shanks in jelly followed by lemon mousse, and poached trout with new potatoes and a rocket salad.’ Diners can view the week’s menu in advance on the website at or pick up a copy from the restaurant. Blue Gum Restaurant accepts Internet and phone bookings (free-call 1800 123 456.) The meals come packaged in vacuum-sealed plastic bags, so just need reheating and serving. Diners can collect their meals from the restaurant on their way home from work or have them delivered at a specific time anywhere within the metropolitan area. A simple flavoursome meal with two courses for two costs about $60 (delivery included). For more information, contact Tania James, Ph (01) 0345 6789. Email: [email protected]

How to write a press release

Summary PURPOSE • What do you want to achieve? • Is a press release the best way to achieve it? AUDIENCE • Who do you want to reach? • What is the best media to reach your audience? CONTENT • What is your key message? • What is your angle? • Do you get the main message (5W & H) across in the first two paragraphs? • Is your press release clear, simple and direct? • Have you used a spokesperson? • Is your layout clean and attractive? • Have you provided background information? • Have you provided contact details? • Have you remembered to include the date? TIPS • Make sure you have a newsworthy story. • Read, listen to or watch the media you want to use your press release. • Make press releases a regular part of your marketing. Even if they don’t give you an immediate return in terms of increased sales, they help build your brand in the marketplace.

129

How to write direct mail

6

How to write direct mail

D

irect mail, often called DM, is traditionally all the promotional material we receive through our letterboxes, such as letters, catalogues, coupons, samples and invitations. Today, many companies send this information via email instead of snail mail, and such direct mail is called email marketing. The pendulum swings back and forth in favour of different marketing methods. For example, in the early 1990s people were questioning the cost-effectiveness of print advertising and spending more on direct mail. Now there is another swing in favour of email marketing, but as email marketing becomes more common it will have to be cleverer and work harder to achieve results. The most successful marketing will always use a range of techniques rather than relying exclusively on one method. Before you begin, collect samples of direct mail—both snail and email. What makes you decide to read them in the first place and what keeps you reading? How important is the appearance? 130

How to write direct mail

How many direct mailers do you respond to and what makes the difference? How many do you receive addressed to you by name? Does this influence you?

Direct mail—snail mail Direct mail is still effective. You only need to clear out your letterbox or post office box to realise that direct mail is alive and well. But you need to be realistic about what results you will receive with direct mail. Most direct mail has a response rate of less than 1%, but that 1% may be enough to make your campaign worthwhile. Direct mail is a great choice if you have a good offer, a list of highly targeted prospects and your timing is right. If you’re sending out a small number of direct mailers at a time, following up with a personal phone call will enhance your direct mail’s effectiveness.

Purpose Most businesses use direct mail to encourage people to buy their products or services. But think laterally. You can use your direct mail for PR and to build relationships so you attract lifetime customers or clients, not just make a one-off sale. Some people think that direct mail is suitable only for products or not-for-profit organisations, not professional services. But professional services can use direct mail successfully. Rather than a hard sell, they may take a more ‘softly, softly’ approach by sending their prospects information that will interest them, such as an article on a change in legislation. You can also use direct mail with existing customers or clients to encourage them to buy more or new products and to make

131

132

Promote Your Business

them aware of your other products. Research shows that many customers or clients aren’t aware of their suppliers’ full range of services, and there’s often untapped potential to cross-sell. This section concentrates mainly on the direct mail letter to cold prospects, but some suggestions for using direct mail with ‘warm’ prospects and existing clients or customers are: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

News updates New community sponsorships New employees New program, products or services Events Changes happening in the industry Law change or new legislation Product launches Introducing a new webpage New pricing schedule with some specials Annual reports Awards Confirming your attendance Your purchase is on the way Time for your next appointment Thank you for your time Thank you for the referral Thank you for buying our product or service Promotions Special deals Discount coupons Congratulations on: —buying a house —getting a loan

How to write direct mail

—completing a course —passing an exam, etc.

Types of direct mail LETTERBOX DROPS One method of direct mail is the residential letterbox drop. This is best suited to businesses catering for the domestic market, such as local takeaway restaurants, gardening businesses and cleaning services. Many such businesses hand-deliver their notices to avoid the cost of postage. A variation of this approach is a letterbox drop to business mailboxes. If you want to target business boxes in a large number of post offices, you will need to book in advance, especially before Christmas. If you want to target just your local post offices, you can deal direct with the post office. You won’t reach all the business boxes, as some put a ban on promotional material. Most businesses that do residential or business letterbox drops use leaflets, brochures or postcards; only a few put their direct mail in an envelope and include a covering letter. The quality of these direct mails varies enormously, from scrappy bits of paper to large, glossy brochures. The advantages of both residential and business letterbox drops is that they’re relatively inexpensive compared with advertising. The disadvantage is that your communication is impersonal and not directed to any specific person. You’re relying largely on people having a need for your product or service or your direct mail being so different that it stands out from the clutter. I have used business letterbox drops on two occasions, and won’t use it again. Each time I received only one query, and neither led to any work. On the other hand, I have attended one breakfast seminar as a result of a flyer I received in my letterbox.

133

134

Promote Your Business

I also tend to keep brochures about local takeaway restaurants and services, such as gardening. Often these are not flashy or expensive flyers, but they interest me because they’re local. TARGETED DIRECT MAIL Targeted direct mail is probably the most effective method of direct mail for business-to-business marketing. With targeted direct mail, you send your direct mail to a specific person in a company that fits your target market. Targeted direct mail often includes a reply-paid card, but it is even more effective if you follow up your direct mail with a phone call a few days later. A follow-up call gives you a second chance at marketing if the person hasn’t read your direct mail, and it increases your chances of people saying ‘yes’. But you should develop a thick skin, as the majority of people are still going to say ‘no’ and they’re not going to care about your feelings. If you follow up your direct mail with a phone call, stagger your mailout so you’re not swamped with follow-up calls, and don’t send your direct mail at a time when you know you’re going to be busy and follow-up will be difficult. Sending your direct mail in batches will also give you an opportunity to test and refine your messages. If you follow up with a phone call, you can also use this opportunity to collect their contact details if they’re not interested now but may be interested some time in the future. Ask whether they want to receive your newsletter or e-newsletter. Some targeted direct mail uses another letter as a follow-up rather than a phone call. For example, if the direct mail promoted a course, then the follow-up letter could be a reminder closer to the time. Sometimes the initial letter is a teaser that gives no clues about the sender. The following letter or letters provide more clues to get the recipient’s interest, until all is revealed in the final

How to write direct mail

letter. This technique can be very effective, but needs to be clever to work. DIMENSIONAL MAILER Dimensional mailer is the marketing term for any direct mail that’s not flat. Dimensional mailers often come in a box. They grab attention, because they’re different, but they’re also usually expensive, even if you send only a small gift like a fridge magnet. You’ve got to pay extra postage, and put something of value to the recipient inside the box.

Case study The following study of Corporate Marketing Aprimo Inc. was profiled in a Marketing Sherpa Weekly ezine. Corporate Marketing Aprimo regularly schedules dimensional mailers every two weeks for most of the year—except before Christmas, when they could be confused with gifts. These dimensional mailers are aimed at encouraging companies with reasonably large IT budgets to buy software. This case study highlighted the following ingredients for a successful dimensional mailer: • Pick the right item to insert in your box. Aprimo chose three different wooden toy sets: Chinese checkers, a Brio train with tracks, and a Tinker toy set. Each would look good sitting in their box on the executive’s desk and each had enough room for Aprimo’s labels. (The trains were the biggest hit.) • Send the box to the person who influences the purchasing decisions. Aprimo uses an in-house research team to gather

135

136

Promote Your Business

names. They select companies based on industry and then call each company to find out which executive has the authority in the right area. This can sometimes take several calls. • Offer recipients a webpage to sign in on (even though you will follow this up with a phone call) to receive an additional gift (such as extra tracks). • Follow up with a phone call quickly and relentlessly. Aprimo makes up to five attempts to reach its prospects within one to three days after it estimates prospects would have received the box. The aim of the call is to make an appointment. • Sales reps answer an email survey after each marketing call, stating whether they thought the leads were any good.

Results • Ten per cent appointment rate. • Every 1000 boxes leads to 100 appointments. • About 2% of prospects visited the webpage. PS: If you’re going to send a promotional gift, make sure it arrives undamaged. I received a pen with a light at the top— ‘Light up your life’. The only problem was that it was broken. It went straight into the bin.

Audience—the list If you’re doing a targeted mailout, the quality of your list is as important as the timing. You may have the best offer, the best price and the best letter about lawnmowers, but if you send your letter to people living in high-rise apartments your direct mail

How to write direct mail

will fail. It’s worth putting time into researching your list or you’re wasting your time and money. You can use lists to post direct mail to people, but you must respect people’s right to opt out. The most powerful lists are your own client list and lists made up of past prospects and referrals. You can also make your own list of prospective clients that fit your target market from various sources such as the Yellow Pages, newspapers and trade magazines. Alternatively, you can buy personalised lists of companies that match your target market. You can also buy software packages of company names and phone numbers. The most expensive packages provide detailed information about companies, including their industry, size, and names of key contacts (some will always be out of date). Some packages provide updates as part of the deal. Less expensive is the Yellow Pages on disk or equivalent software that lists companies according to industry and gives you phone numbers. The problem with these programs is that they don’t differentiate companies according to size. If you plan to do a lot of direct mail or telemarketing, it is probably worth investing in a comprehensive software package. Whatever method you use to compile your list, it’s a good idea to computerise your database. You can use Word or Excel, but a database system (Access or a commercial product) will give you greater flexibility. With database management software or a client relationship management package you can also record all steps of the sales process.

Timing Whether you’re doing a large letterbox drop or a targeted mailing, timing is crucial. The same direct mail sent out at different times can get completely different responses. Even a

137

138

Promote Your Business

poorly-worded direct mail can get a better response at the right time than a well-worded direct mail at a bad time. For example, just before Christmas isn’t the best time for a direct mail campaign for professional services, but is a good time for retail products. I can testify to the importance of timing. A colleague and I did a combined direct mail to specific people in companies we’d researched thoroughly. We had a superbly crafted letter with a great offer and we followed up with a phone call a few days later. But our timing was wrong. It was just prior to Christmas. Another time I sent a direct mail letter with much less preparation and forethought and never got around to following up. I received three phone calls and two jobs.

Offer and call to action The direct mail sales letter has a fairly distinctive format. It basically consists of an offer and a call to action—or, put another way, a bribe to tempt you and ways of making it easy or compelling for you to take the next step and actually buy. For example, you may want a new pair of jeans but know there’s no great urgency as they’re usually available. But if you know you’ll get a second pair half-price if you buy one pair, you might be tempted (offer or bribe). You’ll overcome your natural inertia and go shopping if you know the deal expires at the end of the month (call to action).

The letter Direct mail with a covering letter has a higher rate of success than other forms of direct mail. Even if you’re sending your prospects information, such as a reprint of an article or a brochure, include a covering letter. A letter creates an illusion of

How to write direct mail

personal communication and is often seen as providing information, whereas brochures and leaflets on their own are regarded as advertising. If you’re writing a letter to accompany some information or brochure, your letter may be brief and to the point, and your ‘sell’ will often come with your follow-up letter or phone call. Some people write letters addressed to ‘Dear Sir/Madam’, ‘Business Owner’ or ‘The Manager’, but it’s much more effective to personalise your letter and address the person by name. Take the time to find out the names of the decision makers to address your letter to. Content and visual appearance must work together to create an immediate impact in a direct mail letter, so make all the ingredients of letter writing work for you. HEADING Use your heading to grab attention and inform your readers what your letter is about. There’s more information about headings in Chapter 7. The heading often comes after the greeting (‘Dear Ellen Jones’), but in some direct mail it’s before the greeting. OPENING SENTENCES Your opening sentences are your chance to establish rapport, focus your message and entice your reader to read on. Keep your tone friendly and informal and get straight to the point. If you’re having difficulty with the first sentence, move on and come back to it at the end. THE OFFER Have an offer that is impressive and irresistible. This is sometimes known as the bribe. It is the hook to get your prospective client or customer interested.

139

140

Promote Your Business

Your offer must overcome prospect inertia and make customers or clients want to take advantage of your offer now. You may offer them something free to tempt them, like a free sample, free trial or free consultation. You may offer them a reduced price or an irresistible guarantee. CALL TO ACTION A call to action encourages readers to take the next step, to contact you or buy your product or service. Most direct mailers put their call to action at the end of their letters. Some place it at the beginning and repeat it at the end. A call to action creates a sense of urgency. Often the offer is time-limited, for example ‘reply by X date’, and sometimes it’s limited to the first X (number of) people who respond. Sometimes the call to action relies on making it easy to respond, by a prepaid reply coupon, a 1800 number, or even just your contact details prominently displayed. If you want people to visit your business, maybe you could include a location map. FINISH WITH A PS A PS at the end of a direct mail letter is a common technique (if you don’t believe me, read your sample letters again). Apparently it works because people opening a letter first look to the bottom to see who it’s from and the PS immediately grabs their attention. Another theory is that we remember the first and last things that we read, so if we’ve read the entire letter the PS will stay in our minds. Or maybe it’s just the personal touch. Whatever the reason for its effectiveness, the PS is a common technique in direct mail. It’s mainly used to reiterate the offer or emphasise the call to action, but it is sometimes used to make a bonus offer.

How to write direct mail

USE THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD WRITING Adapt the language and tone of your letter to suit your audience. But whether you’re writing to teenagers or the board of directors of a large company, the same basic principles of good writing apply, including: • Simple words—avoid using jargon that your readers won’t understand • Short sentences • Short paragraphs • Logical sequence and flow • Active voice • Specific rather than general • Subheadings—look at your sample of direct mail and you’ll notice that many of them break up the copy with subheadings • Bullet points to list information • Bold for emphasis with capitals, italics and underlining sparingly used. WRITE PERSUASIVELY Many people think that persuasive writing needs superlatives, like ‘best’, ‘greatest’ and ‘largest’. While some direct mail letters use such hyperbole, simple writing is more powerful. Writing persuasively includes the following: • Be objective and specific, and support what you say with evidence or facts. If you know what people’s objections are likely to be, raise these yourself rather than ignoring them, and deal with them. Use facts, statistics and testimonials to support your claims. • Be credible. People will believe you more readily if they know you’re a well-established business with ethics. You can

141

142

Promote Your Business

establish your credibility through various means, such as your personal qualifications and experience, your company reputation, your branding and testimonials, and by writing simply and clearly. • Use emotional appeal. We form our opinions on the basis of facts, intuition and prejudice. You can’t do much about prejudice, but you can convince people with facts; and if you’re credible, you’ll appeal to their intuition as well. IDENTIFY A PROBLEM AND PROVIDE A SOLUTION Writing persuasively goes back to thinking about your audience and putting yourself in their shoes. Sometimes you can show you understand their problems by identifying them and giving some further information. This is your lead into providing a possible solution. The aim of this method is to get people mentally nodding their heads in agreement as they read, and is effective if you understand your audience well. The downside is that you may not understand their problems, in which case you’ll lose them from the start. Write from the prospects’ perspective and use ‘you’ language. Tell your prospects what’s in it for them, instead of talking about you and your company. The emphasis in your letter is on your offer, rather than on every aspect of your product or service. Write about benefits rather than features, but use your commonsense and provide information about features to support the benefits if your clients or customers want information about the specifications. The trick is to put yourself in your prospective customers’ shoes and think about what they want to know. Talking directly to your readers with ‘you’ rather than ‘I’ and ‘we’ language will help focus on them.

How to write direct mail

BE HONEST Tackle any negative issues or possible objections up-front rather than ignoring them and hoping your prospects won’t ask. You may make one sale, but probably won’t make lifetime customers if they feel you’ve deceived them or been misleading. USE MAGIC WORDS While people are resistant to over-the-top, boastful adjectives, ‘magic words’ do work in direct mail. We are still enticed by offers that include the word ‘free’, for example ‘free gift’, ‘free report’, ‘free consultation’, ‘free trial’ or ‘buy X and get Y free’. ‘New’ also attracts people, and phrases like ‘this week only’ and ‘limited time only’ work well. TIGHT COPY Every word counts in your direct mail. Keep your language simple and direct and be as specific as possible. Write your first draft and then go through and delete all unnecessary words, like ‘perhaps’ or ‘maybe’. Don’t be surprised if you manage to reduce your copy by as much as 25%. The tighter the better. But check, once you’re finished, that your copy still flows. You need to maintain a friendly, conversational tone. Most direct mail letters are one page long, although longer letters are fine if the content is informative and interesting and the writing not verbose. If you can’t fit all the information comfortably on one page, it’s better to go over the page. ATTENTION TO DETAIL Check every little detail with direct mail and flyers. Imagine you’re writing to the most intelligent and least intelligent people you know. Make sure all the details are clear and

143

144

Promote Your Business

completely unambiguous. It’s easy to make assumptions that people will understand, but if anything is slightly ambiguous or unclear, at least one person will be confused. For example, the first flyer I sent out covered three courses on different topics. I put down one price, which applied to each course. Several people thought the price covered all three courses. All it needed was the word ‘each’ and I would have prevented confusion. APPEARANCE First appearances matter with direct mail. If you’re using an envelope rather than just a flyer, then first appearances start with the envelope. It’s amazing how many companies put direct mail in an envelope that screams ‘direct mail’. Look outside post office boxes in the rubbish bin and you’ll notice that many such direct mailers are discarded unopened. Avoid putting your direct mail in such an envelope. Opinion differs as to whether you should type or hand-address your envelope, but either way it’s best to address your direct mail to a specific person. Once your reader has opened the envelope, appearances still count. People are more likely to read a letter that looks professional, well laid out and easy to read. Letters are easier to read if they’ve got lots of white space and aren’t too cluttered-looking. Have a look at your sample direct mail: it’s surprising how many companies you’d think would know better spoil the visual impact of their direct mail by cramming too much on one page. Too much information on one page is offputting. Some direct mail letters go overboard with colour, graphics, large type and fancy typefaces. In most cases, simple is better. Often a clear, professional-looking letter is more appealing than gimmicks.

How to write direct mail

AIDA Once you’ve written your letter, give it the AIDA test. This formula’s been around for a long time, but still works. • Attention. Does it grab your readers’ attention? You can grab attention by the visual appearance of your letter, the heading and the first few lines. • Interest. Now it’s got your readers’ attention, does it interest them? What’s in it for them? This is where your offer comes in, and it needs to be at the beginning of your letter. • Desire. You’ve got your readers’ attention, they’re interested in your offer, so now you have to provide further evidence about why they need your products or services. You could be saving them time and money, providing a solution to their problem, or persuading them by giving them useful information. • Action. Now you’ve got them hooked, you have to make it easy for them to take action immediately. Then ask yourself whether your offer and business sound credible. Would you want to take advantage of this offer and do business with this firm?

Testing and evaluation One of the advantages of staggering your direct mail is that you can then monitor and test each batch. Test it for timing, the list, and the content of the letter, and make changes before you send the next batch. While such testing will always have to take into account the inconsistent human factor, you’ll find that you can learn from your experiences and refine and improve your targeting and the message.

145

146

Promote Your Business

Email marketing Email marketing facts • Worldwide email is the fastest-growing use of the Internet. • Email is the number one reason why people turn on their computers. • Consumers check their email more times daily than they watch TV, read the newspaper or listen to the radio. • Fifty-three per cent of those polled by the Gartner Group said they checked their email at least six times a day when they were in the office, while 34% admitted to checking it constantly. Source:

Opt in Email marketing is the flavour of the month, and many businesses that leapt on the bandwagon early had spectacular results with email marketing. But some people abused it, and as a result of the backlash that followed, unsolicited emails (known as spam) are illegal in many countries and states. So if you plan to do email marketing, make sure all your prospects have given you their permission to email them. Everyone on your email list must ‘opt in’, and you must make it easy for them to ‘opt out’ (i.e. unsubscribe to your emails). Also, you should have a privacy statement to reassure prospects that you won’t rent or sell your list to anyone. Err on the side of caution. You can’t run a competition or survey and assume that the people who entered the competition or answered your survey gave their permission to receive your marketing material. Nor is it sufficient to give people the right to opt out. Opt in means as its name implies—opt in.

How to write direct mail

Direct mail

Delite Landscape DESIGN

Delite has used two direct mail campaigns to promote its balcony design service. The first concentrated on the design aspect and the second promoted ‘rent a garden’, aimed at people selling their apartments.

23 Landscape Lane Rockville VIC 1999 5 May 2003

Delite Landscape DESIGN for gardens that delight

Jo and Beth Clark 5 Top Street Bulto, Dear Jo and Beth Clark

Free balcony design with any purchase over $150— but hurry, offer ends 15 October Living in a high-rise apartment, you’re close to the city with all its attractions, but don’t you miss the smell of spring flowers? And wouldn’t a bush be nice to shelter you from the wind or block out the neighbours? Why not create a balcony garden? We’ve just launched our new balcony garden service and have a great selection of pots and plants suitable for all balcony conditions. No matter how big or small your balcony, or whether it’s hot or windy, we have the pots and plants for you. But don’t take our word for it—come in and look for yourself. Bring this letter with you and spend $150 or more, and we’ll give you a free balcony design that suits your personality and your budget. We’re easy to find. We’re behind the post office in Hawk Street. If you want to know whether we have any particular plants, give us a ring on (01) 0345 6789 or visit our website at . We look forward to seeing you soon. Yours sincerely John Pettit M ANAGING D IRECTOR

PS A free pot plant goes to the first 50 people who take advantage of this offer.

147

148

Promote Your Business

Advantages There are many advantages to email marketing, and it’s worth adding to your marketing mix. According to Boldfish, emails generate the highest response rates and conversion rates of any direct marketing tool. Compared to average click-through rates of 0.65% for banner ads and average response rates of 1%–2% for direct mail, opt-in email’s average response rate is 5%–15% (). RELATIONSHIP BUILDING Given that you can send emails only to those who have opted in, you can’t use email marketing for ‘cold’ prospects, so successful email marketing, like most other marketing, is based on developing an ongoing relationship with your prospects. This means that your emails must be interesting and relevant or your prospects will soon delete them. A 2002 study by Jupiter Communications found that the most common email marketing goals are to: • • • • • •

Deepen the relationship with the customer Acquire new customers Cross-sell Up-sell Shorten the purchase cycle Other

(61%) (46%) (29%) (29%) (18%) (11%)

Source:

COST One of the main advantages is the low cost. If you take your time out of the equation, email is a cheap method of communicating regularly with your customers, clients and prospects. You don’t incur the costs of paper, envelopes and stamps. With many

How to write direct mail

mail list servers, you pay per email sent, but it’s cheap (approximately 1–5 cents per email). PERSONAL QUALITY Emails are not as personal as talking face-to-face or over the phone, but it’s more personal than mail. It’s also convenient for both sender and receiver, as you don’t both have to be available at the same time. People can choose a time that suits them to read your email. But given that emails are personal, they must have something of interest for the reader. If you collect information about your database, you can use it to tailor your communications so that people feel you’re talking directly to them. SPEED Emails are fast. Your email arrives shortly after you send it, and people can respond instantly. According to GartnerG2, part of the Gartner group, it takes 4–6 weeks to complete a direct mail campaign versus just 7–10 business days for an email campaign. Responses to direct mail take an average of 3–6 weeks, while responses to email take an average of 3 days ().

Purpose As with all marketing, you need to be clear about what you want to achieve with email marketing. It still has a bit of mystique, but when you stop and think about it we all use email marketing all the time, whenever we keep in touch with our customers or prospects via email. Your e-newsletter, if you have one, is an example of email marketing. An e-newsletter is a great, low-key way of building relationships and promoting your products and services.

149

150

Promote Your Business

You can use email marketing for many of the same purposes as direct mail. You can also use it to supplement your phone calls and meetings. Some examples of how people use email marketing are: • • • • • • • •

News updates Surveys Competitions Loyalty programs Reminders Thank yous Product releases, promotions and special offers Congratulations.

Case study Helen Bateman, owner of the Helen Bateman Shoe Store in Edinburgh, doesn’t sell her shoes online because she believes the fit is so important, but she wanted to build her business and keep in touch with the tourists from around the world who visited her shop. So she hired a local marketing firm to create an easyto-use template, based on the idea of sending an electronic postcard—something with high visual impact that would be quick and easy to read. Each postcard has her brand lavender background, plus her shop logo, address and phone number prominently displayed, at the very top. At the left she types in a quick, two-or-threeparagraph note in postcard style, and on the right she inserts a digital snapshot. The postcards are signed ‘Helen’ and have four

How to write direct mail

simple links—write to us, register here, tell your friends, and the web address. The subject lines are often slightly flirty. To gather email addresses, store staff slip a card into every purchase. The card includes a photo of her latest collection, a map to the store, contact information and a request to join her list. Staff also recruit customers to the list when chatting to them in the store or over the phone. As Helen doesn’t sell from her website, the aim is to drive people back to the shop or encourage them to ring up. To improve customer service, she’s set up a customer database that includes people’s purchase history and shoe size. When she started sending the emails, Helen had only 180 customers on her database. A year later she had almost 1000 names, and she attributes most growth to word-of-mouth referrals. She estimates that after sending a card, she’ll send out 10–15 pairs of shoes in the next couple of days. A ‘Hello sailor’ campaign raised sales of the featured shoes by 700%, 50% of which were phone orders from buyers outside Edinburgh (). Her emails have also paid unexpected dividends in terms of building relationships. When her shop won a customer service award, she received over 200 emails, and some customers brought in champagne and flowers. Source: Sherpa Weekly e-newsletter

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite uses emails for a variety of reasons, including confirming orders, thanking customers, invoicing, and informing customers in advance of sales.

151

152

Promote Your Business

EMERALD furniture Susan Eves emails people on her database when she introduces a new product. Now she’s introduced her e-newsletter, she may send out the product information in that and use emails to communicate personally with clients.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Blue Gum staff send people who belong to the restaurant’s club a menu from the chef every month. They also regularly email people their dial-adinner menu. Occasionally they have special theme evenings, and they email customers informing them of these events and offering them a discount.

The list As your list has to be ‘opt-in’, you need to think how you are going to compile it. The simplest way is to be up-front—ask people for their email addresses and get their permission to email them. You also need to make it easy for them to opt out. A good step to ensure that your database is up-to-date is to send an email to all your customers and clients, reconfirming their details and getting their permission to email them with promotional material. Seek out information that will help you segment your database into different groups so you can tailor communications to individuals. For example, if you’re running a promotion in one city, you might send the initial email to everyone on your list (you never know, they might be in that city at the time), but your follow-up emails could go only to people in that city.

How to write direct mail

Personalise For best results many marketing experts recommend personalising every message, at least in the ‘To’ line and possibly in the body of the email as well. I’m not sure that e-newsletters need to be personalised, but marketing emails should be. Personalisation doesn’t apply only to your form of address. The more personalised and relevant your messages are, the greater your success will be. It may help to have a specific person in mind when you write, rather than writing to ‘the audience’.

Frequency Once you’ve put the hard work in to compiling your list, you need to treat it with respect. Unlike with direct marketing, which is often a ‘one-off’ campaign, you want to develop an ongoing email relationship with your prospects. Even if you don’t sell to them immediately, you may in the future. It’s easy to send people a series of emails. Many mail list servers promote this as part of their service, stating that you can write different messages in advance which they will send over the coming days, weeks and months. When I was researching mail list providers, I experienced this feature when I expressed an interest in one server. They sent me a series of about six emails over a period of two weeks and each email had a little more information aimed at tempting me to buy. In theory this sounds great. But before you blast your database with emails, put yourself in the recipients’ shoes and ask how often you would like to receive emails and how many follow-ups you would think reasonable. In my opinion it’s best to send too few than too many, rather than have people

153

154

Promote Your Business

unsubscribing because they’re fed up with receiving your emails. On the other hand, you don’t want to communicate so infrequently that your prospects don’t remember who you are. Find that balance.

Timing As with snail mail, your timing is important and will affect the success of your promotion. Some times of the year will be better than others. Some days of the week and times of the day may also be better than others. Some experts think you achieve best results if you send your email between 10 am and 4 pm from Tuesday to Thursday. You also need to consider how far apart to space your emails if you’re sending a series to promote the same product or event. For example, in a traditional mailout to promote a seminar, you might send the first notice a couple of months in advance and then a reminder in a month’s time. With email you can leave it until closer to the event, and then send people several reminders over a few weeks.

Plain text, html or rich text? Most people these days can receive html emails, but some servers block them and some people have a preference for plain text. An article in the MarketingProfs.com e-newsletter (August, 2002) says an opt-in news survey found that 62% of consumers preferred the plain text mail ad format globally, compared with the 35% who preferred html. Only 3% preferred rich media, which requires a higher bandwidth. Rich text allows you to insert logos, graphs, photos and even videos in emails.

How to write direct mail

In contrast to these findings, US marketers use html 60% of the time and plain text 34%. If you want to send html emails (and they do look better), you will need to have a plain text version as well. There’s more information on html and plain text in Chapter 9.

Encourage viral marketing Viral marketing is marketing jargon for ‘pass it on to a friend’. Encourage your email database to forward your email on to their friends and colleagues. Many emails have a note at the bottom suggesting that people forward them.

Writing emails WHO FROM Many people will make the decision about whether or not to read your email depending on who it’s from and the subject line. Statistics show that 30% of emails are deleted when the recipient doesn’t recognise the sender (see The Essential Guide to Email Marketing, F2 network). If you’re a small business, you may want to use your own name. If the person you’re emailing will be more familiar with your company’s name, then use that. Some emails just have the email address in the ‘From’ line. SUBJECT LINE Your subject line is probably even more important in your marketing emails than in your e-newsletter. Email newsletter publishers are doing well if over 50% of the e-newsletters they send to opt-in subscribers are opened. Promotional emailers have a much lower rate.

155

156

Promote Your Business

With your subject line you want to interest and engage your readers, but you also need to give them an indication of what your email is about. Your heading needs to brief—probably no more than 35 characters, as some email programs don’t display more than that. One of the first offences is to be boring: it’s better to be controversial than boring. But on the other hand, don’t be overly witty with word plays, as most people haven’t the time to appreciate your humour. It’s best to be straightforward and descriptive unless you’ve got a ‘wow’ headline that really works. Some people use the same heading every time, but the problem with that is that it’s too general. People already know who the email is from; what they want of the subject line is to find out what it’s about. You can start off with the same key words but add a different descriptive phrase each time. This also helps people find your information later if they’ve filed your emails. If all your subject lines are the same, they’ll have difficulty knowing where to look first. Avoid using hype words, or people will mistake you for spam. Also avoid words like ‘register’, ‘buy’, ‘new’, ‘free’, ‘important message’, ‘$$$’, ‘shop for’ and ‘guaranteed’. SHORT, TO THE POINT AND RELEVANT Many of the principles of writing snail mail direct mail apply to emails. The main difference is length. Email writing needs to be about one-third to one-half the length of a direct mail letter. With a direct mail letter, a lot of the initial impact is through the design. While layout is still important, the content counts most. You must attract your readers’ attention with the first sentence and let them know what’s in it for them immediately. Many people also have their inbox set to preview, so it is

How to write direct mail

imperative that you get your message across in the first paragraph. It has to be interesting and relevant enough to make them open the email and read the rest. With email, as your space is limited, you need to concentrate on the ‘hot’ button, not every single benefit. For example, for some busy executives it might be far more important that your product saves time than that it saves them a few dollars—unless the savings are significant. If you’re promoting a product or event, the same ingredients of a direct mail letter apply: you must have an offer, provide supporting information to encourage a purchase, and include a call to action with clear directions on how to respond. For instance, people may respond by filling in a form or emailing you. People often don’t scroll down in emails, so your message must fit comfortably on the screen. If you want to include more information, a common technique is to provide a hyperlink to your website. It’s best to take people directly to the relevant page, rather than your homepage. You can also make the page open inside your email so people can easily return to your email once they’ve viewed the page. The traditional PS device is also useless, as most people don’t look beneath the signature at the bottom. Think twice about using attachments like Word or PDF files. Some people won’t open files because of the risk of viruses. Also, PDF files can be painfully slow to download. WRITE FOR THE WORLD Viral marketing is great, but the downside is that your audience then becomes anyone and everyone. So, while your writing must be appropriate for your specific audience, you must make sure it is OK for anyone to read. This means keeping jargon to a

157

158

Promote Your Business

minimum and playing it straight. No smutty humour, sexist language or in-jokes.

Design Although content is paramount, design also matters if you plan to use html. Many people use graphics, but if you do, keep them simple as many of your audience may still have dial-up modems and they won’t thank you if your email takes ages to download. Consider having a designer develop a template for you or keep your design simple and remember some fundamental design principles. For example, choose a typeface that’s easy to read and create white space by using subheadings, short sentences and short headings.

Testing You can send your emails out in batches to test such elements as your subject line, frequency and timing, copy elements, graphics, offers, number and placement of ‘click here’, and the links. It’s tempting to evaluate the success of your email campaign by the number of people who open and click through to your links. But the bottom line is the amount of new business you receive. More relevant measures are: • How many people become immediate prospects? • How many people give you explicit permission to send additional emails? • How many people buy your products and services? • What’s the lifetime value of your new customers or clients?

How to write direct mail

Summary PURPOSE Direct mail and email marketing are useful for establishing and building relationships and gaining new business. AUDIENCE Know your audience so you can tailor your direct mail. People must opt in to receive emails from you, but you can send snail mail to strangers. Both direct mail letters and emails work best if you personalise them by addressing the person by name. CONTENT • Your content must be relevant and of interest and benefit to the reader. • Make an irresistible offer to hook people’s attention and make it easy for them to reply. TIPS Snail mail: • • • • •

Good list Timing Test and refine Follow up Measure your results.

Email: • Collect people’s email addresses and get their permission to email them • Email often—but not too often • Test and refine • Measure your results.

159

How to write an advertisement

7

How to write an advertisement

U

nless you’re writing a straightforward advertisement for the classifieds section of a newspaper or for a directory, I would recommend that you employ an agency or an experienced advertising copywriter to compose your advertisements. Writing successful advertisements is a craft, and unless you have a particular aptitude and are willing to put the time into learning how to create them, it’s a skill best left to the experts. But even if you take my advice and employ a copywriter, it will pay to learn how to create an advertisement so you can control the process, which includes writing an appropriate brief to communicate with your copywriter, staying within your budget, and placing your advertisement in the most appropriate media. 160

How to write an advertisement

Types of advertisements There are basically two kinds of advertisements: brand-awareness and response advertisements. The main purpose of a brand advertisement is to build awareness and interest, whereas a response advertisement invites customers or clients to take immediate action—either to buy the product or service or to request more information. These are sometimes called promotional advertisements, product advertisements or call-to-action advertisements. Often response advertisements are accompanied by inducements to respond, such as a free consultation, a free brochure, or discounts such as ‘buy one, get one free’. Many make response easy by having a toll-free number or including a prepaid reply card. Brand advertising is a luxury most small businesses can’t afford. But it’s a catch-22 situation: response advertisements work best if your product or service is already known in the marketplace, and this can be achieved through brand advertising. One solution is to create an advertisement that both builds awareness and presents your offer. Such advertisements are better run in a series than appearing as one-offs (see below). DEFINITIONS Classified advertisements mainly appear in print material, such as newspapers, magazines and trade journals. Such advertisements are usually text only, and consist of a headline, body copy and contact details. (Copy is the term for the words that fill the body of the advertisement. It is also sometimes referred to as body copy.) Display print advertisements also appear in magazines, newspapers and trade journals. These use a combination of a headline, copy and visual elements, such as graphics and white space, to attract readers’ attention.

161

162

Promote Your Business

Banner advertisements are narrow strips on websites that present advertising messages.

Pros and cons of different media This chapter concentrates on print advertisements, but all types of advertisements are covered briefly in this section.

Newspapers Newspapers reach a wide range of people within a geographical area, and you can place your advertisement in a specific section, such as the finance or lifestyle pages. You can usually pick what size advertisement you want and the cost of production is relatively inexpensive compared to other media. You also don’t need to book too far in advance to place an advertisement. However, while classified advertisements are within the budget of most small businesses, large display advertisements are expensive in daily metropolitan papers. Don’t overlook your local papers if they reach and are read by your target audience. The disadvantages of newspapers is that they have a short life span and you’re competing with lots of other information, the print quality is limiting, and they are not widely read by young people.

Magazines, including trade journals Magazines have a more targeted readership than newspapers and are generally read more thoroughly. They also have a longer life span and the print is higher-quality. Many magazines offer a classified ads or directory section at reasonable rates. The disadvantages are that your production costs may be higher and, as many magazines and journals are published

How to write an advertisement

monthly, there is usually a longer lead time so you need to plan further in advance.

Directories Directories have the advantage that people consult them only when they’re ready to buy or at least are ready to get information to start the buying process. A directory listing also offers you credibility: readers will assume you’re established in the marketplace. The costs are relatively low, and one advertisement will usually last a full year. There are a number of disadvantages. If you have several products or services, you’ll need to make separate entries under different sections. There is a long lead time, and you have to make a commitment in advance and write an entry that will remain current for at least a year. Also, competing advertisements are all placed together so it’s easy for your prospects to comparison shop. This leads many companies to compete on size to gain attention, which increases the costs. An entry in the Yellow Pages is a must for many small businesses. If you rely largely on word-of-mouth and low-key marketing methods for your business, you don’t need a big advertisement but you do need a presence. Research shows that nearly half (40% in Australia, closer to 49% in the USA) of those using the Yellow Pages already have the name of the business in mind. Before you make a purchasing decision, think about what you want to achieve with your advertisement. Then monitor the results in terms of how much business you get through your listing. Perhaps a large display advertisement is appropriate for your business, especially if you want to attract prospective customers and clients rather than have people looking for your phone number. Directory salespeople will often try to talk you into having a large advertisement—another reason why it’s good to know what

163

164

Promote Your Business

you want to achieve. I recently put a listing in the Yellow Pages and had great difficulty persuading the salesperson that I didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars. I have never actually received any work from the Yellow Pages, but some of my competitors have. On the basis of my past experience I’m choosing a simple line entry. One of my competitors who’s received work from a one-line entry is upgrading to a larger, boxed entry. I’ll compare notes with her later and maybe reassess my approach next time around. It’s always good to know how your competitors are getting on! Emerald Furniture and Blue Gum Restaurant have chosen entries with just their name, address and phone number. Blue Gum has three listings—an alphabetical listing, a cuisine guide listing and a location listing. Delite Landscape Design has a 5 cm high and 7 cm wide bordered listing:

• • • • •

Delite Landscape DESIGN

Design Maintenance Construction Over 20 years’ experience Office and nursery

23 Landscape Lane Rockville VIC 1999 ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789

Outdoor advertising The advantage of outdoor billboard advertising is that the advertisements are often large and in prominent positions so they attract your attention. If people are driving the same way every day, they see them over and over again. As they’re aimed at a

How to write an advertisement

moving audience, the messages must be brief and very memorable. It’s impossible to target your message to a specific audience, so you need to appeal to a diverse audience. Billboard advertising isn’t cheap, and in some places where there is high traffic volume you need to book well in advance. There are other, cheaper types of outdoor advertising. At its simplest, that could mean a sign outside a house which is having alterations done. Or you can be creative and think of other examples. Luke Sullivan in Hey Whipple, Squeeze This cites an advertising campaign in New York for a lingerie shop, which consisted of stencilled messages on the pavement stating ‘From here it looks like you could use some new underwear’. He gives another example in London, where The Economist ran an advertisement on bus rooftops which read ‘Hello to all our readers in high office’. Delite Landscape Design has a noticeboard which, with the owners’ permission, it puts at the front of properties it is working on to catch the attention of people passing by. Over the years this method of advertising has attracted a significant amount of local business. It also has its name and logo on the side of company vehicles.

Radio With radio, you have a highly targeted audience. You can choose the radio station your prospects listen to and choose which programs you want your advertisement to be attached to. You don’t usually have to book far in advance. But that’s no guarantee your prospects will listen to your advertisement. Listeners can switch stations to avoid advertisements. And, if your advertisement interests them and they want more information, they can’t rewind to hear it again. So you need to repeat your advertisement several times for it

165

166

Promote Your Business

to be effective. Although you must include your phone number, many people listen to the radio in the car, so won’t write it down. Make sure your company name is prominent so they can look you up in the phone book. If you want people to come to your store or office it’s probably worth identifying a well-known landmark, such as ‘just opposite the post office’. Most radio advertisements run for 15–60 seconds. Alternatively you could sponsor a section on the radio, such as the weather or sports news. Or you could promote your products and services indirectly by offering to speak on a subject you’re an expert in. For example, Delite Landscape Design has a regular gardening spot on a local radio station where they provide gardening tips and answer listeners’ queries. Many radio stations offer copywriting services, but some tips for developing your own radio advertisement are: • Know your objective. • Put yourself in your listeners’ cars and ask what would make you buy your product or service? • Develop a concept to get your main message across. • Grab your audience’s attention with a strong opening. • Tell your story in seconds, and make sure you feature your name and your call to action strongly. • Write in a conversational style, just as people talk, and remember to include pauses. • Keep your writing tight—edit out any unnecessary words.

Television Television is expensive, and is mainly used for brand and image enhancement or special deals. While you have an opportunity

How to write an advertisement

to target particular audiences according to what programs they watch, with television advertising you’re competing with other advertisements and viewers’ ability to switch channels to avoid your advertisements. Television advertising is a specialised area. If you decide to go down this route, you’ll probably need to seek professional assistance with creating and placing your advertisement.

Internet marketing Companies advertise on the Internet with banner advertisements that people click onto or with pop-up boxes that appear when you enter or leave a site. Companies also advertise through competitions, some advertise in their own e-newsletters and increasingly companies advertise in other people’s e-newsletters. If you want to put an advertisement in someone else’s e-newsletter, have a look at how other people advertise in this medium and base your advertisement on the elements you think work the best.

Benefits of a campaign There are a number of advantages to running an advertising campaign rather than placing a single advertisement. You can repeat the same advertisement several times to reinforce your message and so encourage your readers to make a purchasing decision. The most important factor in advertisement recall is the number of times people are exposed to your advertisement. So if you have a small budget, limit the size of your advertisement and even the number of individuals and households your advertisement reaches and concentrate on frequency.

167

168

Promote Your Business

Barbara Findlay Schenck’s Small Business Marketing for Dummies maintains that you need to run your advertisement as many as nine times to reach your prospects even once. This is because each time your advertisement runs, few people will notice it. You need to run your advertisement as many as 27 times to reach your prospects three times. Findlay Schenck outlines some scheduling concepts of advertisement timings: • Continual. You place your advertisements regularly on an ongoing basis. • Flighting. You start off with a heavy schedule to make an impact, then go dormant for a while. Then you bring your advertisements back with a lighter schedule, followed by another dormant phase. Then you repeat the whole pattern again. • Front loading. You run a heavy schedule and then drop back to continual, low-key advertising. This campaign is useful for product launches, openings, and to kick-start a market. • Heavy scheduling. You do continual marketing throughout the year accompanied by regular blitzes of heavy scheduling. • Pulsing—on/off scheduling. You place your advertisements, then you go dormant, you replace your advertisements, followed by another dormant phase. There are no blitzes with this type of scheduling. Not everyone will want to buy your product or service the first time they read or hear about it. If you can capture their names and get their permission to email them, you can include them on your email database and continue marketing to them after your advertisement campaign is over. Think of ways to capture this information. For example, you may offer a free consultation or include a reply-paid coupon.

How to write an advertisement

Creating an advertisement You only have a few seconds to grab your audience’s attention. Your advertisement needs to have a strong offer and encourage people to take that next step in the buying process now. A successful advertisement speaks directly to your target audience and invites them to read it. Once you’ve got their attention, you need to entertain and/or inform them. Advertisements that provide information get a higher response rate than pure branding advertisements that convey emotions and mood. An advertisement is read at a glance, but the preparation takes time.

Determine your purpose As with any marketing campaign, you need first to determine what you want to achieve with your advertisement. If you set your expectations before writing and placing your advertisement, you can also define your measurement standard. But remember that with advertising, patience is the key. You need to be clear about what advertising can do for you. Even great advertising often just paves the way for you to make a sale later. Advertising is also risky. Not all advertising works. But if you’re well prepared you can increase the chances that it will work for you. Choose one goal rather than several, and stick to it throughout your advertising campaign. Are you opening a new market, creating brand awareness, wanting to attract clients to a seminar or trying to make a direct sale? What are your competitors offering, and how and where are they advertising? If you are launching a new product or service you might first need to find out whether there is already a demand for your product or service or whether you need to create one.

169

170

Promote Your Business

Once you’re clear about your goal, you’re in a position to make wise media decisions. For example, if you want to develop general awareness and interest, use media that reaches a broad and general market. If you want, on the other hand, to target your message to people you know will already have an interest in or need for your product or service, you may decide to advertise in a trade journal.

Identify your audience Ask yourself questions like: • Who do you want to reach? • What do they currently know about your company and your product or service? • What do you want them to know, think and do? • What information does the advertisement have to include? List everything you know about your audience. Advertisements are chatty and informal, so imagine you’re addressing one particular person. For example, Delite Landscape Design wants to promote its ‘Gone Potty’ balcony design service. It’s targeting young, professional singles and couples living in apartments in the city. So John Pettit has developed a mental image of his target group. Jane Smith is 32 years old and works as a middle manager for a large corporation. She earns a big salary and works long hours. She grew up in a small town and her mother loved gardening. She now lives in an apartment building with a balcony that overlooks the city. She likes plants, but travels a lot. She’s tried putting plants on her balcony, but has never managed to keep them alive. She has better luck with indoor plants, though some of them die from neglect too.

How to write an advertisement

Outdoor pot plants requiring little maintenance or watering would be ideal for Jane. Delite Landscape Design could set up her balcony. They could also maintain it regularly and look after her indoor plants at the same time.

Identify your key message List every aspect of your product or service. Sometimes we’re too close to our own business to see it clearly. Stand back and view it from an outsider’s point of view. What will they want to know, and how will they benefit from using your product or service? Dredge up all the facts and figures you can find—there might be something in the detail you can use to create a memorable idea. Specific information is always more interesting than generalities. You need to present one clear idea in an advertisement. There isn’t time or space for more. Don’t confuse your prospects with too much choice. You’re after a ‘yes/no’ response rather than ‘which one?’ If you do present more than one product or service, see if you can package them together to eliminate the choice element.

Develop a positioning statement There has been a lot written on positioning. Early experts in this field whose work is still relevant today are Reis and Trout, who wrote Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. Positioning is filling a meaningful and available slot in the public’s perception. David Ogilvy defines it simply as ‘what your product does, and who it is for’. It’s often based largely on market perception rather than reality. For example, David Ogilvy says he could have positioned Dove as a detergent bar for men with dirty hands, but chose instead to position it as a toilet bar for women with dry skin.

171

172

Promote Your Business

If you have a unique selling proposition (USP), flaunt it. A USP is based on a specific benefit that your competitors don’t offer. It must be a strong benefit that will attract customers or clients (see Chapter 1 for more information). Small Business Marketing for Dummies suggests the following formula for constructing your positioning statement: Your Name + Your Business Description + Your Point of Distinction + Your Market Description = Your Positioning Statement. Another way of developing your positioning statement is to write the following sentence: My product or service is the only one which _______________________ for _____________________ because __________________________. As we saw in Chapter 1, not all small businesses have an obvious USP, so you may have to dig into the details to find specifics that differentiate your products or services. It might be as simple as your philosophy and style.

Be consistent with your brand image Remember that everything you do contributes to your brand image. All your advertisements need to be in keeping with your overall branding, even if they’re response advertisements. Within that brand you can play with the tone: for example, even traditional companies can get away with cheeky advertisements so long as they’re not crude.

Work out the benefits Stressing benefits is what advertising is all about, and the benefits need to be stated immediately—not buried in the copy. But stating a benefit in itself is seldom enough to persuade people to buy. You need to back up your statement with supporting

How to write an advertisement

reasons. One way of doing this is to complete the following sentence: ‘My advertisement will persuade (target audience) that my product/service will (describe the benefit) because (describe how or why it will help them).’ Ask yourself what would make you want to buy the product or service. Consider the opposite of your product: what doesn’t it do? Look at for some inspiration and ideas. It’s an online catalogue for a wide range of products and it obviously employs experienced copywriters. An example picked at random is Oxygenics Showerhead.

Oxygenics® Showerhead A shower so invigorating, you’d never guess it’s cutting water and energy use in half! Conserve water and electricity without sacrificing comfort. The Oxygenics Showerhead self-pressurizes for a refreshing spa shower even with low water pressure. So efficient, it can reduce the volume and cost of hot water needed for showers by up to 70%.

Made of chrome-plated ABS plastic.

It’s a wake-up call to your skin! The patented Oxygenics system enriches the water with air, increasing its oxygen content by as much as 60%. This helps purify the shower, countering free radical cells that can damage and age the skin. With its adjustable spray and massaging action, the Oxygenics Showerhead energizes your shower, helping to deep clean your skin, stimulate cells and improve circulation.

Be honest and credible It may be tempting to exaggerate, but avoid the temptation. Trust is an important issue for your reputation and repeat business. So be honest and don’t make promises you can’t keep. Also avoid overselling: it’s stronger to state the benefits and facts than to

173

174

Promote Your Business

overstate your case. People are discerning, and don’t like excessive marketing hype. The issue of trust is particularly important for professional services, so many people use testimonials in advertisements. Make sure you check with your referees that they’re happy to be quoted in your advertisement. Another common way of gaining credibility is having a well-known person endorse your product or service. David Ogilvy recommends using an expert rather than a celebrity for credibility, as with celebrities people recall the celebrity over and above your product and assume (usually correctly) that the celebrity is doing your advertisement for the money.

Develop a concept The overall concept is the key to a successful advertisement, and this is where the experts earn their money—they’re used to thinking creatively. But it is a craft that can be learnt, and one of the best ways of learning it is to read books on advertising and to study advertisements. Copy them at first until you understand how they work. That’s how many of the top advertising copywriters learnt. Great ideas are memorable and often have an element of risk. One of the techniques used by advertising copywriters to come up with ideas is brainstorming. Brainstorming occurs after you’ve done your spadework, so you know who your target audience is and what you want to achieve. It involves relaxing your mind to see where it takes you and treating all ideas as good ideas so you don’t block the flow. You doodle, invite others to brainstorm with you, flick through magazines, look at past advertisements, view your competitors’ advertisements, and think about the unique benefits of your product or service. Then suddenly you start to write. As Luke Sullivan says in Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: ‘Eventually you get to an idea that dramatizes the benefit of your

How to write an advertisement

client’s product or service. Dramatizes is the key word. You must dramatize it in a unique, provocative, compelling and memorable way.’

Include a call to action and make taking action easy Encourage readers to take action with a tempting offer, and make it compelling and easy for them to take the next step. Pay attention to detail and check whether you need to include the following information: • • • • •

Hours Map of directions Parking instructions Credit card options Licences, etc.

In every advertisement, your contact details need to be clearly displayed so it’s easy for people to take action. This sounds obvious, but is sometimes overlooked.

Prices Small Business Marketing for Dummies has some advice on pricing, starting with the fact that price alone is never reason enough to buy. Your price announcements must be accompanied by positive reasons and benefits. Pricing must not be misleading or complex. Your prices need to be presented in a straightforward and visually attractive manner, and if you offer a discount it needs to be compelling to be a real incentive. Many people no longer regard 10% off as a big deal. Tips Findley Schenck suggests for pricing announcements include the following.

175

176

Promote Your Business

PRICING

P R E S E N T A T I O N DO ’ S A N D D O N ’ TS

Don’t

Do

Why

We’ve just cut our nightly rates—to $89 mid-week. Some restrictions apply

Announcing a new St Louis number to remember—$89 per night

Sofa and loveseat $1995.00

Sofa and loveseat $1995

25% off two or more

1/ off second pair 2

30% off

Regularly $995; now $695 while supplies last

$6.99 each

$13.99—Buy One, Get One Free

The second approach makes the deal sound noteworthy, whereas the first approach provides no positive rationale and implies that ‘small print applies’. When prices are more than $100 drop the decimal point and zeroes to lighten the effect. Complicated discounts are uninspiring, plus ‘1/2 off’ sounds like double the discount of 25% off when you buy two. ‘1/3 off’ sounds more compelling than 30% off; but showing a $300 reduction is strongest of all. ‘While supplies last’ adds incentive and urgency. Sometimes a low price conveys low value. Consider doubling the price but making a powerful two-for-onelimited-time offer.

$14.95 plus shipping/handling

$17.95. We pick up all shipping and handling

The word ‘plus’ alerts the consumer that the price is only the beginning. Calculate and include shipping and handling to remove buyer concern and possible objection.

Ingredients of an advertisement— visuals, headlines and body copy In print advertisements, the headline, body copy and graphic or visual elements all work together to capture your audience’s attention and entice them to buy your product or service.

How to write an advertisement

You may choose to use a designer to put all the elements together. If you’re doing it yourself, make sure the headline, body and visuals are harmoniously combined and reflect your brand as well as advertise your product or service.

Visuals Illustrations and photos are what catch people’s attention first. Sometimes they present the product, sometimes they show the product in use, and sometimes they create a feeling or mood. David Ogilvy maintains that photographs attract more readers than drawings, but cautions that photographs reproduce badly in some newspapers so a line drawing is sometimes better. Luke Sullivan advises being visual and going short on the copy, on the basis that showing the benefits is more involving than describing them. Show not tell can be done well in print, not just on TV. He gives the example of an advertisement for Fisher Price’s anti-slip roller skates. In the picture there is one kid standing in the far right. The headline reads: ‘Which one of these three kids is wearing Fisher Price anti-slip roller skates?’ He comments that the mental image of ‘two kids landing on their duffs is more powerful than actually showing them that way’.

Headlines Four out of five people who see your advertisement will read only the headline. If your headline doesn’t inspire them, the rest of your copy has no chance. Your headline has to work hard, so it’s worth spending time getting it right. It needs to grab attention and say ‘Stop, this concerns you’. It must

177

178

Promote Your Business

convey a meaningful benefit and promise a solution to your problem. Most headlines are short. Occasionally they’re only one word. However, sometimes long headlines are effective. Research has shown that the length of the headline doesn’t matter, it’s the content that counts. It needs to be compelling. A famous example is a Volkswagen advertisement in the 1960s which had a one-word headline: ‘Lemon’. At the time, Volkswagen’s competitors were running advertisements with headings like ‘Blue ribbon beauty that’s stealing the thunder from the high-priced cars’ and ‘Chevrolet’s new engines put new fun under your foot and a great big grin on your face’ (Sullivan, 1998). HEADLINES THAT PROMISE A BENEFIT Have a look at some advertisements and you’ll notice that many offer a benefit. For example, ‘Easy, fast, reliable backup’, ‘Subscribe now and save’. HEADLINES THAT INFORM Headlines that contain news, such as the launch of a new product or a new way to use an old product, are effective. According to David Ogilvy, advertisements with news are recalled by 22% more people than advertisements without news. People also like informative headlines that tell them how to do things, such as ‘How to make money’, ‘How to pay your bills quickly/easily’ and ‘How to win friends and influence people’. HEADLINES WITH MAGIC WORDS Magic words, although clichéd, have drawing power in headlines. Some magic words are: amazing, introductory, now,

How to write an advertisement

suddenly, you, save, new, free, love, easy, proven, guaranteed, safe, healthy, discovery and money. HEADLINES THAT INCLUDE YOUR BRAND OR PRODUCT NAME If people are going to read your headline and remember it, you should include your brand or product name. With well-known companies that’s not such an issue as their brand is distinctive, but it’s important for small businesses. I’m sure everyone can think of some clever advertisements but can’t recall what product they were advertising. HEADLINES WITH KEY WORDS If you are targeting a specific audience, include the key words, such as ‘asthma’ or ‘men over 50’, in your headline. This will attract their attention and entice them to read on. Also, if you have interesting specific facts, use them. One of David Ogilvy’s well-known advertisements is for Rolls-Royce. It states: ‘At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new RollsRoyce comes from the electric clock.’ HEADLINES THAT POSE QUESTIONS Some advertisements use questions to attract people’s attention. A famous example is the Avis advertisements which successfully played on the fact that Avis was the second-biggest player, not the first, in rental cars: ‘Avis is only No. 2 in rent-a-cars. So why go with us?’ They gave several answers in the body copy, including ‘We try harder’ and ‘The line at our counter is shorter’. HEADLINES WITH POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE STATEMENTS Positive statements are powerful. For example, ‘save time’ is stronger than ‘work less’. But negative statements can work as

179

180

Promote Your Business

well. Luke Sullivan makes a strong case for negative headlines in Hey Whipple, Squeeze This on the grounds that conflict = drama = interest. He cites the example of FedEx, which was a tiny company in Memphis that became an international success on the back of a series of TV commercials featuring terrible conflict, such as everything going wrong, packages arriving late and people getting fired. Another example is Minties, which showed all sorts of humorous, disastrous situations followed by the slogan ‘It’s moments like these you need Minties’. HEADLINES UNDER OR ABOVE YOUR ILLUSTRATION? Expert opinion varies on where to place your headline. Small Business Marketing for Dummies says headlines can sit anywhere on the page—at the top, in the middle or along the bottom. On the other hand, David Ogilvy (Ogilvy on Advertising) advises putting the headline under the illustration. He says that most readers look at the illustration, then the headline, then the copy. He maintains that, on average, headlines below the illustration are read by 10% more people than headlines above the illustration. If you have a large target audience, these numbers add up. He’s scathing about people who put headlines under the copy, saying ‘some dopes even put their headlines at the bottom, under the copy!’

Body copy Only about 5% of readers will read your body copy. But they may be the 5% of potential customers you want, so the body copy still matters. Expert opinion is divided over whether to write short or long copy. The most important factor seems to be the quality of the copy.

How to write an advertisement

In your first draft, get all the key information down. Don’t worry about how well you say it—the information is what counts. Your second, third and fourth rewrites are the time to turn your prose into great copy. Write directly for your target audience in everyday, conversational language with all the rhythms of speech. This means using simple words, short sentences and short paragraphs. Many people associate advertisements with superlatives and adjectives. In fact, the most persuasive advertisements are objective, and strong on detail and specifics. Avoid general or clichéd phrases that mean nothing. One way of testing this is to ask yourself whether the phrase could be used to describe any product or service. When you have an interesting or relevant fact, use it. For example, if your product lasts 20 years, say so. Many of the headline guidelines apply to writing copy. Remember to speak directly to your audience using ‘you’ language and think in terms of benefits and solutions. Body copy often includes: • Benefits, backed up by information to support your claims • The offer • Sweeteners, such as a guarantee, special terms, trade-in, discounts, free trial • Deadline, for example ‘the first 200’, ‘until supplies run out’ or ‘before 23 May’ • A call to action, telling people how they can respond.

Editing As space is at a premium in an advertisement, every word has to count. Once you’ve finished your copy, go back and see how

181

182

Promote Your Business

many unnecessary words you can get rid of. Remember the rule—delete, delete, delete. Keep paring away words until you have the essence of your concept. Read through your copy and see whether you can strengthen any words. For example, would ‘guts’ work better than ‘stomach’, or ‘brains’ better than ‘intelligence’? Sometimes when you’ve done a heavy edit you lose the flow, so go back and see whether you need to use transitions to join your sentences and paragraphs seamlessly. Then give your work the final check by reading it out loud. Imagine you’re face-toface with your prospects and they’re hesitating. What can you say to convince them your product or service is just what they need?

Advertisement in a trade show magazine

Delite Landscape DESIGN Buy any Delite pot or plant and go into the draw to win a $20 000 getaway. Visit our stand (J8) at the show for our potting demonstration and to collect your entry form. Win a $20 000 getaway. 23 Landscape Lane, Rockville VIC 1999 ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789 Email: [email protected] Web:

Advertisment in a local newspaper after winning a furniture award

EMERALD furniture

Eco-timber + eco-techniques + style = pure class

Stunning stools Designed by Susan Eves, Emerald Furniture Winner of Bronze medal in Eco-Design Excellence Awards 2 Crampton Street, Browns Bay 1999 ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789,

Advertisement in the food section of a daily newspaper

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Join us for lunch or dinner. With our reputation for quality food, a great selection of wines and professional, friendly service, Blue Gum is the ideal place to entertain clients or relax with friends. 9 Bannerman Street, Blues Point 1999 ph/fax: (01) 0345 6789

184

Promote Your Business

Summary PURPOSE What do you want to achieve with your advertisement? AUDIENCE Who’s your target audience? CONTENT • Offers a benefit • Is believable and credible • Is simple and easy to read • Is specific • Arouses curiosity • Captures attention • Awakens interest • Contains a verb • Is proactive • Is distinctive and memorable • Informs • Includes your brand and company name • Includes a call to action. TIPS • You can get extra mileage out of your advertisement by using it in conjunction with the rest of your marketing and by using reprints in other promotional material. For example, you could do a poster-sized version of your advertisement, place it on your website or insert it in your e-newsletter. • Advertising campaigns are usually more successful than a one-off advertisement, as people often need to see an advertisement several times before they take action.

How to write your website

8

How to write your website

A

ccording to the Kingsley Group and Constat, a quarter of small businesses now use the Internet to service and support customers. A website is almost a prerequisite for business these days and is changing the way companies promote themselves and conduct business. The Internet is a completely different medium from print, though many of the principles of good writing still apply. When talking about websites it’s hard to go past the work of Jakob Nielsen, a US engineer who’s studied Internet communications and usability since the early 1980s. Based on his studies and research by the Poynter Institute, we know that most users (79%) scan pages rather than read them word-for-word, and only 16% of users read word-for-word. Even when reading full articles, people read only 75% of the text and ignore the details. People scan partly because reading from the screen is more tiring and 25% slower than reading print on paper, but also because they go to the Internet specifically to find information. 185

186

Promote Your Business

It’s not unusual for people to alternate between multiple sites— leaving a site to search another and then returning to the first site later in the same session. This has implications for the way you design your site, as each page must stand alone. The good news for people who like words is that only 22% of users are drawn to graphics, while 78% look at the text. This is even on their second or third visit to your site. In general, people look at headlines, article summaries and captions first. Most people don’t like scrolling down excessively. They want information that is short and to the point. People’s eyes also move differently when reading on screen. In print, when we read a page our eyes move from left to right. When we look at a double-page spread our eyes first scan both pages in a loop, starting at the top right-hand corner and ending at the bottom left corner. When we look at a webpage our eyes go to the middle of the screen first, then from the left to the right. We look at the bottom of the page last. This eye movement follows the conventional layout of many screens, which have the main information in the middle, the menu on the left, and other functions or less important information on the right-hand side. Before writing or upgrading your own site, look at several sites to see what you like and dislike—but know when to stop. I got sidetracked while writing this chapter looking at several websites, and was disappointed by the overall standard. The good ones stood out. These weren’t necessarily the corporate ones with lots of money to spend; they were the ones with clear, simple content that were easy to read and navigate. According to Jakob Nielsen, the two major faults of most websites are that they’re not written with their audience in mind and they’re difficult to navigate. Don’t fall into those traps with your website. Once you’ve found sites you like, analyse what makes them work and try to incorporate those ingredients in your own site.

How to write your website

After writing this chapter I had to rewrite my own website, as it failed to meet my own standards! It had a flash menu at the top that faded in and out. It looked very trendy but was difficult to use, and if the menu was in ‘fade-out mode’ people had to search for it. My font was also too small, which is a common fault with websites. Remember, people go to the website for content, so it must be easy to read. And I wrote very formally, as if I was writing a brochure. I hadn’t adapted to the online medium, which is more informal than print.

Types of websites Before writing or upgrading your own website, ask yourself why you need a website and how you want people to use it. You may want a business card website, an interactive website or an eBusiness website.

Business card websites Many small businesses regard their website similarly to a business card. It’s there to provide credibility and an overview of their products or services. Once they’ve written it, they seldom update it unless their business changes direction. They also don’t worry about whether they’re picked up by search engines or bother to track the number of people who visit their site. Many small businesses don’t take advantage of the full potential of the medium. They treat their site like an online version of their brochure and the end result is that their sites are often static and lacking in personality. Such sites serve a purpose, especially if they look good and are easy to read, but their marketing potential is limited.

187

188

Promote Your Business

Customer and client interaction websites Many businesses take their websites a step further and use them for customer or client information and support. They have all the basic ingredients of a business card site but have more personality, are more interactive and are often updated. For example, companies might regularly add articles they’ve written, write inspirational quotes for the month, or promote new products and services. Often companies drive people to their website through other marketing material, such as their ezine or advertisements. For example, in their ezine they may promote a service or product and provide a hyperlink to the website for more information. If you do promote your website in your marketing material, monitor your visitor statistics to see whether these coincide with your promotions. Some sites offer online support services, but if you do offer support make sure you follow it up. My experience is limited, but I’ve contacted several organisations, including government departments, large corporates and businesses, via email from their Internet sites with requests for information and seldom received a reply! I’ve also bought things over the Internet with much more success. That’s the third model—eBusiness websites.

eBusiness websites Increasingly sites are eBusiness sites, conducting business online. The Australian eBusiness Guide (CCH) states that businesses make money from eBusiness through the following: • Direct sales. For example, through catalogues, auctions and group buying. • Advertising. Charging advertisers a fee for placing ads on a website is one of the commonest revenue models on the Internet.

How to write your website

• Subscriptions. This is a flat fee for access to something valuable for a specified period of time. • Pay-per-use. Users pay for content they wish to view. • Sponsorship. Sponsors pay for prominent display of their logos. Ezines are often sponsored in the online world. • Licence fees. These give users the right to use content for a limited period of time. • Commission. This is a fee charged when a party has assisted in generating a lead or closing a sale. The Australian eBusiness Guide describes some of the main eBusiness models, which include the online model, the marketmaker model and the content model. ONLINE MODEL The online model sells goods and services direct to customers. The terms eTailers and online retailers are often used to describe these businesses. Examples include websites that sell software, computer equipment, office supplies, tickets and groceries. Many of these businesses also have a retail outlet, but some, such as and , are online outlets only. This model had some teething problems in the early days and it has not replaced traditional retail to the extent that many predicted. But online retailers are here to stay, and most traditional retailers now have an online presence and trade online. Many smaller businesses today are also using their websites to sell their own products and services, such as bed linen, workshops or books. MARKET-MAKER MODEL Market-maker websites bring buyers and sellers together, facilitating trade between third parties. They provide the software

189

190

Promote Your Business

platform for trading and often include other value-added services. There are different types of markets, including: • Business-to-consumer (B2C) markets, where many traders sell through a single website • Business-to-business (B2B) markets, usually based around industries. Some use electronic catalogues and others have online auctions. For example, second-hand and end-of-line computers are often sold at auctions • Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) markets, which provide a forum for the sale of goods, including real estate. CONTENT MODEL The content model provides access to valuable or entertaining content, such as news or horoscopes. Some sites provide free information and others charge for it. In the early days of the Internet a lot of information was given away, but there is an increasing trend for companies to want some financial return on their investment. Some sell advertising to cover their costs and many use a two-tiered approach, where some information is free and some is charged for. For example, many news sites have current information free, but charge for access to their archives. On the other hand, research companies may charge for current research but provide old research free.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite uses its website extensively to promote its products and services and uses its ezine to drive people to its website for information and specials. It also sells some products online.

How to write your website

EMERALD furniture Emerald Furniture has an eBusiness website with a catalogue online to make it easier for customers in other places to buy the furniture.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Blue Gum Restaurant originally had a business card website, but as it has recently started writing an ezine, it is now updating its website more often and monitoring the site visits with interest.

Essential ingredients for writing for the web Write for your audience One of the difficulties when writing for your website is that you have to write for your target audience, but you must remember that people from anywhere around the world may visit your site through search engines. So your site must speak direct to your target audience but also offer something to the casual visitor. This is a challenge if your content is highly specialised, but it can be achieved with good, clear writing. If your readers need more knowledge to understand your subject, then provide a link to other pages for background or explanatory information. Avoid writing like this on your home page:

191

192

Promote Your Business

Cato [not real name] is commercialising the Cato technology into the Cato System to enter the critical care segment of the pathology testing market. The Cato System will be a point of care, critical care pathology system, comprising an instrument and an associated series of test specific single use disposables.

Maybe people familiar with the biotech industry will understand, but casual visitors certainly won’t. The writing could be much simpler and clearer.

Make your website easy to navigate People go to your website to get information, and they want to be able to access that information quickly. Because people aren’t willing to read screeds of information in one hit, you need to split your information into multiple hyperlinked pages. When people arrive at your site they need information about the site and how to navigate it. Opinion is divided over whether it is best to have your navigational bar or buttons—which in print terms is your table of contents—along the top, along the bottom or down the side. Some large sites use more than one place for their navigational devices. Wherever you have your toolbar, it should be visible on all pages so people can move easily around your site. The terms used in your navigational bar should be brief, as all are hyperlinks to take people to the relevant pages. The page headings should be identical to the navigational bar. Every page on your website needs to stand alone, as some people may be after information on only that page. Or they may come to your website via another link which specifies that page, so it’s the first introduction to your site. People won’t necessarily want to follow all your links, so provide summary information to save readers from following links unnecessarily. At the bottom of each page, lead your readers

How to write your website

to the next logical page on the site. Don’t just leave them there hanging, wondering where to go next. Make it informative, easy and fun to visit your site. CONTENT CHECKLIST 1. Home—an overview of the company 2. Products and services 3. News—latest e-newsletters, dates of training programs etc. 4. About us—often includes a profile and photo of the director of the company 5. Articles 6. Case studies/success stories/samples of work 7. Client list 8. Testimonials, reviews or references 9. Contact us.

Be direct and concise Readers are impatient. They want information and they want it now. You have to get your information across clearly and quickly using the ‘most important news first’ technique. This is known in journalism as the ‘inverted pyramid’. A test often used for the opening paragraphs in a news story is: does it answer the 5W and H questions (i.e. who, what, when, where, why and how)? Apply this technique to your web writing. Size does matter. Short is better. The word count for online content should be about half the number you’d use in a print version. Your writing has to be even simpler and plainer than print text, with: • Simple words • Short sentences (15–20 words) • Short paragraphs (three to five lines).

193

194

Promote Your Business

Each sentence should have one idea, and that idea should usually be at the start of the sentence. Each paragraph should contain one main idea and it should be in the first sentence (topic sentence). You can convey the same information, but you have to write in small, bite-sized pieces, often called ‘chunks’, broken up by headings and subheadings. This is a very different way of writing from when you’re writing a report, though some of the online techniques are increasingly finding their way into the printed word. Either you can chunk material into screen-sized pieces, using hyperlinks if necessary, or you can scroll. But remember that people don’t like scrolling too deeply. There are no rights and wrongs about using chunks or scrolled text. It depends on your purpose and audience and your personal preference. Often chunked text is aimed at people who visit and leave quickly, whereas scrolled material is more suitable if you expect people to print off a copy. If you use scroll, pay attention to what is above the scroll. Make sure that the information and links that all readers of a page need are visible without scrolling when a page is first viewed. Whether you ‘chunk’ or ‘scroll’, the principles of effective writing remain the same—keep it short and simple. Longer text is sometimes published as Adobe PDF files. This has the disadvantage of taking ages to download—and not everyone has downloaded the software from the Internet they need in order to view PDF files. Also you can’t copy and paste any of the material (maybe that’s a plus!) Another alternative is to write a punchy summary that links to another webpage.

Be credible Your content must be credible. Many people visiting your site won’t know you, but they want to be able to trust your information. You’ll automatically have some credibility if your site

How to write your website

is well written, has simple or high-quality graphics and is easy to get around. You also gain credibility if you avoid making exaggerated claims or using boastful language. Research has shown that people don’t like marketing hype, often known as ‘marketese’ on websites. So avoid superlatives like ‘best’, ‘cleverest’, ‘fastest’, ‘cheapest’ and ‘largest’, and stick to the facts. Many businesses use testimonials or reviews to support their claims. It’s often easier to have other people extol your virtues than to rave about yourself. If you have articles or reviews on other websites, insert hyperlinks to these pages. Some experts maintain that you can also enhance your credibility by providing outbound hyperlinks to well-known sites. For example, an environmentally friendly furniture business in the USA provides outbound links to Smart Wood, Forest Stewardship Council and National Wildlife Federation. If you do use outbound hyperlinks, check with the organisations you’re linking to.

Use a conversational style and tone Online writing is more informal and conversational than print material, so relax into your own writing style and let your personality shine through. Even large corporates write more informally on websites than in print material. Think of your favourite sites and you’ll notice that most have a distinctive style and tone that draws you back again and again. Talk direct to your audience in ‘you’ language. For example, instead of describing the features of your product or service, talk about what the benefits are for them. Read through your work and highlight each time you’ve used ‘we’ or ‘I’, and see if you can change these into ‘you’. This simple technique can change the entire emphasis of your writing.

195

196

Promote Your Business

Write about yourself Many people when they go to websites like to learn something about the people behind the business, especially with small businesses. So include some information about yourself and even consider putting in photos. Make it chatty and include some personal details so readers feel they know a bit about you. It will help break the ice and encourage them to make that first contact call.

Write to be found More than half the people who use the Internet rely on search engines to find sites. If you’re listed with search engines, you put your information in front of more people. You can tempt people to revisit your site through keeping it updated and interesting to visit. Make sure you’re listed with the top search engines. Even though your main business will come from your marketing efforts, some of those chance visitors may turn into clients or customers. You’ve got a better chance of being listed high up in a search engine by using key words in your summaries and headings that accurately sum up the page. Use words and groups of words that people are likely to use to look for you. There are useful tips on writing to be found at .

Make your writing easy to scan USE HEADINGS AND SUBHEADINGS Research has shown that people like headings that are short, simple and descriptive as people scan for meaning. Remember to keep your headings close to the text they describe. If you make your headings large or in flash they’ll take longer to download.

How to write your website

Use subheadings as well as headings to further break up your text and provide people scanning your page with more clues about the content. If you’ve got a long, scrollable page, put an index of bookmarks at the top so people can jump to the section that interests them. Some tips for writing headings are: • Use simple, short headings that clearly indicate the contents of the sections. • Use specific headings that promote benefits. For example, instead of just saying ‘services’, a marketing company could say ‘strategies to increase profits’. • Choose a consistent hierarchy of headings, with the main heading larger than any of the others. • Don’t go beyond four levels of subheadings, as headings below this level can become confused with the body text. • Keep your headings on a separate line so they stand out from the body text. • Use key words in headings that you’d like search engines to pick up. • Stick to plain text. Use capitals and italics minimally, as these are more difficult to read, and use underlining only for hyperlinks. There’s more information on writing headings in Chapter 7. USE LISTS Bulleted or numbered lists work well on webpages as they provide information succinctly and provide white space. Bulleted lists are more popular than numbered lists, but use numbers if the order of the list is important. As a general rule don’t have more than nine items, preferably fewer, and use one or a maximum of two levels. There’s more information about lists in Chapters 2 and 3.

197

198

Promote Your Business

USE PICTURES AND CAPTIONS Pictures add spice to a site, but if your site is simple you can get away with not using them. Often visitors to a small business site want to know more about the person or people behind the business, so consider putting photos of key people on your site. Use captions under pictures or tables unless the content is so clear that a caption isn’t necessary. Make sure your captions uniquely refer to the material, and don’t use a caption that’s similar or identical to a heading on the same or any other page. As with headings, keep your captions short and descriptive. Don’t number your captions unless there’s a sequential order that people need to understand that isn’t clear from your layout. USE PULL-OUT QUOTES Use the magazine technique of pull-out quotes for emphasis. Pulling out brief, relevant quotes from your text adds a level of scanability. Choose a sentence that is both catchy and relevant. To keep it brief, you may need to edit the original sentence. HIGHLIGHT KEY WORDS FOR EMPHASIS When writing for the web, you can highlight key words for emphasis. This technique is used much more often in online writing than in print material. Have a look at websites and you’ll be surprised how often it is used. Avoid using underlining for emphasis, as underlining is reserved for hyperlinks on the web. Also avoid capitals and italics. Plain text and bold work best in online writing.

Rewrite and edit ruthlessly Writing your content is only the first step. You need to rewrite, edit and proofread your website ruthlessly and thoroughly.

How to write your website

Remember that people come to your website for content and skim-read online material. So all your words must count. You can’t afford to waffle. One of the biggest mistakes is not writing for the audience. As you rewrite and edit, look at your pages through your customers’ or clients’ eyes. Would it make sense to them? Ask colleagues or friends to read your site to see whether it makes sense to them and to pick up any typos you’ve missed. Once you’ve written the words, it’s time to design your website. Once again, think of your audience and make sure your design enhances your words and that your site is easy to navigate.

Change and update People are generally resistant to change and won’t appreciate radical rewrites of your website too often. It’s a bit like going to your favourite supermarket and finding they’ve rearranged the shelves. So if you want to radically overhaul your site, do it no more often than once a year. But people do like regular updates. There’s nothing worse than visiting a site that hasn’t been updated in months (and sometimes even years!) It shows obvious signs of neglect and lack of attention. So keep your statistics, numbers and examples up-todate or your credibility will suffer. Having a frequently updated site will also attract visitors and business.

Design Some people have the skills to design their own website, but it is a specialised area so most businesses employ a designer to create the look of their site. Although people go to websites for

199

200

Promote Your Business

content, good layout and design enhance readability, and first impressions count. The best sites have a harmonious relationship between the words and design. Make sure you brief your designer thoroughly so they understand what you want to achieve with your site. Designers have talents and skills that can add style to your site, but they often approach material from a different perspective. Don’t allow yourself to be overawed by their superior design knowledge and talk you into things you don’t want, like a small font size or gimmicky visuals. Your choice of graphics will depend on your content and audience. For example, if you’re a graphic designer and want to show off your work, your text will be minimal and the graphics will tell your story. If content is paramount, then graphics should be used only so far as they help get your message across.

Colour Choose a colour scheme for the site in keeping with your brand, and stick to it. Colour schemes can be quite simple, such as one or two colours plus black and white. For readability it’s hard to go past black or navy text and a white background, though coloured headings and subheadings can be effective. Use colours in keeping with your brand. Don’t use bright blue for words, as this colour is commonly used for hyperlinks. Make sure your use of colours complements and doesn’t distract from your text. Some common mistakes are busy background graphics or very dark backgrounds, especially black. I personally hate sites with coloured or busy backgrounds—they lose credibility in my eyes before I’ve even read a word, as I know they’ll be more difficult to read.

How to write your website

Images Images, such as photographs and drawings, can add interest to a site, but many sites work well without them. If you do use images they should serve a purpose, such as help tell the story or convey an emotion that underlies the key messages. For example, Delite Landscape Design has photos of its work to demonstrate its capabilities, and Emerald Furniture has a photo of a lush green forest which supports the environmentally friendly nature of the furniture. If you use images, you’re best to use images specially created for your site or buy images from a high-quality image library. You can download images from free libraries, but the quality is usually not so good.

Flash There is an ongoing debate about the use of multimedia like Flash, which is used in the introductions of many sites, but the software may in the future become the foundation of many sites. In 2000, Jakob Nielsen pronounced Flash bad, stating that: About 99% of the time, the presence of Flash on a website constitutes a usability disease. Although there are rare occurrences of good Flash design (it even adds value on occasion), the use of Flash typically lowers usability. In most cases, we would be better off if these multimedia objects were removed. Flash tends to degrade websites for three reasons: it encourages design abuse, it breaks with the Web’s fundamental interaction principles and it distracts attention from the site’s core values. Source:

201

202

Promote Your Business

Macromedia produced a new version of Flash in 2002 (Flash MX), which has solved many of the technical usability problems. In June 2002 Jakob Nielsen and his consulting firm, the Nielsen Norman Group, formed a strategic partnership with Macromedia to improve Flash usability.

Typeface and font When writing for your audience, consider the typeface and font size that will appeal to your readers. Sans serif typefaces are used most commonly in websites, and the popular choices are Verdana, Helvetica, Tahoma and Arial. When writing for the web, use a font size that’s easy to read—different typefaces have different qualities. For example, Verdana in 10 pt looks larger than Tahoma in 10 pt. You want your website to appeal to people of all ages. The first wave of Internet users were young people, but now older people are becoming avid users of online communications. Use technology that you know your target audience can access. For example, it’s pointless having fancy graphics that some browsers can’t display if your target audience does not have the latest technology. Also, remember that colours, graphics and fonts appear differently on MACs and PCs. For example, font sizes look smaller on a MAC, so if your font looks small on your PC it will be even more difficult to read on a MAC.

Print-friendly Your webpage needs to be print-friendly. So watch out for traps for the unwary, such as pages that print only the frame

How to write your website

and not the content, and tables and text that go off the side of the page.

Making your website work for you What action do you want people to take as a result of reading your webpage? Do you want people to merely be informed about your business or do you want also to encourage them to purchase your products and services? If you’re clear about what action you want people to take, you can design your site to increase the likelihood of that happening. Promote your site through as many off-line mediums as you can. For many businesses this starts with your web address on all your printed materials, such as your business card and brochure, in your Yellow Pages advertisement, your email signature, on handouts for talks and at the bottom of articles you write. Talk about your site whenever you give a presentation or meet people at networking functions. Aim to get as many prospects as possible to visit your site, so they can learn more about you and your business. This will help them take the next step of contacting you directly. Encourage people to respond by, for example, answering a survey, entering a competition, signing up for your ezine or buying a product. If you want people to ring you, make your contact details, including your email address and phone number, stand out. Promote your website in your ezine and provide hyperlinks to articles or news on your site, so people can get straight there by clicking on the link.

203

204

Promote Your Business

Delite Landscape DESIGN

For gardens that delight Subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter, which brings you up-todate gardening snippets and news.

Our shops Commercial landscape design Residential landscape design Garden maintenance Courtyard and balcony design Irrigation and paving Samples of our work Before and after About us e-newsletter Contact us

What our customers say about us ‘My garden was an eyesore before Delite Landscape Design came in. Now it’s a pleasure to be in. Delite Landscape Design did a wonderful job and were a delight to work with. Thanks to all the team.’

Delite Landscape Design at work Working out of our boutique gardening shops, Delite Landscape Design provides the full range of landscape design, construction and maintenance services. Whatever your landscape problems, we can work with you to find a solution that suits your budget and your needs. Our clients include home gardeners, local authorities and large property developers. Environmental and water management concerns are vital issues today. We can create you a beautiful garden that needs little watering and doesn’t require pesticides or fertilisers to flourish.

Garden design workshops Learn how to design your garden from scratch or give it an overhaul. Join us for our evening classes on garden design. When: Every Wednesday evening June and July 2003 from 8 to 10 pm Venue: St James Price: $150 Balcony and courtyard design Balcony and courtyard design is a new service. With more people living in cities, many people no longer have the quarter-acre garden. We’ve developed this service to bring your garden back into your life.

How to write your website

MERALD E

class that lasts

furniture Home

Eco-facts

Online catalogue

205

Order

About us

Contact

Creating comfortable furniture out of environmentally friendly products Emerald Furniture makes handmade office and home furniture. Environmentally friendly describes both the products and processes we use to create comfortable and lasting furniture for your office or home environment. Many people are now aware of the need to create healthy home and office environments. Furniture and cabinetry are a potential source of pollutants. • • •

We salvage fine woods, such as jarrah and cedar, from demolished buildings and source hardwood from certified plantation forests. We use kangaroo leather for some furniture, and this we source from agricultural culling programs. Our furniture is assembled using traditional joinery techniques and protected with a non-toxic, citrusbased oil.

By buying and using environmentally friendly products we minimise our impact on the environment and help you create your own healthy work or living space. The products we use are readily available so the extra cost to you is less than 10% more than traditional products. The benefits are priceless.

Links to other sites Forest and Bird Environmental Council

206

Promote Your Business

Blue Gum RESTAURANT

Current menu

Dial-a-dinner

Directions

Reservations

About us

Tania James and Bill Johnson Blue Gum Restaurant is family owned and run. Tania James and Bill Johnson set up Blue Gum Restaurant in 1993. Both Bill and Tania are passionate about food and love providing memorable meals for all their guests. Tania manages the restaurant and Bill chooses the wine list and does the accounts. Their children are also involved, and you’ll often have Belinda or Tim waiting on your table. It’s a family affair.

Function room

Join our club

About us

Gary Burgess The kitchen is run by award-winning American chef Gary Burgess, who is renowned for combining the freshest ingredients he can find into delicious modern cuisine dishes. Gary has worked extensively in the United States and New Zealand, and has loved cooking since he was a child. One of his earliest memories is helping his grandmother make braided bread. His philosophy is simple: food must look good and taste good. There are no dramas in Gary’s kitchen—just good cooking.

Join the Blue Gum Club and receive our free monthly e-newsletters and occasional emails. You’ll receive news of special events and our current hot recipes. Join now.

How to write your website

Summary PURPOSE • What do you want to achieve with your website? • What action do you want people to take once they get to your website? • How will your website increase your business? AUDIENCE • Who is the target audience? • What is the age group of the target audience? • What is the education level of the target audience? • Can you class them in any other way, such as professional or industry group? • Is your target audience local, national or global, or a combination of all three? CONTENT, NAVIGATION AND APPEARANCE CONTENT

• Concise? • Credible? • Clear? NAVIGATION

• • • • •

Is the site easy to navigate? Does it require lots of scrolling? Are there lots of page jumps? Does the page load quickly? Does it require plug-ins, like Java or Shockwave?

APPEARANCE

• Do the graphics enhance the site? • Are the words easy to read? • Is the layout clear?

207

208

Promote Your Business

TIPS • Promote your website in all your marketing material so people visit your site. • Make it easy for people to respond. • Update your site regularly but make major changes infrequently.

Glossary of web terms Bookmark—A named location on a page that can be the target of a hyperlink. A bookmark can be applied to a set of characters or it can exist on a page separately from any text. Bookmarks allow you to link to a specific section of a target page. Buttons—Another name for the navigational hyperlinks on the homepage. Homepage—This is the front page of a website and gives an overview of the site. It is the page you first enter unless you have come to the website from a hyperlink in another website or email. Hyperlinks—Sometimes called hypertext, these are blue underlined words that provide a link to other material. There are two types of hyperlink: (a) information hyperlinks, often known as bookmarks, which when embedded in text indicate that there is related or background information elsewhere on the site; (b) navigational hyperlinks, which are structural links that allow you to move to other main areas on the site. Navigation devices—Tools, such as hyperlinks, that help us find our way around websites. URL—This stands for Uniform Resource Locator, and is your website’s unique address. Although on your business card

How to write your website

your web address will start with www, when you include a hyperlink in your ezine you must also include http://. Http stands for Hypertext Transport Protocol. The Internet is casesensitive, so make sure your url is all in lower case. Webpage—The screen displayed to the user. Websites usually consist of several pages.

209

How to write newsletters and ezines

9

How to write newsletters and ezines

N

ewsletters and e-newsletters are an informal, low-key way of keeping your name in front of your customers, clients and prospects, helping establish your reputation and credibility, and promoting your business. Some businesses and organisations also use newsletters for internal communications, to keep staff informed of what’s happening within their company and industry. E-newsletters are often called email newsletters or ezines (from e-magazine). The term ezine will be used in the rest of this chapter to make the distinction between newsletters and e-newsletters clearer. The latter part of this chapter focuses on ezines, as they’re a more recent marketing tool with distinct distribution methods. With ezines it may be tempting to send them all to your customers, clients and prospects. Don’t. All email marketing, including ezines, must be opt-in. Unsolicited emails are known as spam. Spamming is both unprofessional and illegal. Servers take spamming very seriously, and if someone complains about you all your future emails may be blocked. 210

How to write newsletters and ezines

ORIGIN OF THE WORD ‘SPAM’ The word ‘spam’ was originally the brand name of a tinned meat product produced by Hormel Foods in the United Kingdom. It took on new meaning from a Monty Python’s Flying Circus skit. In the sketch, a restaurant serves all its food with spam, and the waitress repeats the word several times describing the food. A Viking chorus in the background sings ‘Spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, lovely spam! Wonderful spam!’ louder and louder until they drown out all conversation. ‘Spam’ probably came into the language with its new meaning in the 1990s in the United States, where people started sending out mass unsolicited marketing emails.

Objectives Like all marketing communication tools, your newsletter or ezine has to bring results over a period of time or it’s not worth it. So before you start planning your first issue, ask yourself what you want to achieve. You may well have more than one objective. For example, do you want to attract more customers, gain more business from existing customers, keep an open line of communication with customers and prospects, or establish yourself as an expert in your field? CHECKLIST OF OBJECTIVES 1. Gain new customers. 2. Gain more business from existing customers. 3. Stay in regular contact with customers and prospects. 4. Build a relationship with customers and prospects. 5. Build and maintain good staff relationships (internal newsletter). 6. Establish your expertise in your field.

211

212

Promote Your Business

7. Demonstrate your credibility—you’re established enough to have a regular newsletter or ezine. 8. Promote your products and services. 9. Educate your customers and prospects about your business and its products and services. 10. Receive feedback from your customers and prospects about your business. 11. Seek ideas from your customers and prospects for your future growth and direction. Once you’re clear about your objectives, stop and think again. Maybe you can see the advantages clearly, but do you have the time and resources to produce a newsletter or ezine on a regular basis? To make it an effective marketing tool, you must produce it regularly. You may have enough time now, but what about in six months’ time when you’re snowed under with work? Will you still have the time then? You will get quicker at writing the content, but there will be times when you’re so busy that thinking about what to write and finding the time will be difficult. That’s when many people give up. And once you’ve missed one issue, it’s harder to write the next. Too many businesses rush into producing a newsletter or ezine and state with great fanfare that it will be a monthly publication. Six months later they have produced three issues, and a year later it’s fizzled completely. What does that say about their reliability? Better not to start in the first place. Another issue to consider is that, unlike an ad, a newsletter or ezine is unlikely to bring instant results. You may be lucky and find that it is an immediate hit with a huge return for your business, but realistically it will take time to bear fruit. The benefits will come as you develop a loyal readership. For this to

How to write newsletters and ezines

happen, you need to produce a quality newsletter or ezine that people look forward to reading. Once you’ve acknowledged the drawbacks, if you are prepared to take on the commitment and challenge, a newsletter or ezine can be fun to write as well as good for your business. The next step is to choose the medium that suits you best. There are advantages and disadvantages with both. Take the nature of your business, your budget and your objectives into consideration when you make this choice.

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite has both a regular monthly ezine and newsletter, containing similar information. The newsletter is available in the shops, and staff put it into every bag along with customer purchases. The newsletter encourages people to register online for the online version. The newsletter includes photos and pictures, but the ezine is purely text. John Pettit has some customers who prefer the print version and visit his shop every month, just to pick up the newsletter. John finds that the newsletter and ezine are excellent for building customer relationships and making sales. Every time the newsletter or e-newsletter goes out, sales increase in the following week. They’re also a good way of promoting special deals.

EMERALD furniture Following the success of her workshops for women, Susan Eves has started an ezine based around woodworking tips. At this stage her database is very small (about 40), and she plans to build it slowly by promoting it in all her marketing material.

213

214

Promote Your Business

She intends to send her ezine out every six weeks, but she hopes to make it monthly if it works well for her and doesn’t take too much time. She’ll reassess the situation in a year’s time and weigh up the costs (time and money) against the benefits.

Blue Gum RESTAURANT Blue Gum Restaurant has a regular ezine that they send to people who’ve joined their club, informing them of special events and sending them a new recipe from chef Gary Burgess each month. They also send occasional promotional html emails.

Similarities and differences Similarities between newsletters and ezines SHORT The content of newsletters and ezines is similar. Both deliver newsworthy information, provide useful updates and reminders of what your business does, promote upcoming events or new products or services, and have content of interest to their readers. They’re both short—though there are always exceptions. Each item within them is also short, although some do have longer lead articles or feature articles. The advantage of being short is that people will read them more readily. Many ezines with longer articles send their readers a short email with summary paragraphs and hyperlinks to a website.

How to write newsletters and ezines

These ezines are often more like magazines than newsletters. One drawback to this method is you may lose potential readers, who would skim the story if it were in front of them but won’t click on a hyperlink. REGULAR PUBLICATION Most newsletters and ezines are produced regularly—weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly. Newsletters are more likely to be quarterly than ezines, which tend to be distributed more often. Some ezines are daily. This is a huge commitment, and you also run the risk of overwhelming people with too much of a good thing. Some of the most successful ezines are run by large companies with the resources to maintain consistent quality. I subscribe to emarketer, which is a daily ezine. It has summary information and links to websites. It usually has three articles per issue. I find it manageable, as I’ve set up a folder in Outlook Express so it automatically goes straight there without clogging up my inbox. The article summaries are easy to read at a glance and I can delete them if they are of no interest. But there are enough articles of interest to keep me subscribing. When you start receiving a newsletter or ezine, you usually know how regularly you will receive it. Some even give a specific date, such as the 20th of the month. A few newsletters and ezines are occasional or intermittent. This may be a good way to start if you’re not sure how often you will manage to write your newsletter or ezine. Once you’ve established a pattern that works, you can publish more regularly. Even if you don’t want to make a public announcement about the frequency of your newsletter or ezine at the start, set yourself a deadline so you have something to work towards.

215

216

Promote Your Business

Differences between newsletters and ezines APPEARANCE Newsletters are better-looking and easier to read than ezines— even html ezines, which look like a page from a website. You can be more creative with your layout and use illustrations, photos and white space effectively. Even your choice of paper makes a difference. The look is part of the package, and conveys information about your company and brand to your readers before they’ve even read a word. For example, a glossy newsletter with zany photographs sends a different message from a black-and-white newsletter on matt paper laid out in columns with no graphics. There’s more about html and plain text ezines later in the chapter. DISTRIBUTION METHOD Newsletters are usually posted, and this plus the cost of printing the newsletter limits the size of your audience, even if you find a sponsor to pay for the postage. This may suit your business if you want to keep your audience select. It has the advantage that you know who your audience is and can target your communications to them. You can also offer special promotions that are of direct relevance to your readers. Some newsletters are converted into PDF files and emailed to people. The disadvantage of PDF files is that they can take a long time to download. With an ezine your audience is potentially unlimited. A few businesses keep their membership select, but anyone can subscribe to most ezines. Think about how big you want your readership to be—and take your ego out of the equation. This is a business decision. With a large subscriber base, most readers will never become customers. But the more readers you have, the greater your profile and credibility and the more paid work you could receive from your database.

How to write newsletters and ezines

LANGUAGE AND TONE Both newsletters and ezines are informal and conversational in style, but ezines tend to be more informal than newsletters. Most newsletters are written in the third person (‘he’, ‘she’ and ‘they’), but ezines are often in the first person (‘I’). Ezine writers express their personality in their writing, often sharing anecdotes and experiences and stating their personal opinions. Over time the readers learn quite a bit about the writers and feel they know them even if they’ve never met them. Newsletters and ezines may be informal and friendly, but the rules of good writing apply—good use of headings and subheadings, simple words, short sentences and short paragraphs. Check for grammar, spelling and typos before you print your newsletter or send your ezine. If possible, get a friend or colleague to read it for you. One way of seeing an ezine more clearly is to send it to yourself first. This way you can check the layout too. Advantages and disadvantages of newsletters and ezines Advantages of newsletters • You know your audience so you can tailor your content to suit their interests • You can make your newsletter visually attractive with photos, illustrations and good layout • People tend to hold onto print publications or pass them on to others or leave them on coffee tables for others to read • Print material is easier and more enjoyable to read than online material • People read print material more thoroughly than online material

Advantages of ezines • Cheap and easy to produce—the main cost is your time and the cost of distribution • Can reach a large number of people • People often do a quick scan of your ezine even if they don’t read it word for word • People may forward your email to others • Can include hyperlinks to your website and encourage people to click through • Ezines from small businesses develop a personality of their own so the audience feel they know the writer • Saves paper

217

218

Promote Your Business

Disadvantages of newsletters • Limited readership (though this can also be an advantage, as you can tailor your material to your audience) • If newsletters are produced quarterly, some of the news may seem out-ofdate • Cost of production • May not be read and sometimes not even be opened before it hits the rubbish bin

Disadvantages of ezines • If people don’t read your ezine at the time, the chances of their reading it later are slim. Research shows that 80% of emails that are filed are never read later • If your subscriber base is large, you won’t have an intimate knowledge of your audience so your content will have to be more general • If people unsubscribe you’ve lost them forever, which puts the acid on you to perform consistently • Easy to delete without reading • Ezines are not as visually attractive as print material, even if they are html

Common issues for newsletters and ezines Branding NEWSLETTERS While they still need to be consistent with your brand, most newsletters have a modern, up-to-date feel rather than an expensive, high-quality, staid look. Unlike your capability brochures, they are not a big budget item. If you get a good template, you can produce your newsletter yourself. Microsoft Publisher is a good software package for newsletters, but Microsoft Word also works. Sometimes, if you have a large customer base and your newsletter is quarterly, it will be worth having it professionally designed and printed. If you choose this option, build it into your timeline. Your newsletter must be topical. You don’t want a glossy publication full of yesterday’s news. The worst example I’ve seen is a July newsletter

How to write newsletters and ezines

with photos from the Christmas party. This particular newsletter was supposed to be quarterly, but July was the first issue for the year. EZINES With plain text emails you cannot use colour and graphics for your branding, but it is important to have the name of your company and the ezine prominently displayed in the subject line and the heading. Html emails are usually written within a branded template and banner heading. Some include graphics. Consider using a web designer to develop your template. Even though your visual branding is limited with ezines, everything you write is making a statement about your business. Keep your audience and objectives in mind as you write, so that your key messages are consistent throughout all your ezines. It’s easy to get side-tracked and write about things that interest you but do not reflect your core business values. You want your readers to be interested in your business as well as the content of your ezines.

Content The best way to get ideas for your own newsletter or ezine is to read lots of others. Don’t limit yourself to others in your industry —read as many as you can find. It will be time-consuming, but it will help clarify what you want to write about. When planning your newsletter or ezine, think about your readers. This will be easier if you have a limited readership, but even if your readership is large you will have some idea of the sort of people who subscribe. For example, a golfing site is likely to attract people who enjoy playing or watching the game, and a marketing site appeals to people in the industry or those wanting to learn more about promoting their business.

219

220

Promote Your Business

Remember that your newsletter or ezine is for relationship building, not just a sales tool. They may include some promotions, but their real value lies in creating an environment and relationship which predisposes the reader to buy your products or services at some time. So instead of, for example, advertising your ergonomic chairs, you might write an article on correct posture and include some stretching exercises. Then you could include a hyperlink to your website where you promote your products or services. The two most deadly sins in newsletters and ezines are to be too overtly promotional or boring. Both are total turnoffs and ezine readers won’t hesitate to press the delete button, especially if they don’t know you personally. If you use your newsletter or ezine to advertise your products or services, think carefully about where you position your ad. An ad at the beginning may turn some readers off. Many newsletters and ezines start off with general information and tips and put their own ad towards or at the end. Consider offering your readers a true discount on your services or products. To keep people reading, you will need to provide valuable content that is timely and interesting. If you’re stuck—and there will probably be times when you are stuck—think about what inspires you about your business. If you write about things you care about, that will show in your writing. If the writing becomes too onerous, consider asking colleagues to write the occasional story or contribute regular items. This will take some organising, but will take the pressure off you and provide your readers with variety as well. Create a dialogue with your readers. Many newsletters and ezines use surveys to enter into an exchange with their readers and to help them refine their products and services. If you do survey your readers, keep it short to encourage people to reply. Stick to four or five questions. You’ll often receive more useful informa-

How to write newsletters and ezines

tion if your questions are open-ended. Consider offering a draw with a prize as an inducement and remember to give a cut-off date. CONTENT CHECKLIST Common ingredients of newsletters and ezines are: 1. Industry information (many ezines have hyperlinks to other websites for industry news) 2. Personal anecdotes (more common in ezines), although some staff internal newsletters include staff information 3. Opinion pieces 4. Useful tips 5. Reviews of websites or books 6. Guest columnists or items by contributing writers 7. Questions and answers—for frequently asked customer queries or to anticipate customer queries 8. Staff changes 9. Company news 10. Product information 11. People profiles 12. Surveys 13. Results of surveys 14. Competitions 15. Advertisements—for own business and/or from other businesses 16. Quotes.

Costs A newsletter costs more than an ezine to produce, but both are usually provided free so you need to budget to cover the costs. There are exceptions. Some newsletters are provided as part of an overall membership fee, while other newsletters and

221

Promote Your Business

Delite-ful

NEWS

Delite Landscape DESIGN — S P R I N G

Fair daffodils are here again It’s daffodil time and, unlike in Wordsworth’s day, you no longer have to weep that they pass too soon. Today you can choose from a huge range of daffodils in all different shapes and colours that will flower continuously from winter to late summer. Why deprive yourself, when they are such a cheerful show of colour? Once you’ve planted them, you’ve got them for years. Just remember that they don’t like being cut back, so let them die down naturally. You can leave them in the ground, but they do multiply, so it’s a good idea to lift them when they’re dormant after

Daffodil species Narcissus King Carnival Narcissus Sabine Hay

four or five years and divide them. You’ll

Narcissus Glowing Red

instantly have more daffodils to plant or

Narcissus Precedent

give away.

Narcissus Acropolis

How to write newsletters and ezines

Gardening tasks for Spring Pruning Prune back your wisteria after it’s flowered, to just past the flowers. This will direct energy into the buds for next year’s growth.

Pansies Your pansies are probably past their best now, so cut them back by half. Feed them liquid fertiliser and they might surprise you with another burst of flowers.

Tulips It’s now time to lift and dry your tulips. Let them dry off for a few days, then dust them with sulphur powder and store them in a paper bag in a cold, dry, well-ventilated space. If you’re afraid rats might eat them, put them in a rat-proof nylon bag.

Cuttings Tip cuttings take well at this time of the year. So try taking cuttings from plants like geraniums, begonias, fuchsias and from silver foliage plants, like lavender. [Based on information in ABC Gardener, October 2002]

23 Landscape Lane, Rockville VIC 1999 Phone/fax: (01) 0345 6789 Email: [email protected] Web:

Delite Landscape DESIGN

223

224

Promote Your Business

some ezines charge a yearly or monthly subscription fee. Many offer the first newsletter or ezine free to tempt people to subscribe. The majority of smaller newsletters and ezines don’t have paid ads, but it’s not unusual for newsletters and ezines with a large readership to carry ads. Sponsorship is another option, where in return for a subsidy you promote the sponsor in your newsletter or ezine. Sometimes the name of the newsletter sponsor will be on the envelope as well as in the newsletter itself. Before deciding to carry either ads or sponsorship, consider your readers’ reaction. Will they accept this or will they disapprove?

Monitoring your inputs and outcomes Although you will have accepted that your newsletter or ezine won’t give you an immediate return, after a certain period of time you will need to see a return on your investment. If it’s not working for you, then change it or be ruthless and axe it. Before you start, set up a monitoring system. A simple table or Excel spreadsheet will work. State your objectives and measure your inputs and outcomes. Your inputs may include time, distribution costs and other expenses such as your mail list server or software. Your outcomes, reflecting your objectives, could include the number of new customers, the dollar value of new business, the number of new subscribers, the number of customers who communicated with you, and so on. Don’t get too hung up on the number of people who unsubscribe—it usually isn’t personal. I expect to get two people cancelling each issue, but it’s balanced by new subscrip-

How to write newsletters and ezines

tions from viral marketing (jargon for people forwarding your email). I can get a bit stuck on the numbers side (how many subscribers do I have and what do they think of my ezine?), but the bottom line for me is how much new business it brings in. I have to admit I’m not yet so vigilant in my monitoring as I’m advising you to be, but I can name the clients I have acquired as a result of combining a regular ezine with telemarketing. And practically every time my ezine goes out, the phone will ring from an existing client in the following week (I must monitor this!). Even if they don’t read my ezine, my name is in front of them in their inbox. One of the advantages of having a mail list subscriber is that you can find out what percentage of people opened your ezine. If you’ve provided hyperlinks in your ezine to your website, you can also look at your website statistics and you’ll hopefully see a huge increase in traffic corresponding to the date you sent your ezine.

More about ezines While there are many similarities between writing newsletters and ezines, the distribution methods are so different it’s rather overwhelming when you’re a novice. As with everything, when you don’t have the knowledge, just keep reading and asking questions. There’s no magic to ezines—except in the words, of course.

Ezine structure Whether ezines are written in plain text or html, ezines have developed unique structure conventions.

225

226

Promote Your Business

SUBJECT LINE Use the subject line to identify your ezine so the readers know immediately what they can expect. Many people make a decision on whether or not to read the ezine based on the sender and the subject line. Many state the name of the ezine and include a brief caption that tells the reader something about what’s in the ezine—a bit like a press release heading. Some ezines use clever and witty captions to grab attention, like ‘Beware of superhighway robbery’, which related to a story about domain name thieves, or ‘Big boob theory’, for an article on the different types of Internet users (ranging in a concentric circle from expert to novice). If you do choose to be witty, it must be attention-grabbing. If in doubt, stick to a simple, clear heading that gives an indication of the content. This also has the advantage that if people save your ezines they can find the information they want later based on the subject line. Some ezines include your name in the subject line. For example: ‘Subject: Jane Your Marketing newsletter—Surefire sales tips for January’. Some people simply give the name of the newsletter and the issue number. But be aware that some servers block emails that have words like ‘issue’, ‘ezine’ or ‘number’ in the heading. The same applies to the word ‘free’. Look closely at subject headings on all your emails for a while and you’ll soon see which ones work the best. HEADING Use a header to identify your ezine. It should contain the name of your ezine and your company name. Even if you’ve put the name of the ezine in the subject line, repeat it here because if your ezine is forwarded the subject line may be changed. Include a line or two about your business for new readers.

How to write newsletters and ezines

TABLE OF CONTENTS Many ezines, even though they’re short, start with a table of contents. The items in the table of contents are often bulleted. CONTENTS Ezines are short. Many you can read in their entirety at a glance. Others provide a short summary of the article and then hyperlinks to their own or other people’s websites for the full article. If you are providing hyperlinks to other people’s websites, have the courtesy to notify them. Some ezines provide a summary at the top; you can then scroll down to read the entire article if the summary interests you. The title in the summary is often a bookmark to the article below to save you scrolling. A common feature in many ezines is reviews of useful websites and links to these sites. HTML OR PLAIN TEXT When you collect information about your subscriber database, find out whether people want to receive emails in html or plain text. With an html ezine, you receive what looks like a page from a website with colour and graphics. It is much more attractive and easier to read than plain text, although some people make the mistake of using a small font that’s difficult to read or choosing a distracting background colour. Most, but not all, people can receive html emails these days, but some corporate servers block html. Some corporate servers also strip html from outgoing emails. Plain text, as its name suggests, consists of plain text and hyperlinks without any formatting data such as font size, bold and layout. Capitals are usually used for headings to make them stand out. The term ‘plain text’ is sometimes

227

228

Promote Your Business

referred to as ‘textual data’ in ASCII format or ‘clear text’. You need to use a plain text editor, such as Notepad, to write plain text emails. Some plain text editors can be set to automatically wrap the line after a designated number of characters and adjust as you add or delete text. In general your lines should probably be no longer than 65 characters in plain text. FOOTER OR SIDEBAR Develop a standard footer or sidebar. This should include information such as: • Your contact details • How to unsubscribe—this must be easy for the reader to do • Encouragement to forward the ezine to colleagues or friends who may wish to subscribe • Copyright • Disclaimer notice, if you’re offering opinion or advice • Privacy statement—your guarantee that you won’t distribute information about your readers. When developing your own privacy statement, check out the privacy legislation and look at other people’s privacy statements. These vary in length and detail. The simplest merely state that the ezine owner will not sell, rent or give the mailing list to anyone. BACK ISSUES Choose a way that suits your marketing strategy to manage your back issues. Some people archive them on their website, some provide the latest issue only on their website, and a few companies don’t put their ezines on their website at all, choosing to keep their readership select. I assume that the rationale for not providing back issues on the website is to encourage people to sign up so they don’t miss out.

How to write newsletters and ezines

Extract from e-zine

Delite Landscape DESIGN

John Pettit sends his ezine out in both html and plain text, but chooses not to use pictures as they take too long to download. Sometimes he provides hyperlinks to his website.

From:

Delite Landscape Design

Subject:

Delite—daffodils and azaleas

Delite Landscape DESIGN Delite-ful gardening news Contents: • Daffodils • Garden tasks for Spring • Monthly specials—don’t miss out on our great deals on azaleas • Readers’ handy hints and tips

Daffodils It’s that wonderful time of year when you can go out in your garden or onto your balcony enjoying the smells of Spring. A sure sign of Spring is the daffodils. Once daffodils were on display for only a brief period, but today you can plant different species of daffodils to flower continuously from winter to late summer. Daffodils originated in the western Mediterranean, and there are about 50 species of wild daffodil. With all the breeding over the years, there are now about 25 000 cultivars and many are commonly available. They come in an amazing array of shapes and colours. Go to To view some species currently available. They’re good value in both gardens and pots as, after the initial outlay, they continue popping up year after year. Daffodils dislike being cut down too soon after flowering. You need to wait first about six weeks. Then cut the flower stalk but leave the rest of the foliage to die down.

229

230

Promote Your Business

Some people lift their daffodils each year, but you can let them lie dormant and divide them every four or five years in autumn or summer once the foliage has died down. You can either replant them immediately or store them and plant them in autumn. If you store them, cure them first by lying them singly in a shady spot with good air circulation. Then once they’re dry, which takes only a few days, put them in a paper bag and store them in a cool, dark, wellventilated spot.

Garden tasks for Spring • Prune back your wisteria once it’s flowered to just past the flowers. • Cut pansies back by half. Feed them with liquid fertiliser so they flower again. • Lift and dry tulip bulbs. Dust them with sulphur powder and store them in a cold, dry, well-ventilated space. • Take tip cuttings of geraniums, begonias, fuchsias and silver foliage plants. • Lift and divide clumping plants like mondo grass and day lilies, and water them once you’ve replanted them. • Re-pot plants that have outgrown their pots now to maximise summer growth. Gently shake off old potting mix before replanting them in fresh mix.* Please feel free to forward this email to friends or colleagues who may wish to subscribe. To subscribe click here. To unsubscribe click here. Privacy statement: We don’t rent or sell our list to anyone.

*Based on information in ABC Gardener, October 2002

Extract from ezine

EMERALD furniture

This is the first ezine Susan has sent, so she is sending it to everyone in plain text using Notepad with an autowrap after every 65 characters. She has not included her logo, as it takes up too much space.

How to write newsletters and ezines

From: Susan Eves Subject line: Emerald—Furniture-making tips Emerald news Boutique furniture maker using eco-materials and techniques. Welcome to the first Emerald e-newsletter. In each issue I will give you some woodworking tips and keep you informed on what we’re up to at Emerald Furniture. Preparing and cutting wood Cutting out wood is a bit like cutting out a pattern in sewing. One mistake and you can wreck your whole project. Take your time. One of the most important qualities of a successful carpenter is patience. Think through each step carefully before you start so you have a picture in your mind of what you’re doing and why. The golden rule is: measure twice and cut once. Start with a sharp pencil and hold it at a 45-degree angle so the point is resting against the edge of your ruler as you draw your lines. Don’t hold the pencil straight up and down as it’s less accurate. Draw your pencil line first. Then trace over it with a piece of blackboard chalk. The chalk doesn’t stick to the pencil line, so you’re left with an easy-to-see black line between the wider chalk areas. Alternatively, draw your original line with a white pencil. If you’re working on a project where dimensions are critical, use the same measuring tape throughout. You’d be surprised if you laid your measuring tapes and rulers out alongside each other that there are minor discrepancies in the measurements.* Useful websites and books If you’re just starting out learning woodwork, you’re in for an enjoyable—and frustrating—journey. Over the years, the books and websites that I keep going back to for inspiration and help are: • is one of my favourites because it has so much information about woodworking techniques.

231

232

Promote Your Business

• has useful information about different types of timber and their strengths and weaknesses. • Woodwork made Simple is a basic and timeless woodwork book. It’s clearly written with great illustrations. I recommend it for both beginners and professionals. • Furniture Design History is another must-have if you’re serious about design. It covers major furniture design periods in Europe and America and is beautifully illustrated. Not cheap—so put it on your Christmas wish list. Woodworking courses A big thank-you to everyone who came to my woodworking courses. You were a great group to work with. I plan to hold more in the New Year (there’s information on my website at ). Your feedback I’d love to get some feedback from you about what you’d like to read in my e-newsletters. Please email me at . Please feel free to forward this email to friends or colleagues who may wish to subscribe. To subscribe click here. To unsubscribe click here. Privacy statement: We don’t rent or sell our list to anyone.

*Based on information from

Manage your database and distribution method FROM YOUR OUTBOX The simplest and cheapest method of sending out ezines is from your email software, such as Outlook, Lotus and Eudora, but this has the disadvantage that you can’t personalise your ezine by addressing it to the person by name unless you send out each ezine individually.

How to write newsletters and ezines

You first need to create an ezine folder in your address book with the names and email addresses of your database. After you’ve tested your ezine by sending it to yourself, send it to everyone on your database by addressing it to yourself with a blind copy (Bcc) to your readership. This way your readers won’t know who else is receiving it, so you’re not exposing your database. You will find your ezine easier to send in batches than in one hit. I found, when I tried to send a large number at once, that the ezine sat in my outbox forever. I’ve read since then that you can safely send your ezine out in bunches of about 100. After my experience I erred on the safe side, and sent it in groups of about 50. If you’re using this method make sure you back up your database. It’s devastating to have a hard disk crash and to lose important data. Also back up your address book. I learnt this the hard way. I had my database in a Word file, but didn’t know how to back up my actual address book (in Outlook Express it’s the win key + f, then *wab, then copy and paste into My Documents). I managed to delete my entire ezine address book by mistake when deleting one entry. It took me hours to reenter the data and gave me numerous headaches the next time I sent my ezine out as I had made a number of typing mistakes, such as commas instead of full stops. The experience had a good side: I decided it was time to stop using Outlook Express to send my ezine! But it had worked well for a year while I was starting out. So while using this method is fine when you have a small readership (up to about 700 max.), if your subscriber base grows beyond this point or you want to make your ezine more professional and effective by personalising it, you need to consider either buying software or using a mail list server (sometimes called

233

234

Promote Your Business

a mailhouse or mailing house provider). If you have in-house IT knowledge, you can also build your own software program. SOFTWARE Some people choose to go the software route, as it’s a one-off, up-front cost and they then have greater control over their database and the process. Software works like mailmerge and will merge any part of your database within an email. Software will personalise each email, handle your subscribes and unsubscribes, send all your ezines in one hit and allow you to do both html and plain text versions. MAIL LIST SERVER A mail list server does everything that software does, but saves time and hassle. Once you’ve entered your database and learnt the system, all you need to do is type in your ezine, convert it to plain text, and your mail list server sends it to all your subscribers immediately or at a later specified time. So if you’re going on holiday you can write your ezine in advance. Be prepared for a steep learning curve when you first sign up, but after that a mail list server is easy to use. Most people I know with large databases go the mail list server route after a while, even if they’ve used software as an interim step. Do some research to find a reliable provider. Location is not an issue, and many of the most reputable providers are in the USA. When choosing a provider, look at the conditions as well as the price. Some are free, but may have terms that you find unacceptable such as automatically inserting an ad in your ezine. Most providers charge a reasonable annual fee, and many have a sliding scale that depends on the size of your mailing list. Some

How to write newsletters and ezines

mail list servers can ‘sniff out’ whether servers block html, but many rely on you to state your subscribers’ preference. Mail list servers handle ‘subscribes’ from your website. Many send a follow-up email after people have subscribed, confirming the subscription. They also handle unsubscribes.

Building readership The number one rule is to make sure you get everyone’s email address when you meet them. But don’t just add them to your database—remember, they have to opt in. Ask them at the time if appropriate or send them a sample ezine and ask them whether they want to receive it. When you enter them in your database, include some identifying information, such as city, so you can also use your database for targeted email marketing. Include a subscription form on your website. Decide in advance how you will build your subscriber base and set yourself growth targets. You will probably start with your current customers and prospects and then expand your list through your marketing efforts. You can encourage people to sign up to your ezine by including information in your other promotional material, such as your website and direct mail, and by listing yourself with search engines. You can also list your ezine with ezine-promoting companies, most of which are based in the United States (see ). Some businesses that work with many clients with common interests or issues set up an email discussion or research and development group. These groups have different functions. With the discussion group, you provide the infrastructure and the members discuss topics of interest. Although you make comments too, the group develops a life of its own. A research and development group is like having a virtual board of people who are

235

236

Promote Your Business

prepared to comment on your ideas and provide feedback on questions relevant to your business and the industry you share. This engages people more actively in your business and helps you develop a more customer-focused service. Be prepared for disappointment as well as success, but focus on the positives and don’t take it personally. People will unsubscribe, and the majority of readers will never become your customers or clients. But hang in there and you’ll develop a longterm relationship with a loyal readership, and many will become your customers or clients.

Summary PURPOSE Newsletters and ezines build long-term relationships with clients, customers and prospects to achieve your marketing objectives. For example, they might help establish you as an expert in your field or help you gain more business from your existing database and new business from prospects. AUDIENCE Your existing client database, prospects and, in the case of ezines, people who subscribe because they enjoy the content of your ezine. CONTENT • Information of interest to your readers—not a hard sell • Short • Informal, but well written. Ezines are often more personal than newsletters and reveal more about the personality of the writer.

How to write newsletters and ezines

TIPS • Use your newsletter and ezine as a relationship-building tool, not a hard sell. You can still advertise your products or services, but the emphasis must be on providing information of interest. • If you want to expand your ezine subscription base, market your ezine through all your marketing material. • Collect your customers’, clients’ and prospects’ email addresses for ezines (remember the opt-in rule). • Register to receive my free monthly e-newsletter and occasional updates at . It contains helpful writing and grammar tips.

237

References References

Books CCH, Australian eBusiness Guide, Sydney, 2001. Very sound book for the Australian Internet market. Denton, Peter, How to write and pitch your Press Release, Prentice Hall, Sydney, 2000. An excellent book on press releases. Evans, Wendy, How to Get New Business in 90 Days and Keep it Forever, Millenium Books, Sydney, 1993. I read this book years ago but it has stood the test of time. It has probably influenced my marketing strategy more than any other marketing book. Findlay Schenck, Barbara, Small Business Marketing for Dummies, Hungry Minds, New York, 2001. Sound and comprehensive. Gerber, Michael, The E Myth Revisited, HarperBusiness, New York, 1995. A basic, easy-to-read business book. Griffiths, Andrew, 101 Ways to Market Your Business, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2000. Some great ideas. Hailey, Linda, Kickstart Marketing, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2001. A useful marketing book for small businesses. Kilian, Crawford, Writing for the Web, Self-Counsel Press, Bellingham, 1999. One of the few good books on writing for the web currently available. 238

References

Mayo-Smith, Debbie, Successful Email Marketing, Penguin Books, Auckland, 2002. A sound book on email marketing. Ogilvy, David, Ogilvy on Advertising, Prion Books Ltd, London, 1983. Old, but still sound. Stapleton, James J., Developing a CPA Practice, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997. Written for accountants, this is an excellent book on marketing. It has one of the best sections on telemarketing I’ve ever read. Style manual for authors, editors and printers, Sixth edition, John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd., Melbourne, 2002. A must for all writers and editors in Australia. Sullivan, Luke, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1998. An entertaining and informative book on advertising.

Websites Being a typical user of search engines who often dips into multiple sites on this list, I sometimes forget what sites I’ve visited. But these sites are all worth more than one visit. • • • • • • • • • •

Jakob Nielsen’s website: Excellent, succinct advice on writing for the web:

Crawford Kilian’s personal page (author of Writing for the Web) with useful links to other sites:

A prolific American copywriter with some useful articles on writing: Check out how customer-friendly your website is:

Articles and case studies about marketing: Useful Internet statistics: eBusiness strategy consultant’s site with some good articles and speeches on the Internet: Good site on email marketing: Useful information on writing for the web:

239

Index Index Index

5W & H, 60, 113–14, 193

newspapers, 162 outdoor advertising, 164–5 radio, 165–6 television, 166–7 types of, 161–2 visuals, 177 AIDA, 145 see also call to action angle (press release), 111 appearance, 144, 216 see also design; illustrations; images; photos/pictures; visuals Aprimo Inc. case study, 135–6 audience, 53–6, advertising, 170–1, 191–2 direct mail, 136–7 (continues)

action plan, 1–2, 24–5 action step, 100 active voice, 118–19 adjectives, 65, 73–4 adverbs, 65, 73 advertisements, 160 body copy, 180–1 campaign, benefits of, 167–8 concept, 174–5 creating an advertisement, 169–76 directories, 163 ingredients of, 176–83 Internet, 167 magazines, 162–3 240

Index

audience (continued) press release, 110 website, 191–2 Australian eBusiness Guide, The, 188 Australian Financial Review, The, 114–15, 120 background information (press release), 122 benefits advertising, 172–3 181 brochures, 94–5 Blue Gum Restaurant, xii, 3 action plan, 25 advertisement, 183 business card, 37 capability brochure, 82–3 colours, 32–3 competitor analysis, 16 email, 152 goals, 9–10 logo, 34 market trends, 13–14 marketing, 23 mission, 6 name, 31 positioning, 20 press release, 128 product brochure, 85, 88 review, 96–7 SWOT, 18 tag line, 36 vision, 6 website, 191, 206 body copy (advertisement), 180–1 bold (text), 42–3 bookmark, 208 branding, 28–30 advertising, 172

branding (continued) business cards, 36–7 colours (company), 32–3 consistency and change, 39 design and layout, 140–9 logo, 33–4 managing a brand, 38–9 name, 30–1 newsletters and ezines, 218–19 slogans and tag lines, 34–6 stationery, 36 brochures, 75–6 design and print, 100–1 editing, 101–2 ingredients of, 93 types of, 76–91 writing of, 91–100 see also capability brochures; flyers; folders; online brochures; product brochures budget, 23, 76 see also prices; costs bullet points, 98 see also lists business cards, 36–7 business plan, 1–2 action plan, 24–5 budget, 23 competitor analysis, 14–16 description of business, 2–3 goals and objectives, 6–10 market analysis, 10–14 marketing, 20–3 measuring and monitoring, 25–6 mission and vision, 3–6 positioning, 18–20 SWOT, 17–18 buttons (website), 209

241

242

Promote Your Business

call to action, 138, 140, 175, 181 campaign (advertising), 167–8 capability brochures, 76–83 capitals, 42 captions, 198 case studies, 95–7, 135–6, 150–1, 173 chunk (website), 194 classified advertisements, 161–2 clichés, 64 collateral, 75–6 colours (company), 32–3, 200 competitor analysis, 14–16 conjunctions, 74 Constat, 185 contact details, 100, 122–3 content brochure, 93 direct mail, 132 ezines, 219–21 website, 193 costs, 221, 224 see also budget; prices credibility, 115, 173–4, 194–5, customer/client interaction websites, 188 Delite Landscape Design, xi, 2 action plan, 24 advertisement, 164, 182 brochure, 102–3 business card, 37 capability brochure, 79–80 colours, 32 competitor analysis, 15–16 direct mail, 147 email, 151 ezine, 213, 229–30 goals, 7–8, logo, 33 market trends, 12–13

Delite Landscape Design (continued) marketing, 22 mission, 5, name, 31 newsletter, 213, 222–3 PAKO, for brochure, 57–8 positioning, 19–20 press release, 112, 126 product brochure, 85–6 style guide, 48–9 SWOT, 17 tag line 35 testimonial, 96 vision, 5 website, 190, 204 demographics, 54 Denton, Peter, 111–12 design, 40–9 brochure, 91–2, 99, 100–1 direct mail, 144 emails, 158 websites, 199–203 see also appearance; images; photos/pictures; visuals determiners, 74 dimensional mailer, 135–7 direct mail, 130–3 AIDA, 145 appearance, 144 audience (list), 136–7 call to action, 138, 140 case study, 135–6 letter, 138–44 offer, 138 testing and evaluation, 145 timing, 137–8 types of, 133–5 see also DM (direct mail)

Index

directories, 163 distribution ezines, 232–4 press release, 125 DL brochure, 84 DM (direct mail), 130 eBusiness websites, 188–91 editing, 69–71 advertisements, 181–2 brochure, 101–2 press release, 121 websites, 198–9 electronic (medium), 58 email marketing, 146 advantages of, 148 case study, 150–1 frequency, 153–4 list, the, 152 opt in, 146, 152 personalise, 153 plain text, html or rich text, 154–5 spam, 210–11 timing, 154 writing of, 155–8 Emerald Furniture, xi-xii, 3 action plan, 25 advertisement, 183 business card, 37 capability brochure, 79, 81 colours, 32 competitor analysis, 16 email, 152 ezine, 213–14, 230–2 flyer, 90 goals, 8–9 logo, 34

Emerald Furniture (continued) market trends, 13 marketing, 22, mission, 5 name, 31 positioning, 20 press release, 112, 114, 127 product brochure, 85, 87 review, 96–7 SWOT, 17–18 tag line, 36 vision, 5–6 website, 191, 205 endorsements, see testimonials Essential Guide to Email Marketing, The, 155 evaluation, see measuring results; monitoring results; testing ezines, 210–14, 225–36 advantages and disadvantages, 217–18 appearance, 216 back issues, 228 branding, 218–19 common issues with newsletters, 218–25 content, 219–21 costs, 221, 224 database and distribution, 232–4 footer, 228 html or plain text, 227–8 monitoring, 224–5 sidebar, 228 similarities and differences between newsletters and ezines, 214–17 (continues)

243

244

Promote Your Business

ezines (continued) subject line, 126 see also design

homepage, 208 html, 154, 227–8 hyperlinks, 208

FAB (features, advantages and benefits), 94–5 facts and figures, 97–8, 119 Findlay Schenck, Barbara, 168, 172, 175–6 flash, 201 flyers, 89 folders, 89 follow up, 125 see also marketing font, 40–2, 202 footer (ezines), 228 format (press release), 123–5 see also appearance; design

illustrations, 99 see also appearance; design; images; photos/pictures; visuals images, 201 see also appearance; design; illustrations; photos/pictures; visuals Internet advertising, 167 Internet press release, 109 italics, 42–3

geographics, 54 getting started, 60–2 goals, 6–10 see also objectives; purpose grammar see adverbs; adjectives; conjunctions; determiners; nouns; prepositions; pronouns; prepositions; verbs headings, 46 brochure headings, 99 direct mail, 139 ezines, 226 websites, 196–7 see also headlines headlines, 120–1, 177–80 see also headings Helen Bateman Shoe Store case study, 150–1

key messages, 56 advertising, 171 press release, 110–11, 113 Kingsley Group, 185 layout see appearance; design; visuals letter Delite, 49 direct mail, 138–44 letterbox drops, 133 list (of recipients), 136–7, 152 see also audience lists, 47, 68–9, 98, 197 local press, 108 logo, 33 lower case, 42 magazines advertisement, 162–3 press release, 108 magic words, 143, 178–9

Index

mail list server, 234–5 main messages see key messages market analysis, 10–14 market trends, 11–14 marketing, 20–3, 26–7 brochure, 102–4 ezine, 235–6 website, 203 measuring results, 25–6 see also monitoring; testing mission statements, 3–6 monitoring results, 25–6, 224–5 see also testing My Business magazine, 113–14, 115 name (company), 30–1 navigation devices, 209 navigation (website), 192–3, 209 Neilsen, Jakob, 185–6, 201–2 news agencies, 107 newsletters, 210–14 advantages and disadvantages, 217–18 branding, 218–19 content, 219–21 costs, 221, 224 monitoring, 224–5 similarities and differences between newsletters and ezines, 214 newspaper advertisements, 162 newspapers (press release), 107 nouns, 73 objectives, 6–10, 211–12 see also purpose offer, 138–40 Ogilvy, David, 171, 177, 179

online brochure, 91 opening sentence, 139 opt in (ezines) 146 outcome, 56–7 outdoor advertising, 164–5 Oxygenics showerhead, 173 PAKO, 52–3, 57–8, 61, 72 paragraphs, 44–5, 67–8, 98, 193–4 PDF, 157, 194 perspective (clients’/customers’), 54–5 persuasive writing, 141–2 see also writing photos/pictures, 99, 121–2, 198 see also appearance; design; illustration; images; visuals plain text, 154, 227–8 positioning, 18–20 positioning statement, 171–2 positive statements, 97 prepositions, 74 press release, 105–6 distribution, 125 follow-up, 125 format, 123–5 planning, 109–11 timing, 126 where to place, 106–9 writing, 111–23 prices, 175–6 see also budget; costs print (medium), 58, 100–1 print-friendly webpages, 202–3 product brochure, 83–8 pronouns, 73 proofreading, 70–1 see also editing

245

246

Promote Your Business

PS (direct mail), 140 psychographics, 54 purpose, 52–3 advertisement, 169–70 direct mail, 131–3 email, 149–50 newsletters and ezines, 211 press release, 109–10 see also goals; objectives quotes, 198 see also spokesperson radio advertising, 165–6 press release, 108 readability, 43–4 read (how people read), 185–7 Reiss and Trout, 171 reviews, 95–7 rewriting, 69 see also editing search engines, 196 sentences, 67, 98, 193–4 set the scene, 114 sidebar (ezines), 228 slogans, 34–6 Small Business Marketing for Dummies, 168, 172, 175–6 software (ezines), 234 spam, 210–11 spokesperson (press release), 115–17 stationery, 36 structure, 59–60 style, 62, 195 subject line, 120, 155, 226

Sullivan, Luke, 35, 61, 165, 174–5, 177–8, 180 SWOT analysis, 17–18 tag lines, 34–5 target markets, 10–11 targeted direct mail, 134 television advertising, 166–7 testimonials, 95–7 testing, 145, 158 see also measuring your results third person (press release), 118 timing, 126, 137–8, 154 tone, 63, 195, 217 trade journals, 108, 162–3 typeface, 40–2, 202 underlining, 42–3 unique selling proposition (USP), 18–19, 93–4, 171–2 URL, 208 verbs, 65–6, 73 viral marketing, 155 vision, 3–6 visuals, 177, 201 see also appearance; design; illustrations; images; photos/pictures webpage, 209 web glossary, 208–9 websites, 185–7 change and update, 199 design, 199–203 essential ingredients of, 191–9 glossary of web terms, 208 navigation, 192–3 types of, 187–91 see also chunk (website)

Index

white space, 45 words, 63–4, 98, 193 writing, 59–69 brochure, 91–100 direct mail, 141–4 emails, 155–8

writing (continued) for the web, 191–9 press release, 111–23 Yellow Pages, 137, 163–4 ‘you’ language, 95, 195

247