Copy-Cat-Copywriting: January 2007

Monday, January 29, 2007

Out-of-the-chair Speaking Topics

Recently “Georgina” told a networking group about her new seminar program. Her first class was called “Pre-planning the sales call.”

Everybody yawned except me. I was too busy thinking like a copywriter.

“What’s the takeaway?” I asked.

“I know. You’re going to ask about benefits. If sales people in my industry use my system, they’ll be better prepared for their first meeting with a new client.”

“And...”

“So they’ll do a better job for the client.”

“And that’s important because...”

Shrugs all around.

“You’ve heard of out of the box thinking,” I explained later. “To motivate seminar participants, you have to get your audiences out of their chairs. Get them sitting on the edge, leaning forward, eager to hear what’s coming next.”

Like many seminar presenters, Georgina was frustrated. She knew her system would make money for seminar participants. But she didn’t know how to share her excitement.

I could relate to her dilemma.

Recently I planned a talk on website marketing. One topic was “5 copywriting tips to make your website sell more.”

Yawn. I would fall asleep during my own presentation.

So I created, “Copy is your quarterback. Web design is your offensive line.” And then I had 5 plays you can call to win the profit game.

It would work even better if the Seattle Seahawks had won their last game, but you can’t have everything.

Corny? Sure. Simplistic? Maybe. But when you’re sitting in a meeting room for a few hours, your mind craves entertainment. That’s why so many college professors think they’re stand-up comics. It doesn’t take much to get a laugh from a required class on a cold winter morning.

Back to Georgina. I’d give up on pre-planning and focus on the bigger picture.

“How to begin creating lifelong bonds with your client even before your very first meeting.”

# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 4:57 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

3 Tips to Motivate Website Visitors to Action

When visitors come to our websites, we want them to act: subscribe to an ezine, sign up for a seminar or buy a product. But visitors tend to stay for just a short time and they’re almost always in a hurry.

How do you motivate visitors to get into action?

(1) Make the Call to Action simple, visible and easy to follow.

Sounds obvious. But on some websites readers still get frustrated trying to sign up for a class or buy a product. They can’t find the form. Some websites don’t even tell the reader what they offer: classes, coaching, information products, or …?

(2) Create urgency around purchase.

Urgency often translates to time-sensitive offers. “Discount if you buy now.” “Only a few left.”
These techniques work if you have a genuine limitation and your target market doesn’t wait for a crisis before buying. By way of analogy, few car owners will say, “Gee I just bought new tires but this special is so good I couldn’t resist.”
That’s why these offers work better for information products than for consulting or coaching. Clients hire a consultant because they need help right away.
Occasionally you might catch someone on the edge: “I know I’ll need this someday and the special offer was enough to push me to buy.”

(3) Create urgency around your client’s pain.

Most web site owners don’t want to create fear-based appeals. And nobody wants to sound sales-y and pushy.

When you know your market really well, you’ll be able to create urgency by identifying the client’s pain precisely, signaling, “I know exactly what you’re going through.” And you promise solutions so “You don’t have to experience this pain any more. We have answers.”

Finally, urgency requires honesty. Your call to action includes a genuine offer of a quality product. Your limitations are real: at the stroke of midnight, prices change. When you run out of product, you really have no more to give. And of course you really have the program and knowledge to help your client deal with pain realistically and effectively.

You may use this article in your ezine or blog if you (a) make no changes, (b) notify me at cathy@makewritingpay.com, and (c) include the following resource box with live "clickable" links:

Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., helps service professionals increase the maketing potential of their websites so they can attract clients, increase sales and build a community of raving fans. Get the 7 Best-Kept Secrets of Client-Attracting Websites.
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com/subscribe.html

Labels: client attraction, internet marketing, website marketing

# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 12:14 AM 1 comments

Monday, January 08, 2007

Attracting visitors with the irresistible freebie

WMy clients often begin a consultation with, “How do I attract traffic to my site?” That’s like inviting your dinner guests to arrive while you’re still defrosting dinner.

Before inviting traffic to your website, prepare the appetizer. Create an ezine offer with a bonus your visitors can’t refuse – usually a Special Report with an irresistible title.

I call this bonus the "irresistible freebie." I encourage clients to begin creating their websites by figuring out what their own clients can’t resist. Once you’ve created your bonus, you’re well on the way to developing the main course: your website copy.

And once your first visitors are eager for a taste, it’s time to bring on the traffic-builders.

# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 9:55 AM 0 comments

Thursday, January 04, 2007

7 Tips for a Lead-Generating Teleseminar

Want to begin offering workshops (by phone or in person) to attract clients and maybe build another revenue stream?

Marketing your seminar can stop the snoozers and create a powerful sales tool.

(1) Recognize that price changes your class dynamic.

Charge nothing and you may attract sign-ups, but they're often no-shows. Some openly search for content they can use in their own classes. Many will disappear as soon as you ask for a dollar.

(2) Present a how-to topic.

Promise that you will help people make money, lose weight and/or find a soulmate, you'll attract more motivated participants.

(3) Watch the clock.

Participants pay with their time, whether or not you charge monetary fees. Ten minutes for a sales pitch, ten minutes for roll call, twenty minutes for participants to "share" why they're here. Now you've got twenty minutes to deliver content.

Better to plan on fifty-eight minutes of value with a one-hour class. You can follow up with an email to remind participants who you are.

(4) Create a title that sizzles.

A problem-solving class might be called: "Creating an 'Aha!' Moment Just When You Need It"

My friend calls her novel-writing class, "Write your novel -- in one day!"

A class on the business of creativity was re-named, "As you earn more, keep more!"

(5) Emphasize positive outcomes.

Turn off your Inner Grinch and focus on moving to something wonderful, not avoiding something horrible.

"Most businesses fail! Will yours be one of them?"

becomes

"One percent of home businesses will gross six figures this year - and yours can be one of them!"

Of course, you must be able make that claim honestly and ethically -- and a few testimonials wouldn't hurt.

(6) Take charge.

Be prepared to cut off long-winded questions and participants who want to give "advice" to other callers.

Stay focused, organized and on topic. Make sure everyone has a chance to participate -- not just the most proactive callers -- but I wouldn't force participation. I believe participants have the right to "lurk" silently.

(7) Show enthusiasm.

"June" has such a charismatic personality that her classes would fill with eager prospects if she read the phone book aloud for an hour.

"Bill" has such weak, tentative delivery that his classes actually turn away prospects who love his website and need his information.

Whether you're delivering by phone or standing in front of an eager group, you need to project energy. Some class leaders actually go for a walk, jump up and down or practice a few dance moves. Others sing. And others just get high on the experience.

Bottom Line: Classes can be fun for both leaders and participants -- and there's no more convenient way to learn information. Once you get going, you may be hooked on excitement...and money.

Labels: client attraction, copywriting, promotion, teleseminars, website marketing

# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 8:03 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

New Year Resolutions for Self-Employed Professionals (Who Mostly Hate New Year Resolutions)

Are you getting tired of the same old resolutions: be more organized, work harder, eat healthier? Try these for a change:

(1) I will claim my bragging rights.

No more needless apologies or excuses. No more “This is probably a dumb question, but...” or, “I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but...”

(2) I will step outside my comfort zone with at least one marketing program.

I’m considering direct mail, google adwords...and maybe podcasting. Forecast: a wild ride head.

(3) I will listen to my intuition more, even when I’m learning from the most brilliant, wealthy, powerful gurus on the planet.

Everyone is wrong every so often. Or they’re wrong for your particular situation. Or they’re having a bad day.

Here’s an exercise. Review your strategies. What’s worked best to bring clients, money, or success? I bet each one has a touch of serendipity and/or your own intuition. See
http://www.cathygoodwin.com/intuitionbook.html

(4) I will take at least one piece of business advice that I resist (maybe it seems counter-intuitive) and see what happens.

When I first learned about copywriting, I resisted the idea of promoting myself. On a smaller but significant scale, I resisted buying a book of phrases for copywriting and using a headline generator. Now I can’t imagine life without both those tools: tiny steps with huge impact.

Of course, if someone suggests you sell all your possessions and move to a tent in Idaho, I would say no. Sometimes you’re resisting for a really, really good reason.

(5) I will honor what I need to stay energized and motivated.

What do you need for yourself? Music? Exercise? Live performances? Movies?

What chunks of time work best? I find if I steal a whole day or a full afternoon, I return energized and ready to take on most any challenge. The dog goes to daycare. She returns ready for a long, long nap, which frees me up to act on those challenges: a true win-win.

Some of my colleagues and friends prefer to work non-stop for weeks and even months, then take a complete vacation.

Whatever works. Do it.

And send me an email if you get inspired (or outraged or anything else).

You may reprint this article in an electronic medium IF you make no changes, let me know, and use this resource box:

Cathy Goodwin offers copywriting and coaching to service professionals who want to increase the marketing potential of their websites. Visit
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com
Get the 7 best-kept secrets of client-attracting copy:
http://www.copy-cat-copywriting.com/subscribe.html

# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 9:31 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 01, 2007

Testing, testing...

Recently I've had some questions and comments about testing effectiveness of a website and copy.

(1) "I want to test a mailing. First I'll send it to my ezine list..."

Are you planning to buy mailing lists? If so, send to a small randomly chosen sample from that list. Your own list may be more or less responsive, depending.

(2) "I want to put up a new site with a different domain name and different copy. Then I'll see which works."

You're testing too many variables! One site may attract more visitors than the other, or may attract a different type of visitor.

(3) "I'll try a new version for a month and see if I notice a difference."

You might...but how do you know if your revisions made a difference or if your target market responds to a change in season?

The only way to test a web page:

Use software (such as 1shoppingcart.com ) that exposes visitors randomly to one page or another. In other words, if ten visitors arrive, visitors 1,3,5,7, and 9 will see Version A. The rest will see Version B.

And vary just one element at a time. Headline. Color. Picture. Domain name.

Otherwise how will you know what really made the difference?

# posted by Cathy Goodwin @ 11:37 PM 0 comments

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