One of the speakers was the co-owner of The Scarlet Bakery, who uses Facebook for all their marketing.  They have no website, have never spent a bean on ads of any sort, have never distributed fliers or used any of the other “normal” ways of finding customers, and they’ve gone from start-up in June 2010 to selling 4,000 cupcakes a week by November 2010.    All the cakes are pre-ordered online so there’s absolutely no wastage.   (You can find them at http://www.facebook.com/?sk=apps&ap=1#!/pages/Dundee-United-Kingdom/The-Scarlet-Bakery/122153114489088).  I thought that was brilliant.

Immediately after the workshop I met a potential client to talk about promoting her health-drink business.  She wanted some press releases written in the short term and her website updated later, when she had the money.  Press releases aren’t really my forte, but I was able to give her the details of a specialist.  Then I told her The Scarlet Bakery’s story and she lit up: I’d just given her the ideal no-cost answer for her marketing.  No need to update the website; possibly no need to pay the press release specialist.  Certainly no need to pay me – though she did buy me lunch (she said it was the best £10 she’d ever spent).

I do hope this isn’t “the future” for all small businesses, or mine will go down the tubes

Mind you, my halo’s shining that wee bit brighter….

I’ve been a member for a year.  So far no-one’s asked me to speak, so when I got the email asking me to renew my declaration that I had no criminal involvement, past or present, I thought I wouldjust  let it lapse.  I emailed the founder and MD of Growing Ambitions, Sally Davis, who replied:  “We are looking to merge with another organisation in the autumn that has the ear of more employers, and the government and momentum will really start to pick up then. We are a non-profit, providing a lean and mean brokerage solution but we have no government or other funding.” 

She added, ”I do hope you can see you way to still point people to us”.  How could I refuse? 

I think it’s a great idea, telling kids how it really is, and by what tortuous route you’ve got where you are.  A lot of people have never heard of copywriting; I’m sure there are students who’d love to write for a living but think the only ways are the cut-throat world of journalism or the lottery of “writing proper books” of whatever sort and trying to get them published.  Certainly my careers mistress never mentioned it (but that could have been because I wanted to go to music college; it didn’t occur to me I could earn a living as a writer until much later).

If you’re interested in finding out more about Growing Ambitions and how you could become a Partner (it doesn’t cost anything, talks only last half an hour, and it’s good exposure for your business too), go to http://www.growingambitions.org/index.php and read all about it.

Thank you!

Well, no – I also have a part-time job at a tourist attraction during the summer (I officially left last October, but they get lots of Italian tourists and I speak Italian, so I’m quite busy there July/August) and I’m working there tomorrow and Thursday.  By the time I come home after a day of marshalling groups of multi-national tourists and their small children around the castle, my brain is fried and I really can’t produce good copy.  Which leaves this afternoon and Friday to write it.

So I need the information now.  It was supposedly being sent on Thursday, when they commissioned me to do it.  I was away for a long weekend and expected to find it in my inbox when I got back – but no.  So I’m left twiddling my thumbs and writing blog posts while I wait for the real work to come in.  I’ll get it done by Friday night, as promised, as long as they don’t wait ’til Friday afternoon to send it (I can’t type that fast!).

I’m getting quite good at this deadline lark.  The same company that wants the brochures asked me for 11 pages of web content (including research) within three days last week.  I managed it.  I’ve never thought of myself as a fast writer, but it is coming more easily now.  In fact I think deadlines are quite good for me because I don’t have time for my usual endless editing, so I have to think more clearly and write it better first off.  And I can’t procrastinate, nor rearrange the office, do my accounts or engage in any other of my favourite work-displacement activities.

Deadlines are good.  As King Charles I said of his impending death, they ‘concentrate the mind wonderfully’.  In a way they’re teaching me my job: to get the words written and not faff about being all “artistic”.  They make me use my time efficiently, research faster, cut out the timewasting and write more tightly.

Who needs deadlines?  I do!

First and most important: it means you don’t have to do it.  You have plenty of other claims on your time, mainly for things only you can do properly.  Writing copy (if it’s not something you do every day) takes time – effort – blood, sweat and tears.  It could take several weeks to get the necessary content for a website together: weeks of frustration when you can’t get on with doing what you’re best at.

Second: research shows you have just seven seconds to capture your readers’ attention on the internet.  Get it wrong and they’ve gone to your competitors.  Do you or your staff have the writing skills to grab them in seven seconds?

Third: a trained writer can write it faster than you can, just as a trained runner can run faster than someone who only jogs once a week.  They know the sort of questions to ask to create the unique copy you need; they’ll have a system for their research.  Your website will be up and working for you far sooner and you’ll see a return on your investment much earlier.

Fourth: a professional copywriter knows how to persuade people in print.  It’s not the same as selling in person: you need different techniques when you can’t use body language to get your point across.  You have to make things clear both for those who skim and for the detail-lovers – and you can’t tell which sort of person will be reading.  You have to write from the reader’s point of view and understand in advance what questions they need answered.  So many websites don’t do this and they’re basically a waste of money.

Fifth: a trained copywriter will work with your web designer to optimise your site for the search engines (SEO).  Keywords are vital to this process, but writing keyword-rich text that reads naturally is an art that takes practice.

Sixth: a good copywriter writes good English.  There are still plenty of people out there who get a jolt when they see an apostrophe in the wrong place or a comma where there should be a full stop – and they’ll jump to another site for a solution to their problem.  There’s a lot of competition on the internet and you can’t afford to lose customers for a silly mistake.

Seventh: it will cost you less.  That’s counter-intuitive, I know, but think about it.  If you add up all the time you’re sitting there, staring at a blank piece of paper or computer screen, plus all the time you’re struggling to find the right words to communicate your message, plus all the other things you can’t be doing while you’re writing (but still need doing) – and charge it all at whatever rate you pay yourself – a copywriter is going to seem a real bargain.

So: less effort + attention + faster RoI + effectiveness + smooth SEO + retention + cost-saving = perfect sense. 

In other words, using a professional copywriter for your website saves you time, hassle and money, just as using a professional web designer does.

Creating a website for your business is a big step and ensuring you get your website copywriting right is of paramount importance for your success. An online presence has the benefits of opening up your products or services to a global marketplace, however, it also means that your business is open to global scrutiny.

Poor website copywriting reflects badly on your business and unfortunately, for those who are not familiar with online copywriting, it is unlike any other writing form. Online customers read websites very differently from other written material and this must be accounted for when you create your web content.

Website Copywriting is not Linear

Other forms of literature are linear in their structure, however, online readers tend to read around the page looking for keywords or the key points. In order to make your website effective, it must be user-friendly and your website copywriting must take account of this. Always ensure that you use simply, friendly language and that your text is in small bite sized chunks.

Website Copywriting Must Be Well Written

Creating web content that is poorly written or littered with grammatical or spelling errors is worse than no web content at all. Remember your website is your sales man and should speak with authority. Any errors reflect badly on you and your business so ensure you proofread every page before your potential customers see it.

Website Copywriting Must Inform, Inspire and Persuade

People search the Internet for information, products or services. To this end, your web content must engage the reader, provide them with the information they are looking for and persuade them to buy the products you have on offer.

Website Copywriting Should Have SEO Value

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO as it is known, has massive importance to your online success. People use search engines to find websites that offer the information, products or services they are looking for. Web content that encompasses SEO techniques increases your website rankings with the leading search engines and ensures that when a search is undertaken in your niche, your website is returned.

The Benefits of Professional Website Copywriting

For some new website owners, creating web content which meets all of these criteria may be an incredibly daunting task. This does not mean that you should give up on your website, rather, it means that you need to seek the advice or the services of a professional web copywriter. There are many highly qualified, experienced web copywriters who can provide you with custom-written web content for your website and ensure your website presents your business in a professional manner.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jay_Neaves  This posting is © Jay Neaves, and re-published with thanks.

Public speaking is full of people making basic mistakes.  Luckily, you don’t have to be one of them!  Now you’ve successfully ‘opened’ your presentation, here’s how to avoid the 3 biggest mistakes people make when they start getting into public speaking – and selling from stage.  This article is a great refresher for both experienced speakers and oh so important for those just starting out.

Presentation Skills = Great Selling

You may or may not have considered this yet. But something you need to get clear in your mind is that if you want to master the art of public speaking and intend to make a real difference in the world, you need to become a great sales person.

I believe great leaders who inspired great change, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, JFK were all amazing sales people.  What do I mean by sales?  Well, for me sales is when you create an environment of influence where you inspire people to take action in accordance with their vision.

I hold teachers in very high esteem.  However many teachers think their job stops after the information is imparted.  True leaders, or sales people, know that their job finishes only once someone has taken action toward their dream.

 So I invite you to start to think about yourself as a great leader.  I know you have a message that is close to your heart; whether you are conscious of it or not is irrelevant.  There is something that inspires you.  So begin to think about yourself as someone who is destined to change the planet for the better in some way.

Once you see yourself as a great leader then you are ready to start selling from stage.  But what you want to do is avoid the following selling traps.

Three Big Mistakes To Avoid When Selling From Stage

Here are some surefire “kisses of death” for selling from stage right up front.  I’m putting there here so you can avoid them!

Mistake #1: The speaker thinks a seminar is about imparting information only.
People learn through their emotions. Not their intellect. Emotions are the glue that make learning stick. So when you teach, how are you managing the emotions of your audience?

Mistake #2: Looking like crap on stage.
Honestly, if you are teaching or selling in your presentation, I don’t care who you are, please make yourself look at least half way decent when you’re speaking in public! If you can’t pull it together, get an image coach. Ladies, I’m sorry, this is even more important for you because yes, we do get judged more than men on how we look.  It doesn’t take much to get it together with the right contacts.

Mistake #3: Having no integrity or out and out lying from stage.
The sad truth is there are some presenters and companies out there who will tell you one thing and then do another. I have even witnessed speakers lying through their teeth on stage. Please don’t be one of them.

Summary

You are something special.  Do you get that?  So this week, in fact starting right now, begin to think of yourself as someone special.  Someone with a lot to offer and a mission to fulfill. You may already know what this is, or you may not.  But commit right now to becoming a great leader.  And commit right now to becoming  a magnificent salesperson.  Not just a conveyor of information, not just a teacher, but someone who sells from stage.  In public speaking, the bigger your vision, the easier it is to inspire people to take action.

  About the author:

Dr Joanna Martin

Dr Joanna Martin is an internationally acclaimed speaker and sought-after educator who has taught over 40,000 people on three continents. She is also the author of the new book “The Lifestyle Shift”.
Today, she trains entrepreneurs and professionals alike in key communication, leadership, and presentation skills. With her partner Greg, through their business, Shift Lifestyle they provide strategy and support for business owners who want a lifestyle, not just a living.

For more information go to: www.ShiftSpeakerTraining.com

An easy thing to overlook, when the phrase is in most recipes in exactly the same place and the proofreader has checked dozens of recipes already that day.  You begin to see what you expect to see…  But I bet Penguin are proofreading everything twice now.  And the proofreader in question will probably not be used again.  I wonder how many of the cook-book’s users would have noticed the mistake – or really minded; I certainly doubt any of them would have thought it was intentional.

But it just goes to show how easy it is to make mistakes when you’re proofing a long or repetitive document.  It’s even easier when you’ve written it yourself, because you “know” what you wrote.  Very often you’ve re-written it to the point where you can practically quote it verbatim, and you simply don’t see the mistakes.

At least Penguin used a proofreader.  A lot of stuff published these days, especially on the web, appears to have used a spellchecker, if that: there are typos everywhere - commas, apostrophes and full stops in the wrong places - wrong versions of to/too/two and suchlike homonyms - and whole sentences where all the words could be spelt right but you can’t tell because the sentence itself doesn’t make sense.  And that’s supposed to be a good advertisement for a business….

If companies want readers to take them seriously they should do the job properly and get someone with a passing acquaintance with the English language to check what’s been written.  It may cost a couple of hours of someone’s time but it could make the difference between a prospect taking the business seriously or walking away. 

It could even save them $20,000. 

I think that’s worth two hours’ pay, myself; how about you?

            Write about the customer’s need/desire and how you can solve it, not about how “we” did this, “we” own that.  To be blunt, your reader doesn’t give tuppence about you, she cares about getting her need/desire fulfilled.

2.) Not having a compelling offer:

            Don’t just have info &/or pretty pictures in your ad, that’s a waste of money.  If you’ve got nothing to offer why are you contacting people?  No-one has time for that, and your ad will be skipped over (on the web or in a publication) or end up in the round file (if it’s come via the post).

3.) Poor psychology

            You need to push the reader’s ”buy buttons”: fear, need to belong, greed, reciprocation, curiosity, benevolence, insecurity, optimism, laziness, revenge, anger, pride, desperation, patriotism, love, envy, sympathy, disgust, lust, embarrassment, guilt, vanity….. there are hundreds.  Choose one only per communication.  Don’t be obvious.  DON’T be boring!!

4.) Writing weak headlines or email subject lines

            You have 3 seconds to grab attention.  Write hundredsof headlines and choose the best!  It should be at least 3 of the 4Us: unique, useful, urgent, ultra-specific.  It should be strong enough that, if you put just the headline & a phone number or email address, people would respond (like a Pay per Click ad on the internet).

5.) Using poor English (grammar, wrong words)

           The language must flow so people want to keep reading: motorway, not cart-track.  For that you need good grammar and the right words, otherwise your readers “bump” over the bad bits.   NB: ‘And’ & ‘But’ are fine at the start of a sentence (qv Fowler’s Modern Usage, Shakespeare, J. Austen, C. Dickens et al).  

6.) Over-wordiness (especially too many adjectives), jargon if irrelevant, MBA-speak

            Write for your reader.  Most are at least fairly intelligent, but may be ignorant: write to their level, don’t wear them down or under-estimate them.  You’d write an advert in a trade publication (read by people in the know) differently from one in a consumer mag.  Again, DON’T be boring!!

7.) Not breaking up the copy – paragraphs, sub-headlines, widows and orphans

            These create flow, readability –they reduce effort and make it easier for readers to get to the end.   A “widow” is the last line of a paragraph that appears alone at the top of the next page, and an “orphan” is the first line of a paragraph that appears alone at the bottom of a page. Default widow and orphan settings are typically configured for two lines in order to prevent isolated single lines.  (Thanks to ZDNet.com for that masterly definition.)  If you want the reader to keep reading, orphans draw the eye to the next page – a printed cliffhanger.

8.) Not having a call to action

            Tell readers what you want them to do, by when; don’t let them “do it tomorrow” (they won’t).  If they don’t act now, you’ve lost ‘em.  Have a coupon, click-through, SAE (stamped address envelope) – whatever it takes to get them to act.  Ads that just give information plus a company name and address are a waste of money.

9.) Not proofreading -

            or better still getting someone else to do it for you.  It’s very hard to see your own mistakes: you see what you meant to write, not what’s there.  Do not rely on Spellchecker or Word’s Grammar thingy!

10.) Not hiring a copywriter!

           With all the above to consider, just think how much time, hassle and possible trouble it could save you….